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We take our environmental impact seriously

 

At the MRC Clinical Trials Unit, we are committed to implementing a number of measures to reduce our impact on the environment. These are part of our work within the Green Impact scheme, an award-winning programme that supports environmentally and socially sustainable practices.
Each year, we assess our progress towards minimising our impact and adopting greener practices. 
Below, you can read some of the actions we have taken to encourage environmentally-friendly practices in the workplace. 

Office

In the office, all printing is automatically black and white, double-sided, and printed on recycled paper.

During holiday periods, we run ‘switch off’ campaigns to remind staff to turn off computers, monitors, and other electrical equipment.

Staff are encouraged to keep office plants that improve indoor air quality, improve well-being and store carbon.

 

Recycling

All staff are responsible for sorting their own waste. The Unit collects mixed recyclables, food waste, electrical waste, and used batteries. By doing this, we minimise the amount of non-recyclable waste going to landfill or incineration.

IT hardware is separately collected for specialist recycling. Old but still-working laptops are rebuilt in-house and re-distributed to staff at our trials sites in developing countries. Broken laptops are dismantled and some parts are re-used to build new laptops. Any electrical waste is sent for recycling/disposal.

Education

To raise awareness of the personal impact on the environment and how to reduce it, all staff must complete a sustainability eLearning course when they join.

All staff are also required, within their job descriptions, to carry out their duties in a resource-efficient way and to actively support UCL’s Sustainability Strategy”.

Meetings

We have a range of videoconference options to help reduce the impact of staff travel to meetings. All meeting rooms are equipped for Teams meetings and staff are encouraged to video conference where possible.

Where meetings are catered, we choose suppliers who provide Fairtrade, sustainable and vegetarian options wherever possible. The sustainability of catering is also considered when we hold meetings externally.

Sustainable Transport

We promote the UCL's Cycle Scheme which enables staff to purchase a bike and cycle safety equipment free of VAT. The scheme also offers savings on bike rental subscriptions in London.

Cyclists have access to secured parking in the building, and the office is equipped with a shower and changing facilities. 

We encourage sustainable transport for staff to travel. Where a journey can be completed by train, such as domestic and near-international travel, staff will be asked to do so.

Events

We run a number of events to promote sustainable and environmentally-friendly actions. Recently, these have included:

  • Cycle-to-work day celebrations – We held a series of talks and a cycle celebration breakfast to encourage more staff to cycle to work.
  • Fairtrade fortnight bake sale – Staff from across the Unit baked using Fairtrade ingredients and raised money for the Fairtrade Foundation.