Darren York, Chief Executive of The Conservation Volunteers (TCV)
Giving the climate crisis the urgent attention it needs
The leadership principles have been formed by ACEVO’s climate crisis member working group and provide a shared commitment for charities to:
- Acknowledge the scale of the crisis
- Be ambitious in our pursuit of climate justice, both as leaders of individual organisations and as a collective voice for civil society
- Act where possible to create progress
As part of this collective effort Darren York submitted the following signatory statement…
Acknowledgement
The Conservation Volunteers’ (TCV) vision is healthier, happier communities for everyone. We believe that green spaces are an essential part of healthy, happy communities. TCV’s Strategy 2021-25 ‘For people and green spaces: a thriving network for everyone’, acknowledges that the climate and ecological emergency grows ever more pressing and that green spaces have an important role to play in tackling this and other challenges facing society.
Ambition
We believe that the climate and ecological emergency must inspire action at all levels of society. For more than 60 years, we have connected people and green spaces to deliver significant, positive environmental impact. Through nature-based climate change solutions, such as tree planting and habitat management, we will continue to inspire people and communities to connect with nature and adopt more pro-environmental behaviours, and we will continue to work with corporate partners to support them to achieve their sustainability aims.
At the same time, we recognise that the infrastructure and resources required to enable these activities can sometimes have a negative environmental impact. In light of the worsening climate and ecological emergency, we believe it is more important now, than at any other time in TCV’s history, to regularly review environmental performance and, through a process of continuous improvement, strive to increase the positive impact, and decrease the negative impact, that our actions have upon the environment.
Action
The Conservation Volunteers has:
- appointed a member of staff to lead on Environmental Sustainability in the organisation, and ensure environmental sustainability performance remains on all management agendas
- put in place an Environmental Sustainability Group, with representation from across the organisation, to action plan, share ideas, and promote best practice
- provided employees with clear guidance and training to increase their awareness of our environmental impact
- provided employees with the tools to review their pension plans and choose more sustainable options
- committed to planting five million trees, with people and communities, between 2018-2025
- committed to ensuring that waste from our business is handled in a way that both complies with relevant legislation and results in minimal amounts of material being sent to landfill
- enlisted the support of carbon reduction specialists to put plans in place to achieve net zero carbon emissions at the earliest practicable opportunity.
Darren York, Chief Executive, The Conservation Volunteers.
The Conservation Volunteers join other environmental charities signing up to the climate justice principles. For further signatory statements head here.
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