Thank you for signing up!
Thanks for taking the Marine Pollution Pledge
By taking the Marine Pollution Pledge, your business is agreeing to try and implement some of the suggestions below to help reduce it's impact on our incredible seas. Our marine team will be with you every step of the way, discussing what is realistic for your business and how you can achieve it.
Our marine team will be in touch soon to provide you with personalised support.
In the meantime, if you have already made changes within your business to help save our seas, we would love to hear about it at livingseas@ywt.org.uk
What can your business do?
We've put together some suggestions for your business, ranked in order of difficulty, with bronze being easiest to implement. For those ocean lovers wanting a bit more of a challenge, give our gold ideas a try! Explore them below...
Bronze
- Ensure your office has full recycling facilities/boxes/containers and staff know hot to recycle.
- Carry out a single use and plastic packaging audit within your business to identify what products can be changed (we can provide this service).
- Do not automatically give customers single use products, such as coffee cup lids or straws, unless they ask for it.
- TerraCycle is a company that recycles the ‘non-recyclable’. Become a TerraCycle collection point and help to divert millions of pounds of waste from landfills and incinerators each month.
- Advocate for a Deposit Return Scheme for plastic bottles to be introduced in the UK and encourage your customers to do the same.
- If you have a customer toilet within your business, put up signage explaining what should and shouldn’t be flushed (only the 3 PPPs - pee, poo and paper).
- Ensure you are disposing of oil correctly and not pouring it directly down the sink.
- Include signage within your establishment to educate customers about the issue and how you are helping to reduce it (we can work with you to develop this).
- Switch to plastic-free teabags in your communal kitchen (Yorkshire Tea are a good option!).
- Share good practices with other likeminded businesses and why not promote our collaborative work on your website.
- Send an email or update to your employees with hints and tips, such as joining a beach clean with their family.
- Elect a Marine Pollution Champion within your organisation.
- Encourage employees to wear a reusable face mask.
Silver
- Change to suppliers who use less or no single-use and non-recyclable plastic packaging.
- Swap single use plastic items to less harmful materials such as paper straws or wood.
- Become a Refill station and stop selling bottled water. If you sell reusable bottles or coffee cups, provide discounts to customers who bring them in.
- Provide water fountains and reusable bottles/mugs in offices for employees.
- If you sell clothes or washing machines, also include or sell a ‘microfibre catcher’ to ensure these are not leaching into our waters after every wash.
- Invite your employees and colleagues to take part in a litter pick with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Alternatively, we can organise one specifically for your group!
- Use your status as an organisation to encourage good practice in the industry.
- Email conference organisers to encourage them to switch to plastic-free alternatives – use your voice as a customer.
- Organise talks (we can help with this) for your employees regarding marine pollution and how to tackle it.
- Encourage employees to take a reusable cup if you visit coffee shops regularly – perhaps provide a free coffee a month if you do so or provide each employee with a free reusable cup.
- Keep a stock of branded reusable cups (also cutlery) in your office.
Gold
- Increase the price of single use products that you provide to deter customers from using them (the plastic bag 5p charge introduced in October 2015 throughout England reduced plastic bag consumption by a staggering 83%).
- Host a litter picking board. These A-frame boards contain litter pickers and bags and can be placed in front of your business. This allows anyone to borrow the equipment and do a quick litter pick.
- Pledge to support Yorkshire Wildlife Trust as a business member or donate to Give Seas a Chance.
- Become a leader as a single-use, plastic free office or organisation (within achievable parameters such as full recycling and waste disposal, no disposable cups/mugs, plastic-free teabags, free water, litter picking facilities or participation, active advocacy!).
- Fund bins at nature reserves local to your organisation to encourage people to dispose of litter correctly.
- Host one of our marine themed donation boxes to raise money to help protect Yorkshire's seas.
2 minute beach clean
How we can help
- Discount on corporate beach cleans and litter picks organised for your group. We will provide equipment, risk assessments and expert guides
- Discount on litter picking boards to be placed outside your business
- Promotion on Yorkshire Wildlife Trusts website and social media streams
- Support and advice about implementing the above measures to reduce marine pollution
- Certificate for your shop/work place
- Logo to use in email footer and on website
Contact us at livingseas@ywt.org.uk
Once you have agreed what changes you will be implementing within your business with our marine team, we will provide you with a Marine Pollution Pledge logo and certificate to spread the word!
Resources
Explore our resources below for hints and tips. Even printing and displaying them for your colleagues and staff to see is a step in the right direction.
A huge aspect of our ethical success is that I have surrounded my business with people who share similar values. I have a team of local employees, many of which walk to work daily and most of my products are sourced from local suppliers.
