Sustainability at Henley Management College

Henley Business School has achieved the coveted Environmental award, ISO 14001, for the Greenlands Campus, Henley on Thames. This international standard requires organisations to develop an integrated, structured approach in setting and achieving environmental policies and objectives with the goal of supporting protection of the environment, prevention of pollution and compliance with regulatory requirements.

With ever increasing pressure from stakeholders and authorities to address sustainability, independent certification to ISO14001 will undoubtedly enhance the competitive stance and environmental credibility of any organisation involved with corporate education.

Such is the case for Henley Business School which has recently shown its commitment to sustainable management by implementing ISO14001. “As one of the world’s leading business schools, we wanted to demonstrate to our students, staff and corporate clients that we have a robust environmental management system in place,” says Alan Brand, Director of Hotel and Estate Services

“Sustainable management is critical to our future business so it is imperative that our systems reflect best working practice and a commitment to sustainability”.

“The ISO14001 standard provides a structured and effective framework for us to do that,” continues Brand.  “The management system we have put in place is not just for our benefit, but has wider implications for society as a whole. ISO14001 gives us an opportunity to integrate a number of our initiatives into a formal structure allowing us to be economically viable in a truly sustainable way.”

The implementation of any management system can seem somewhat daunting, both in terms of resource and time required, however Henley Business School was able to build upon activities and processes already in place within the organisation. “Adoption of ISO14001 was easy in some ways as we do so much of the work already,” says Brand.

“However we knew that to achieve certification to ISO14001 we would need a facilitator with knowledge of our business.  We therefore appointed Philip Catlow of Catlow Consulting who had worked with us on a number of projects. We also needed independent assessment to prove the credibility of our achievements and we selected BSI who are the National Standards Body of the UK, with a globally recognised reputation for independence, integrity and innovation in the production of standards that promote best practice.

Henley Business School

Main Ladies/Gents Refurbishment

Mission

Creation of high quality ladies & gents WC facilities including shared lobby area

Environmentally responsible, where practical

Products robust and easy to maintain

Paint

Natural pigment paint to be trialled

Flooring

Lobby carpet has high percentage of natural materials, predominantly wool

Ceramic floor tiles selected for aesthetic qualities, durability & practicality – sourced from manufacturer with strong environmental policy

Wall Finishes

Ceramic wall tiles will ensure durable & lasting finish

Fittings

Vanity worktops formed from reconstituted stone (highly durable) with added benefit of being comprised of industry by-product

WCs

WCs fitted with dual flush cisterns to reduce unnecessary water usage

PIR linked water conservation devices to be fitted for additional savings

Electrical

Light fittings will use low-energy lamps to reduce consumption

Passive infra-red sensors will ensure optimum energy savings

High-powered, energy-efficient hand driers will remove paper waste

ISO 14001
As part of Henley Business School’s commitment to reducing its impact on the environment, we are submitting an application to achieve accreditation to ISO 14001, the Environment Management Systems Standard.

As part of this process we are conducting a supply chain review of all Henley’s suppliers and contractors and will be asking all of them to complete a questionnaire relating to their Environmental policies.

The form can be downloaded here.

Energy Audit
Carbon Footprint – We are Carbon Neutral on staff air travel through offsetting emissions with Climate Care.

The following initiatives are currently under consideration:

Solar Panels
Wind turbines
Green electricity