Accreditation and Green Mark

In the first few meetings of the Sustainability Project Group, we focused on brainstorming on various different topics; including finding the right partner to support us with accreditation. We looked at several different potential partners, eventually deciding to go with Green Mark as we were impressed with the consultative approach that they offered.

So, having worked closely with our consultant, we accomplished Level 1 accreditation in July 2021 by:

• Taking a deep-dive into the business and how it operates, looking to see if there were any changes we could make to become more sustainable.
• Implementing a new sustainability policy covering the business and its outputs, outlining our social, environmental, and economic commitments.
• Implementing a new policy for the team, who are predominantly home working, to ensure that staff are being as environmentally conscious as possible, even when working remotely.

Achieving Green Mark Level 2 and 3

After the success of achieving Level 1, we then went on to achieve Level 2 in July 2022, and Level 3 ahead of schedule in May 2023. We achieved this positive growth by:

• Further improving our sustainability policies to ensure all bases were covered – both for the business and for the individuals we employ.
• Looking at our procurement processes and suppliers to see if we could make positive changes to help us support our green goals.
• Continuing to reduce the carbon footprint of the company by minimising business travel and operating almost entirely remotely.

Level 3 accreditation is currently the highest level attainable for companies going through the Green Mark process.

What’s next for Parliament Hill?

It is extremely important to us that we continue to engage with all of our stakeholders; clients, board, suppliers, and partners, so that we can continue on our sustainability journey. We have really enjoyed the collaborative approach that Green Mark have taken, while we embarked on our accreditation journey.  

Jamie Craddock, Customer Support Executive at Green Mark said “we’ve really enjoyed working with Parliament Hill and supporting them on their journey. We look forward to continuing this partnership in future.”

Now, almost four years on from the beginning of this journey, sustainability is embedded as a core value in the Parliament Hill ethos. And what about the next four years? There will be more to come, but in the short-term we want to engage more with our clients and set up a community of practice to share knowledge and best practice. 

We would love to hear from you on your sustainability journey – please do get in touch!

If you would like to find out more about Parliament Hill’s sustainability journey please click here or get in touch at info@parliament-hill.co.uk