At Brampton College we are determined and passionate about playing our part in climate action. We have formalized this commitment by becoming an official member of ‘1% for the Planet’, a network of like-minded individuals, businesses, donors and nonprofit organisations working together toward a common goal: protecting the future of our planet. By becoming a member, we pledge 1% of our turnover every year to environmental causes or charities that make a genuine and positive impact on our planet in six core areas: climate, food, land, pollution, water and wildlife.
The Brampton Charitable Trust has for many years supported environmental causes, donating over £30,000 last year to charities including WWF, Woodland Trust, Sea Shepherd, Cool Earth and the Wilderness Foundation. By signing up to 1% for the Planet we are making a formal commitment to increase our support to such worthy and vital causes.
“Code red for humanity”
Human activity is changing the climate in unprecedented and sometimes irreversible ways, says the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released in August. The landmark study warns of increasingly extreme heat waves, droughts and flooding, and a key temperature limit being broken in just over a decade. The report “is a code red for humanity”, says the UN chief.
Scientists say a catastrophe can be avoided if the world acts fast. There is hope that deep cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases could stabilise rising temperatures. Echoing the scientists’ findings, UN Secretary General António Guterres said:
“If we combine forces now, we can avert climate catastrophe. But, as today’s report makes clear, there is no time for delay and no room for excuses. I count on government leaders and all stakeholders to ensure COP26 is a success.”
UN Secretary General António Guterres
Committed to reducing our carbon footprint
We also feel strongly that we need to look inwards to explore how we as a business can address our carbon emissions. Back in the spring, we instructed an external agency to conduct a carbon footprint assessment, and we will be working on various initiatives to enable us to become carbon-neutral.
In addition, the college has a dedicated Green Committee of passionate students and staff, who are working on a number of environmental projects, including valuable research and student engagement programmes. We feel it is our duty to help educate the younger generation about the global crisis and lead by example. It is imperative that we act now and believe collaboration is the way forward. As 1% for the Planet says,
“We’ve seen firsthand how a single collective action by a dedicated group of people can create a world of difference. Our impact is not simply the movement of money toward a worthy cause. It’s businesses and individuals taking responsibility for the environment….collectively taking action.”
We hope you support us in our efforts and we look forward to being able to keep you up to date with all our environmental projects in the coming months.
