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Bridge House Trust helps London charities go green

Bridge House Trust is helping to bring the current global environmental crisis to the forefront of the charitable sector's agenda by assisting a pilot group of its grantees make their organisations more sustainable. The Trust, which has already invested £16 million to improve London's environment, has embarked on a pilot scheme providing eco-audits to a representative cross-section of twelve organisations it currently supports.

The pilot is offering these London charities a review of their organisation's current position on waste, energy use, water, transport, raw materials and carbon emissions. The process involves practical help and professional advice from environmental consultant Donnachadh McCarthy on ways in which they can become more environmentally intelligent. The audits will complement DEFRA's new initiative Every Action Counts which encourages voluntary and community groups to take simple, everyday action to protect the environment.

"Many charities have taken on bouts of activity on eco issues", says Donnachadh McCarthy, "but once the enthusiastic member of staff has moved on there may be nothing in place to sustain the momentum. Our intention is not only to make tailored practical suggestions, but to ensure that environmental responsibility is embedded into management systems."

Clare Thomas, the Trust's Chief Grants Officer, commented. "Charities concentrating rightly on their urgent core objectives are not always in a position to assess whether they are working in as sustainable way as possible. The eco-audit should address this, taking the pressure off our grantees and, at the same time, improving their environmental sustainability and reducing their carbon footprints."

Results will be compiled in a year's time and progress shared widely in the voluntary sector. The eco-audit initiative, like Bridge House Trust's initiative the LSx (London Sustainability Exchange), set up in 2000, was developed to address the slower uptake of matters concerning sustainability amongst social welfare charities.