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Green your workplace

We believe that if we are to tackle climate change we have to negotiate changes to the way we work. Over two thirds of UK carbon dioxide emissions are work related.

The public sector alone accounts for approximately 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per annum. And as recent surveys by the TUC and Labour Research Department have shown, there is overwhelming support amongst trade unionists for the introduction of green measures at work.

Government measures, such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment, as well as new climate change related initiatives in local government and the health service (see UNISON’s policy document on climate change, the environment and the workplace) demonstrate how this issue will increasingly be part of the mainstream for many public sector workers in the months and years ahead.

Along with other trade union members of the Trade Union Sustainable Development Advisory Committee (TUSDAC) UNISON are now lobbying government to recognise the role that trade union environmental representatives can play in helping to tackle climate change at work, by:

• carrying out environmental audits and walkabout surveys
• making environmental risk assessments
• communicating with members about the environment at work
• working with managers to establish environmental updates

Until we achieve success in this campaign we will continue to support branches to negotiate agreements locally in their own workplaces.

Support for trade union environmental reps
To become a trade union environmental rep you need to speak to your branch secretary who will give you advice and guidance on how you get branch support to take this work forward.

The draft job description and a model agreement will give you some idea about what the role entails, and how you can get your employer to sign up. Both of these documents are intended as resources that can be adapted to suit your particular workplace

Download
Job description for environmental reps (word doc)
Model environmental and climate change agreement (word doc)

Courses for trade union environmental reps are regularly advertised on the TUC’s Unionlearn website http://www.unionlearn.org.uk/

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