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Section 3: Create your clean air plan

Working with businesses to create this initiative, perhaps the most common question we were asked was, “what do you expect of us and what should our clean air plan include”? The simple answer is that we want businesses to establish a plan that they would be proud to share with their customers. There are no rules as to how many actions must be selected or the level of change that the plan commits to as every business is unique. Your plan will also change over time.

 

We have provided three example plans for fictional companies from a range of sectors, to help you develop an appropriate Clean Air Plan for your business. We encourage you to review these plans before creating your own, to understand the tone, balance and type of actions to set. Businesses are encouraged to share plans of a similar style with internal and external stakeholders. Companies are encouraged to establish “SMART” targets to sit behind each action and enable the effective delivery of the ambitions laid out in the plan. 

 

We appreciate that some businesses will make progress faster than others and some businesses will have more to change than others. We therefore allow each business to assess its commitment to change. The one review we will do is to ask any individual signatory of the Business For Clean Air initiative to improve its plan if we feel that plan is insignificant compared to the detrimental impact that the business has on air quality.

Principle contractor for residential and commercial buildings. 8,000 UK employees. 20 live projects.

 

Business Model

We will encourage customers to incorporate clean air measures at the planning stage of construction projects – ranging from EV and cycling infrastructure, to minimising intake of pollution in to the buildings via air handling systems

 

Operations and supply chain

  • We will continually explore new solutions to go beyond minimum standards for managing onsite pollution, including dust management and using diesel generators
  • We will minimise traffic to site through consolidating journeys and maximising load of vehicles that leave the site
  • We will minimise the pollution of inevitable traffic by utilising zero emission vehicles where possible and deploying a no-idling policy for waiting vehicles
  • We will deploy air quality monitoring at all sites and respond to any peaks in pollution with immediate action

 

Employees

  • We will ensure our employees have all relevant protection and training to avoid excessive exposure to air pollution whilst working on our sites
  • We will assist our employees to be able to commute without a car, offering public transport loans and cycle purchase schemes.

Multinational advertising and public relations firm. 20,000 employees. 4,000 clients.

 

Business Model

  • We will incorporate air quality related messaging and campaigns into account plans for our clients in relevant sectors, such as FMCG, property, health and transport.
  • We will deliver training and information about climate change and air quality to relevant employees, in order to scale up the number and effectiveness of purpose-driven campaigns with clients.

 

Operations and supply chain

 

  • We will understand the modes of delivery used by relevant suppliers and then set an engagement plan in place to support them transition to EVs, bike couriers and implement backhauling practices.
  • We will work with the largest managers of our offices to set improvement plans for indoor air quality, through measures such as improved ventilation and green spaces  
  • We will phase out non-electric vehicles in our company car fleet over the next 5 years, supported by practices such as salary sacrifice purchasing, EV test ride days and the introduction of charging points at our locations

 

Employees

  • We will invest in effective agile working technologies to ensure that all employees can cut down on unnecessary business travel and commuting
  • We will roll out a series of culture change seminars and campaigns internally and with clients to support employees to create smarter and more sustainable travel decisions.

 

 

Mobile network provider and internet service provider. 15,000 employees. 15 million customers.

 

Business Model

  • We will use our influence with corporate customers to encourage greater adoption of flexible working practices by their employees
  • We will use our influence with our business partners which provide mobiles, tablets and laptops to minimise use of materials that create significant emissions in their production, use and end of life  
  • We will support our customers to recycle devices at end of life to ensure they do not find their way to junkyards where valuable materials are stripped from electronics in open forges or fires

 

Operations and supply chain

  • We will minimise road journeys in the supply and delivery of our products and use non-fossil fuel burning transportation for last mile deliveries
  • In our office based locations we will eliminate sources of pollution inside workplaces and remove pollutants through ventilation or purification
  • In our retail based locations we will collaborate with other retailers and property managers to improve local air quality, such as arranging car free streets or improving public transport provision 

 

Employees

  • We will minimise air and road travel by using technology for meetings and to allow employees to work from anywhere
  • We will work with our employees to trial product disposal take back schemes with a view to rolling these out to customers