The recent protests across the UK have focused attention on climate change and on city centre air quality, with predictably mixed results.
For some, protesters were breaking the law, causing massive disruption and costing the country millions. But fewer people who travel to and work in London – where the media focused their attention – were put out by the giant sit-in than you’d think. For many the protesters brightened up a dull commute with music and their cheerful commitment, and the cause is something many of us can get behind.
One of the main ways we can all reduce our carbon emissions is to change the way we travel. By 2021 it will cost £24 each weekday to drive inside London’s North/South Circular in a six-year-old diesel car. And it looks as though similar schemes could start in other cities with Bath, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow reported to be looking into it. While public transport isn’t feasible for many outside urban areas (and that’s another story…), electric vehicles are rapidly becoming a genuine option with the added bonus of being free to drive (at the moment) in city centres.
This combination of carbon emissions and cost is driving (ha!) Restore’s shift towards changing much of our fleet to being all electric vehicles. One of our sites already has charging points available for our staff to use and we are looking at adding more as current company cars and vans are gradually replaced with electric models. Restore’s newly expanded building at Rainham is also being equipped with solar panels to reduce our carbon footprint still further. So, hopefully, this summer our electric vehicles can be powered purely by the sun.
We take our environmental responsibility seriously and have installed energy-saving options, such as low energy PIR lighting and modern, efficient equipment, wherever possible. In fact, two of our properties are powered by bio gas. We work with the Carbon Trust to minimise our impact on the environment with one of our policies being to send 0% to landfill. We have our fully recyclable, FSC-accredited archive storage boxes for sale at our online store, or for further information about how we can help you reach your own recycling targets give our experienced and knowledgeable team a call on 0333 060 6824.
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