Gears + Ltd is a Social Enterprise with Charitable Status which provides workshop based educational and alternative curriculum programmes and activities for young people. Gears + recognises that its operations and activities have impacts on the environment and that, whilst some will be positive, unfortunately others will be negative.  We are committed to ongoing improvement in our environmental performance and will therefore set up an environmental management regime appropriate to the nature and scale of our business. As part of the future review process, we will assess the value of implementing a suitable accredited environmental management system e.g. BS8555.

• We will comply with, and where practicable exceed the requirements of, all relevant environmental legislation and regulations.
• We will keep to a practicable minimum the consumption of energy, water and other resources.
• We will minimize the creation of waste by following the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle.
• We will keep to a practicable minimum any pollution resulting from our operations and activities and set targets for reducing our carbon footprint/CO2 emissions.
• We will review our environmental performance and objectives regularly and at least annually.
• We will apply environmental and ethical criteria to our procurement.
• We will ensure all employees, support staff and volunteers are aware of the Environmental Policy; receive the necessary information and training to enable compliance; and are encouraged to develop associated new ideas and initiatives.
• We will encourage the young people benefiting from our programmes to engage with this Environmental Policy; to develop their own associated new ideas; to help us improve our performance; and to take back good environmental practices to their schools, organisations and homes.
• We will promote improved environmental performance among all our stakeholders, partners, suppliers and other interested parties, through communication of our policy and objectives.

This Environmental Policy has the full support of the Gears+ Board. The Chief Executive has overall responsibility for implementing this Policy. Compliance with this Policy is the responsibility of all employees.