Our Sustainability Journey

Reducing Carbon Emissions

We’re actively engaging to identify our carbon emissions from heating and hot water, purchased electricity and gas consumed by Colten Care, and all other indirect emissions such as water usage, waste, business travel, commuting, food, procurement and purchasing.

Reducing Plastic Consumption

We are targeting plastic consumption in everything we do, from catering and gardening to administration and maintenance. This is an across-the-board, one-team commitment to get rid of all unnecessary plastic. Our residents have exactly the same environmental concerns as their families, our staff, and everyone else; the truth is that more and more people are becoming aware of the terrible global problems created by the rapidly-increasing consumption of plastic.

Recycling

We promote recycling and the use of recycled and refurbished products and materials where such alternatives are economical and suitable, while reducing consumption of materials wherever possible.

Our Approach to Sustainability

• We replaced all of our plastic recycling sacks at our head office with reusable fabric ones, saving 2,880 plastic sacks every year
  
• Abbey View care home in Sherborne, Dorset, will save nearly 19,000 plastic bags from landfill every year by taking a different approach to the daily clean of residents’ waste bins. Jo Ellis, Home Manager; Carol Martin, Domestic Supervisor; and Gill Holland, Clinical Lead are all very happy to say bye to the bags!
  
• Residents in our homes have been getting behind our scheme to reduce plastic, and have swapped their plastic straws for biodegradable ones, saving 499,000 straws each year.
  
• Refurbishing old furniture, and re-purposing to different homes – when a piece of furniture starts to look tired, or we change a room’s use and remove the furniture from the home, the item will go to our local suppliers for refurbishment.

• Since 2012 we have been progressive and proactive in our approach to use of chemicals and artificial fertilisers in our gardens, eliminating the use of neonicotinoids, glyphosate in flower beds, or substances which could be harmful to the environment.