Examples of action on climate change

Many respondents said their organisation had no specific policy regarding climate change. However unions continue to strive to bring about improvements in this area.

Assessing risks in buildings

A PCS rep working at the Department for Work and Pensions says there has been a recent assessment of the flood risk of all major buildings, and a UNISON rep working for a local authority explains that they are working on the production of a flood risk management strategy and the adoption of sustainable drainage systems, as well as making efforts to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.

At the National Library of Wales, a Prospect rep said the library has a disaster emergency plan to cope with most eventualities; and a UNISON rep for a gas company was able to report that indoor temperatures have been a lot better recently since UNISON thermometers have been distributed throughout the building.

The employees

A PCS rep for the Welsh Assembly says there is now updated advice on travelling to work in extreme weather or when there are transport problems. Similarly a UCU rep from a Scottish university explains that due to extremely cold weather last year and storms this year, the university is now telling staff to make arrangements to work from home when these are forecast. A CWU rep at Parcelforce says they now have water coolers installed in the warehouse because of the recent hot weather.

Policy

A UNISON rep for a local authority said all services are required to write a business continuity plan which takes account of climate change. Meanwhile at telecoms giant BT, a Prospect rep explains that the company now has one of the UK’s most demanding and wide-ranging green procurement policies, that insists that all of the company’s thousands of suppliers adhere to a package of sustainable best practices. He explains that the policy imposes three minimum expectations on all of the BT's contracted suppliers, requiring them to produce a formal climate change policy, report on their annual greenhouse gas emissions, and demonstrate emission reduction targets.

Training

A Prospect rep at the Countryside Council for Wales says they are taking climate change seriously: “We have had staff training on climate change and its impact for all staff and we have conducted research into the impact of climate change on the organisation’s work.” PCS reps at Scottish National Heritage say the employer ran a training event on adapting land management in a changing climate and FBU reps report that Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service have provided additional training and equipment for water safety and rescue provisions.

PCS reps working for the Welsh Assembly says they now have updated advice on travelling to work in extreme weather. However a CWU rep based in distribution said staff training is haphazard and very much depends on the line manager’s knowledge and interest.