Environmental statement

The new strategy represents an increase in our ambition to maximise the societal, environmental, and economic benefit of physics. We will achieve this through partnerships with government, industry, and academia, as well as building on the foundations created over the last five years.

These foundations include our flagship community space and office in London’s King’s Cross, which showcases ground source heating, a blue and green roof as well as concrete to save energy heating and cooling; all of which are a demonstration of intelligent design and achieved us BREEAM Excellence status along with several other awards. 

We recognise our environmental responsibilities and are committed to contributing to the reduction of local, national, and global environmental damage by aiming for net zero by 2030 or sooner. The leadership of the IOP have agreed that the organisation should increase its environmental awareness and every two years, when a new IOP President takes office, we renew this statement. It sets out the steps we will take to reduce the environmental impact of its activities, influence and inspire other organisations. and promote environmental good practice within our communities.

This environmental statement is designed to be a focus for heightened environmental awareness, encouraging staff to assess the environmental impacts arising from their activities and seeking ways to mitigate adverse impacts and improve environmental performance.

We are committed to:

• Conserving energy; giving preference to renewable sources of energy and related materials.
• Complying with all applicable environmental legislation and relevant codes of practice.
• Encouraging all staff to improve their awareness of the environment and to become more environmentally responsible.
• Using our position to communicate and promote the critical role physics has in establishing a sustainable society.
• Reducing our carbon footprint from utilities and transport associated with our operations and events across the United Kingdom and Ireland to net zero.
• Stop waste through upcycle, recycle, reusable items, working with ethical partners, and purchasing sustainable supplies.

To achieve this, we aim to:

• Reduce our use of energy through improvements to energy efficiency, creating awareness of staff working remotely, and the substitution to renewable energy sources where possible.
• Minimise waste by reducing consumption and developing effective waste management and recycling procedures.
• Ensure that all staff are given the opportunity to take an active role in implementing environmental best practice.
• Work with our suppliers to ensure they share our commitment and practices.
• Monitor and measure our energy consumption to optimise our energy efficiency and reduce travel unless it is avoidable.

Signed:

Professor Sheila Rowan CBE FRS FRSE Hon.FInstP
President
Institute of Physics

Mr Tom Grinyer
Chief Executive Officer
Institute of Physics