Our mission is to create a world where people and wildlife can thrive together. 'Walking the talk’ is essential to achieving this. Our responsibility does not end with influencing others to safeguard the natural world through their key decisions – we must also play our part, reducing our own impacts as well as inspiring others to do the same. We've come a long way since our first environmental policy was launched in 1989, but we'll always be working to improve our environmental performance.

In 2008 we became certified to the environmental management standard ISO 14001 and have upheld this certification every year since. Most recently, we moved our head office to a bespoke designed building - The Living Planet Centre - which was awarded a top rating of 'Outstanding' by BREEAM; an internationally recognised environmental assessment for buildings. 

Below is a summary of our key areas of environmental performance, for more details about how we set targets for these areas please read our Environmental Goals. Each year we publish an Environmental Report which summarises our performance against our targets, these can be downloaded below.

Water is an important natural resource so we try to use as little as possible in our offices.

The Living Planet Centre uses recycled rainwater and greywater (from sinks and showers) to flush the toilets and water the plants. This system reduces the mains water we use by over 50%. A leak detection system means we find out about leaks quickly, limiting the water lost. 

Features like dual flush toilets, automatic taps in bathrooms and 'zip' taps in kitchens also help reduce water usage.

The products and services we buy don’t just have a carbon footprint, they have a social and economic impact too. At WWF-UK we want to make sure the things we buy align with our values and are truly sustainable, reducing resource consumption and waste where possible, and taking active steps to review our supply chain and the products we buy. To help us do this, we have several environmental policies which help our staff purchase goods and services produced in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Our policies focus on maximising the use of natural, sustainable materials, considering the whole life cycle of products - not just how it was made but how it will be recycled at the end of its use. You can access copies of these policies in the 'Resources' section below. 

As of 2021, we are now starting to implement ISO 20400, the International Standard in Sustainable Procurement. To help colleagues assess supplier credentials, we’ve developed a supplier questionnaire that asks various

sustainability questions under three pillars: environmental, social and economic. It then assigns a score and notes

any areas of concern. We use this questionnaire during the quotes and tenders stage so colleagues can use the

scores to influence their decision and work with suppliers to set sustainability targets as part of their contract.

Our planet is being pushed to its limits. We're consuming resources at a rate that is unsustainable, and this is leading to effects such as climate change, pollution and the loss of wildlife and wild places. The good news is we can all play our part to stop this – at home and at work. We have a variety of resources available to help organisations to consider their environmental footprint and make positive changes to become more sustainable. We've included links to our environmental policies and our Sustainable Office Guide below. The Sustainable Office Guide details why it's important to take action on different areas such as business travel, finance, procurement and emissions, as well as advising on how to calculate your footprint in these areas and tips for taking action.