- Conference
- 2007 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 27 February 2007
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference welcomes the environmental campaign work that UNISON has undertaken over the previous year. Our union has a strong record on the environment, which has included both work place specific activities, such as negotiating green travel plans, cycle to work schemes and re-cycling facilities, and support for national and international campaigns, such as the call for sustainable transport policies and support for WaterAid, for whom our members have raised thousands of pounds and with whom we helped campaign for the achievement of the Millennium Goal of halving the number of people without access to clean water and adequate sanitation by 2015.
During 2006/7 we have built upon this record, again recognising the value of activity in the workplace and the support that we can provide to national and international campaigns. This has seen UNISON:
1)developing a campaign to get employers to provide clean mains drinking water in the workplace;
2)campaigning alongside other member unions of the Trade Union Sustainable Development Advisory Committee for an amendment to the ACAS code of practice, so that trade union environmental reps get facilities time;
3)holding a one day conference on greening the public services;
4)becoming the first trade union to sign-up to the environmental campaign organisation Stop Climate Chaos;
5)supporting Greenpeace in their campaign for a judicial review of the way in which the government made its decision to push ahead with a new generation of nuclear power stations;
6)supporting the Friends of the Earth campaign for a Climate Change Bill;
7)establish a UNISON taskforce, so that we can get our own house in order by looking at what actions we have to take as an organisation to address our carbon footprint;
However, we recognise that we cannot afford to be complacent. As the scientific evidence provided by the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change becomes irrefutable it is up to us all to become involved.
Conference therefore calls upon the National Executive Council to develop a programme of work which includes:
a)producing a step-by-step guide to greening your workplace for use by all branches;
b)developing guidance for branches to ensure that steps to prevent climate change do not fall adversely on pay and conditions of members;
c)developing web resources and an e-network to better support networks of members and representatives with environmental responsibilities in their workplaces;
d)actively supporting Stop Climate Chaos to campaign for an effective Climate Change Bill and a comprehensive successor to the Kyoto agreement, which expires in 2012;
e)promoting UNISON’s low-carbon energy policy through our utilities campaign group (PURGe);
f)work with partner transport unions to campaign for sustainable transport policies and examine issues such as quality contracts and comprehensive road pricing schemes in an effort to reduce congestion and emissions;
g)review the provision of UNISON conference/seminar bags and other ‘freebies’ to ensure that they are of minimal environmental impact.