Earth Day is a key event in the environmental calendar. It’s over 50 years old and its purpose is to activate the environmental movement worldwide. This means getting people talking about their impact on the planet and the steps we can all take to reduce the damage we are causing to the world’s ecosystems.
This year’s Earth Day strap line is:“As the world returns to normal, we can’t go back to business as usual”. This is a really powerful statement and one which we are sure many of you will agree with. COVID 19 has forced all of us to make changes to our lives. Our travel footprint for example, has massively reduced as last year we drove 560,000 miles less, and as a consequence saved approximately112 tonnes of carbon. With the introduction of home working and the acceleration of flexible working, we will be aiming to keep our impact low and we definitely won't be returning to ‘business as usual’.
It’s not just about making changes to the way we do things. It’s also about helping to restore, what we have previously damaged or destroyed. That’s why the theme for Earth Day’ 2022 is ‘Invest In Our Planet’. For DHMS Civils, investing in our planet, means putting back the things we take form the earth, which are all too often taken for granted. Recently we have supported The Green Task Force in South Wales, re-wilding trees, whilst using allocated DHMS volunteering days to support the tree planting event. They support ex-forces veteran's suffering with their mental health and PTSD by enrolling and training them in horticultural skills and therapies.
For us the event was both rewarding and an eye opener. It was great to be involved in ‘re-foresting’ in Torfaen, where 4000 native saplings we planted, not only ‘Investing in our planet', but also brightening up the woodlands and communal park areas within the region.
Engaging with environmental charities is only part of DHMS Civils journey to Net Zero. Our Science based target backed plan will see DHMS become net positive by 2035. We are already delivering on the first part of our journey by electrifying our car and van fleet and battery technologies and operating our buildings more efficiently. These are all part of our roadmap to Net Zero.
But for now, We ask you to join us in continuing to ‘Invest In Our Planet’ and aim to restore the natural beauty of our earth where we can.
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