Gittisham Parish Hall – Environmental Policy
Gittisham Parish Hall (GPH) committee is committed to protecting and actively promoting the improvement of the local environment.
GPH committee will ensure that environmental priorities are integrated into the decisions it takes on all its services and will seek to:
- Make the most efficient use of energy. It will endeavour to use the minimum quantities of energy possible in accordance with the safe and efficient operation of its heating, lighting, plant, and machinery. It will from time to time review its energy sources, energy using appliances and energy efficiency with a view to causing the least environmental impact. It will monitor consumption and eliminate excessive or unnecessary use. It will encourage hall users, volunteers and staff to use and operate the building correctly to conserve energy, and communicate to them how they can do this e.g. closing doors.
- Encourage hall users, volunteers and staff to walk, cycle and use public or communal transport as alternatives to the private car. It will seek to provide safe cycle/buggy storage and information about public transport on publicity materials.
- Minimise and where possible eliminate all forms of pollution, using biodegradable chemicals where possible, and minimising use of solvents and lead-based paints. Hall users, volunteers, and staff will be encouraged to avoid creating noise and light pollution, especially at night.
- Use the minimum quantities of water possible in accordance with its activities and ensure that the water it uses is both supplied and disposed of, in the purest condition possible, meeting statutory requirements. It will reduce leakage and eliminate excessive or unnecessary use, e.g. through avoiding unnecessary flushing of urinals when the hall is not in use. It will communicate to hall users, volunteers, and staff the need to conserve water e.g. turning taps off after use.
- Avoid waste and encourage the appropriate conservation, re-use, and recycling of resources. It will re-use and recycle materials as far as possible and, if this is impractical, disposal by a means which will have the least impact on the environment and conforms to statutory requirements. It will encourage hall users, volunteers, and staff to minimise waste, including the provision of separate disposal facilities for recycling glass, plastic, tins, and cardboard/paper.
- Avoid the use of single use plastics at the hall and ensure the ban and restrictions on certain items provided by the hall is met. It will encourage hall users, volunteers, and staff to think about the resources they use and avoid single use plastics and food waste.
- Promote a sense of responsibility and understanding for the environment and participation in environmental issues, by raising awareness of hall users, volunteers, and staff, by information provision and open consultation with the local community.
- Ensure that the potential environmental impact of any building projects will be assessed and minimised. This will include, where possible, methods of construction which make best use of resources; designs which result in low maintenance and high energy efficiency; and the use of building materials from sustainable sources such as timber.
- Seek, where possible, to purchase from local or regional suppliers, to maximise input to the local community and minimise carbon emissions from transport.
- Work to enhance its outside space where feasible to improve biodiversity e.g. planting trees/flowers/shrubs to provide pollen/berries/fruit for wildlife; providing bird boxes/hedging for nesting birds; giving a small area over to run wild; and log piles for bugs.
- Protect the health and well-being of all hall users, volunteers and staff and improve and safeguard the quality of Gittisham Parish Hall.
- Monitor, review and where possible improve performance each year with positive action on any areas of non-compliance.