What are our environmental responsibilities? It’s a question that is so broad that there is no simple answer. As a company though, we endeavour to tackle this question by evaluating how we can make improvements. To make changes wherever we can and to ensure we are creating an environmentally friendly place in both our workspace and the world around us.

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By looking at each area of our business, we strive to make changes to minimise our carbon footprint by reducing our environmental impact. It’s an ongoing project but each year we evaluate how and what we can do to play our part in this urgent world issue. As the company continues to grow globally, we continue to assess how we can best continue to minimise our footprint. We cannot fix the environment, but we can help it. Here's what we were up to in 2021.

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Electric Dreams

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Electric cars contribute to cleaner, greener streets. As they have no exhaust, electric cars will not produce any carbon dioxide emissions and thus help to reduce air pollution.

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In 2021, we purchased three electric vehicles and installed an electric charging point at our head office, FinTrU House.

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Family Trees

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An initiative which began in 2021 saw us plant 700 trees, one for each employee. This was part of an environmental project in conjunction with Belfast City council. As those trees grow, so does FinTrU, and we aim to continue to plant trees annually as part of this commitment to the environment. This year we will be planting 1000 trees.

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Positive Impact

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Since 2018, FinTrU has partnered with environmental and social impact company, ClimateCare. This allows us to offset any carbon emissions by turning them into credits which can be used in world-leading initiatives such as the clean cooking projects in Kenya and Ghana which aims to halve fuel bills for families and reduce exposure to toxic fumes.

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With our carbon footprint having been significantly reduced due to the pandemic last year we doubled our financial contribution to the scheme.

 

 

Let The Sunshine In​

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Last year, we installed 38 solar panels onto property at FinTrU House, our head office in Belfast. While Northern Ireland might not be the first stop for the sun the effect of even a small quantity of panels in a less sunny climate can be significant. It is estimated that this installation will reduce our carbon emissions by 3.6 tonnes each year.

 

 

Recycling Information

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While environmental issues cannot be missed, whether it be through news channels or social media posts or simply from the world around us, few of us are experts on the subject. A big part of continuing to stay focussed on such areas is learning from those actual experts. As part of our in-house Lunch & Learn sessions, where we invite experts along to talk about important societal topics, our ECO Committee hosted a talk with sustainability expert, Pat Kane, who shed some light on the best practices we can employ in our day-to-day life. This is something that goes beyond the company, feeding into employees’ lives both in and out of work.

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Drastic on Plastic­­

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Of the 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste the world has produced since the 50s, only 9% of it has been recycled. It's a sobering statistic which is why we are making every effort to reduce our contribution to waste. The plastic life-cycle, from production to disposal, brings with it CO2 emissions. Less plastic also means a reduction of contamination in the air, earth and oceans by reducing landfill and waste  being disposed of by incineration. This year, we have continued to ensure all our  promotional and marketing materials are plastic free, including: 

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• reusable water bottles and Keep Cups

• wooden and bio-plastic pens

• reusable bags

• FinTrU-branded notebooks

• eco-friendly umbrellas (made from 100% recycled product)

• company hoodies and gilets (100% environmentally friendly)

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Our dedicated Eco Committee will be working with senior management once again throughout 2022 on new initiatives in order to do our very best for the environment.

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For more information on our environment policy, please visit: Environment | FinTrU

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