In order to meet our vision and mission, and continue to maintain the highest standards of best practice, the LEAD International Board of Directors have adopted the following Policy Statements which are subject to frequent review and amendment to ensure they continue to be fit for purpose in a changing world:

LEAD International Sustainability Policy LEAD International is committed to acting in the most sustainable way possible in delivering its mission of inspiring leadership and change for a sustainable world.

LEAD International wishes to encourage sustainable ways of carrying out its functions and to discourage practices that are wasteful or damaging from a sustainability point of view. Accordingly, it is the policy of the LEAD International to:

• Implement monitoring systems to measure and reduce any adverse environmental impact from its activities;
• Promote awareness and understanding of sustainability issues among its staff, partners and wider network;
• Ensure that this policy, and any reports and reviews of LEAD's sustainability performance, are communicated to staff and published on its website;
• Review and update this policy where appropriate;
• Comply with all relevant environmental legislation and codes of best practice.

In implementing this policy LEAD International will address specifically but not exclusively the areas below:

Travel

LEAD International recognises that climate change is a major threat to sustainable development and that CO2 emissions resulting from air travel by staff, Board Members, Associates or Fellows in the course of LEAD activities, are the biggest harmful LEAD contribution to climate change. Some air travel is essential for LEAD to carry out its activities, but LEAD International will seek to minimise it and to look for alternatives where possible. LEAD International feels it is important to focus on reducing emissions before considering offset options, but will use an offset provider to offset the impact of unavoidable travel.

• LEAD International will seek to achieve alternative modes of communication to reduce the need for physical meetings.
• LEAD International will seek to use local people to deliver its work where possible in order to reduce the need for air travel or minimise distances travelled.
• LEAD International will encourage responsible travel behaviour by third parties associated with LEAD activities.
• LEAD International will look for alternatives to air-travel over smaller regions, and will encourage the use of lower-carbon options.
• LEAD International will monitor its use of air travel to identify where significant changes can be made and to set targets for the future.
• LEAD International will use public transport where possible. In the event that a vehicle has to be hired for LEAD use, it will seek to use the lowest carbon vehicle available.
• LEAD International will offset carbon usage as a last resort on unavoidable travel.

Energy

LEAD International will strive to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions resulting from energy (electricity) use as part of our operational activities. We will monitor and reduce our energy use where possible, and purchase the energy we do use from a sustainable source.

• LEAD International will monitor the energy use of its secretariat office to identify base-line operational energy use for fundamental equipment and identify key factors that influence levels of energy use.
• LEAD International will use the information acquired from monitoring to inform the setting of energy reduction targets.
• LEAD International will purchase its electricity from sustainable sources.
• LEAD International will encourage staff to be aware of unnecessary energy use and to be vigilant in switching off equipment and lighting.
• LEAD International will discourage the use of climate control systems (air-conditioning and heating) unless absolutely necessary.

Materials (waste and consumption of resources)

LEAD International will strive to reduce the amount of resources used in our operational activities in order to decrease the amount of waste that is produced by the organisation and its staff. Waste materials will be recycled and re-used where possible, and responsible procurement will be undertaken to minimise the ecological footprint of the resources that are used.

• LEAD International will seek to reduce the amount of paper used in the office by encouraging double-sided printing and re-using paper printed on only one side.
• LEAD International will provide information and facilities to ensure materials that can be recycled are diverted from becoming waste.
• LEAD International will purchase office paper and stationery items with a high recycled material content where possible.
• LEAD International will encourage responsible resource use by partners and participants during LEAD events.
• LEAD will consider the social and environmental impacts of products procured for LEAD use.

Review and Development

This Sustainability Policy will be monitored and reviewed annually as part of a continuous process to improve LEAD’s sustainable practices. Through this review process we plan to develop a shared Sustainability Policy among all Member Programmes, and consider the more widespread impacts of our work through our partners, projects and clients.