Sustainability

Sustainability Principles
With the desire to operate more sustainability, we have taken the following approach to our practices:
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Considering the effect that our operations may have on the local and wider community.
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Taking action to eliminate or reduce, as far as practicable, any potential adverse environmental impacts.
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Behaving in a considerate and socially responsible manner.
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Ensuring effective and expedient incident control, investigation, and reporting.



Sustainability Approach
All Aboard Charity Shops is a professional and environmentally aware organisation that acknowledges the impact its operations may potentially have on the environment and so we are continually monitoring our energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions. We aim to work towards environmental best practice and minimise any impact on the environment wherever possible.
Sustainability In Action

On a micro level, we have already stopped the procurement of single use plastics, continue our migration from paper-based to digital-first reporting and communications and reducing travel / facilitating car-sharing where possible. On a macro level, we also continue to reduce our carbon footprint by moving towards more efficient energy use across our shop portfolio and haulage.

Due to the significant increase in wholesale price of energy in early 2022 we made the decision to convert all traditional lighting sources across the charity to LED bulbs. Despite the sizeable initial investment to replace the legacy fluorescent bulbs, we have realised a substantial cost saving on our annual energy bills, a reduction in heat emissions as well as being able to present a more uniform light displacement across each shop.

We took the first steps in moving our fleet of 6 vehicles (3 x diesel vans & 3 x petrol self-charging hybrid vehicles) to all electric power in 2023. As each vehicle’s lease term ends it will be replaced with an equivalent electric vehicle. At the 2024 year end, our van fleet was almost exclusively electric, bar one diesel van that will be replaced at the end of its lease term in 2025.

Working with our new recycling partner ‘Choice’, we are now able to better estimate our carbon saving across the shops, head office and warehouse operations. From 1st January 2024 to 31st December 2024, All Aboard Charity Shops estimate a total reduction in landfill waste of 3,904,477 kg.CO2e/Tonne - Carbon WARM, normalised vs landfill (kg.CO2e/tonne).
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Textiles – 3,835,749 kg
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Books / Paper – 59,015 kg
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Glass / Ceramics – 9,711 kg
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