Only One Earth

World Environmental Day is celebrated annually on 5 June and is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for protecting the environment. At Norse, we understand the importance of looking after our environment. We are only at the beginning of our journey to being environmentally friendly, but the small steps we take now will affect future generations. This year we have realigned our focus to improving people’s lives through enhancing our culture around Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG). As an organisation, we are moving forward and looking to reduce our carbon footprint.

Norse operates a diverse range of services across the UK. However, we understand our activities will have a significant impact on the environment we must control – ensuring that we preserve our local communities across the country.

Many of our front-line teams actively do this every day, helping maintain and support many sites, including parks, gardens, and farms.

What is Norse doing?

• This year we have launched the Group Environmental Sustainability Committee (GESC). The committee focuses on how Norse adapts to a changing climate as it looks to transition to a low carbon business, providing services our partners and employees require. The formation of the Environmental and Sustainability Committee is instrumental in looking at how we as a business become more sustainable from an environmental management perspective.
• Norse has signed the Carbon Reduction Plan, shared publicly with all our stakeholders. It is important to us that we demonstrate a clear commitment to emissions reduction at the highest level.
• Norse are putting the wheels in motion to make the business more environmentally friendly with the introduction of an electric vehicle. N-able part of Norse Group, which provides home security, has introduced its first electric car to deliver and install its new digital alarms to residents of Norfolk.
• Group Strategic Procurement Manager, Simon Bullimore and his team are working hard trying to use environmentally sustainable products across Norse. The team are looking at products and suppliers from coffee, cleaning supplies, tyres to recycled furniture. Our aim for the future is to work with suppliers which promote a positive ethos around sustainability.
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• Norse Environmental Waste Services (NEWS) will be featuring in the Royal Norfolk Show in attendance with Norfolk County Council. This year’s theme is Recycling, and the fantastic team will be singing about Norfolk’s largest Reuse shop and how we Operate 20 Recycling Centres on behalf of Norfolk County Council.
• Norse are relaunching their Tidy Up event, which will be held on the 16 September. The event is an excellent opportunity for staff to give back to their community and help protect our environment through volunteering for a few hours. Anyone is welcome to sign up and volunteer. To learn more about the event, click here.

Group Environmental Manager (GEM), Andy Campbell said “Norse Group has had a busy year from an environmental management perspective, where 28/38 of the business areas have implemented the Group environmental-integrated management system. This system looks to mitigate the current environmental impacts of services and products used for our clients. Norse Care will also implement the integrated system in September, reducing its current environmental impact.

The Group understands there is only one earth. Therefore, our GESC Committee is already planning to deliver Group-wide sustainability training, providing our employees to make informed decisions regarding their current and future environmental impacts when offering their services.

Norse has committed to being Net-Zero as a group by 2050. Achieving this goal will require the entire Group to play their part in supporting the Environmental, Social and Governance strategy. If we don’t get this right, the cost doesn’t bear considering.”

There is always more Norse can do, and we look forward with the hope to making this only and only earth safe for future generations.