Environmental Sustainability Policy

Wandsworth Music recognises that it has a responsibility to the environment beyond legal and regulatory requirements. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and continually improving our environmental performance as an integral part of our business strategy and operating methods.

Alignment with DfE Strategy

Our environmental sustainability strategy aligns with the DfE’s sustainability and climate change strategy by fostering a culture of responsibility, reducing our environmental impact, and integrating sustainability into our education and outreach efforts.

We endeavour to:

• Comply with all relevant regulatory requirements.
• Foster an organisational culture of environmental responsibility
• Incorporate environmental themes and concepts into our programmes
• Collaborate with partners who share our commitment to environmental sustainability
• Continually reduce our environmental impacts.
• Continually monitor our environmental performance.

Travel & transport:

We will:

• Aim to reduce the need for staff travel, for example in planning teaching timetables;
• Where appropriate promote the use of travel alternatives such as e-mail or video/phone conferencing where practical;
• Encourage staff and service users to travel by public transport or bicycle wherever practical;
• Make additional efforts to accommodate the needs of those using public transport or bicycles.

Paper & plastic

As far as possible we will:

• Reduce paper usage through digital communication, marketing and document management systems;
• Reuse and/or recycle materials where possible (e.g. printed sheet music);
• Avoid single use plastics and packaging;
• Raise awareness among staff, participants, and stakeholders about the importance of waste reduction and recycling;

Energy & Water

We will seek to:

• Reduce the amount of energy we use as much we can;
• Switch off lights and electrical equipment when not in use;
• Adjust heating with energy consumption in mind;
• Consider the energy consumption and efficiency of new products in purchasing decisions.

Office supplies & musical equipment

We are committed to making sustainable choices in our procurement processes. This includes:

• Evaluating whether a need can be met without purchasing new equipment (for example repairing musical instruments);
• Repair, rather than replace musical instruments where possible. If repair is not viable, we will reuse and recycle parts (e.g. cases, mouthpieces, valves, strings etc.);
• A commitment to reducing waste by ordering only what we need;
• Procuring more environmentally friendly and efficient products wherever possible.