Holmfirth Green Drinks is back for Holme Valley Green Week on Monday 22nd September so we thought we’d share a little blog all about it! Hosted at Café Root in New Mill, it is a relaxed space for people interested in ‘green’ initiatives to get together over a brew, a beer, a flapjack or two. Whether you’re passionate about the local environment, worried about climate change, studying sustainability or just interested in community – it’s the place for you!
The first 30 minutes are all about getting your brew and catching up with friends. We always welcome people as they come in and invite all to make themselves at home. People natter about their work, their interests and their concerns. It’s a hubbub of gentle, friendly conversations without ‘selling’ or scheduled networking.
From 6:30pm we welcome a guest speaker and last month we were joined by Marisa from Smiles in Tandem, a dentist practice in Huddersfield with a strong community feel and a high focus on looking after the planet throughout the workplace. She shared the challenges of minimising waste and carbon footprints whilst working in a clinical setting. But, despite the challenges they celebrate the small wins: introducing reusables wherever possible – they’ve successfully got rid of plastic wipes with a switch to hand towels, using environmentally friendly cleaning products, creating a wild garden space, and improving waste and recycling across the board – the bins keep shrinking! It was really inspiring to hear that all staff are encouraged to complete an e-course on sustainability and an eco-ninja role has been created to ensure that about other things, waste is disposed of properly, deliveries are reduced as is amount of needless packaging.
Smiles in Tandem are one of the first dental practices to complete an environmental audit of the business and in doing so have followed steps to reduce their carbon footprints. They looked at travel of employees and clients – arranging family appointments to cut down on travel times. They discovered hidden carbon reductions by changing staff pensions, and have switched energy supply to renewable energy. All of this has resulted in a Sustainability Award from the Dental Federation and a climate leaders award from ZeroBees.
They have worked together as a practice, in TANDEM! They have challenged the status quo and talk about the sustainability steps they’re taking with customers, who are then making changes in their own homes and workplaces. Smiles in Tandem champion, encourage and inspire.
As always, the presentation resulted in really interesting conversations about the challenges of being green and the need to take action. And the fact that the little wins add up to a BIG DIFFERENCE. The small steps should never be underestimated. We are stewards of our own environments and Green Drinks aims to inspire each of us to take little steps to change the world.
At Green Drinks in September, we have Dark Woods Coffee joining us to share their story of sourcing, roasting, packaging, delivering and drinking ethical coffee! It’s a fascinating business model and we guarantee you’ll leave inspired. Green Drinks is a FREE event but places are limited, so please click here to register your place. And do bring a friend!
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