New company living values with Green Training

A new company has been launched which aims to set new environmental standards within the workplace.

The Green Insurance Company offers competitively priced car insurance which will offset 100 per cent of customersí carbon emissions at no additional cost, as well as many other green benefits.

Committed to being green inside and out, the company has pledged to reduce its environmental impact by living its values and investing in staff training.

All employees were given special environmental awareness training.

Alongside Business Environmental Partnership (BEP), the training course covered a diverse range of related environmental topics including biodiversity, climate change, renewable energy and fossil fuels.

The classroom-based training was followed by four site visits including a landfill site, recycling centre, windfarm and a biodiversity site.

Jennifer Morrow, newly recruited insurance consultant, said: ìThe visit to the landfill site really opened my eyes to just how much rubbish we all throw out -I now make sure that I recycle everything that I can.

ìThe training programme was excellent and Iím sure if other companies done the same, landfill sites would be a bit emptier.î

Culminating in a greener working day, TGIC employees were challenged to consider their environmental impact in the workplace and practical steps that they could take to reduce this.

Andrew McMillan, managing director, said: ìThe five-day course was an initial introduction, however we plan to cover more specific topics on an ongoing basis.

ìWe are also looking to gain ISO 14001 accreditation and this will be linked with the development of our personnel as well as further improving our environmental procedures.î

The company has also provided each employee with an eco-friendly Toyota Prius hybrid car.

All staff are also given the opportunity of up to three paid days per year to participate in community and environmental projects. Five per cent of annual profits have also been pledged to sustainable environmental projects.

Andrew added: ìFor us, going green isnít just a fad or business opportunity.

ìWe really want to make a difference and that means leading by example. The Green Insurance Company is determined to show both customers and businesses that it can be easy to be green.

ìWe encourage our employees to be as green as possible in their every day lives and the new fleet of Prius hybrids will definitely help reduce their carbon emissions for both commuting and pleasure - what we canít reduce, we then offset.

ìCarbon neutral is the current buzz word but I believe that combining environmental awareness and action is the most powerful thing that business can do to combat the growing issue of climate change. As always it starts with people and business needs to realise the important role it has to play in educating its staff and customers.î