Recently, we’ve been making efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and have a more positive impact on the planet.

What are we currently doing?

We’ve replaced all lights in our properties with LEDs and we’re exploring new heating technologies in some of our properties to switch from using gas boilers. We don’t like our furniture to go to landfill, so we try to repair and repurpose as much as possible and work with organisations like Slate to make sure anything we no longer need goes to a good home.

We’re phasing out disposable cups and other unnecessary single use plastics at our developments and offices. We’re encouraging all of our tenants and visitors to use a reusable bottle or cup, and we give keep cups to all residents when they first move into our developments. We currently purchase renewable energy for our offices and have installed food waste bins for composting in our staff kitchens.

How can I recycle more?

Recycling can work different in different areas of the country and we know it can be confusing when you first move somewhere new. We’ve collected all the information and guidance in one place to make it easy for you to find out how and where to recycle in your area. Take a look at this here.

There are also many smaller recycling areas and bins where you can take items that are typically trickier to recycle. You can find these here. Zero Waste Leeds also regularly share great tips and ideas on how to recycle more. Buy Nowt LS6’s Library of Things has recently started up in Headingley, a pay-as-you feel library of DIY equipment, homeware, camping equipment and more, encouraging people to borrow items rather than buy them.

Spring clean!

Don’t leave all of your cleaning and clearing out until the end of the year. End of tenancies often come at the same time as exams and other celebrations and it can end up being a really stressful time if you’ve got loads of clothes and furniture you can’t take to your next house or back home with you.

You can take your clothes to local charity shops and try reselling some of your uni textbooks on Facebook groups or secondhand sites (such as UnidBooks Leeds). The British Red Cross offer a free postal donation service for your preloved clothes. If you’re moving into a new property, Facebook groups and marketplaces are great places to pick up secondhand furniture and homeware often for a much better price.

In Leeds this summer, we’ll be supporting The Big Clear Out programme and trying to reduce end of tenancy waste as much as possible. You can donate items that you no longer need and these will be reused by people who need them, saving perfectly good items from being thrown away. Look out for more information about donation points.

Using Your Heating

Now that it’s getting warmer and spring is here, it’s important that you know how to use your heating so you’re not wasting energy during the warmer months. The biggest proportion of Unipol’s carbon footprint comes from energy usage. If you’re not sure how to use your heating, we have guides for each boiler here and you can give us a call to come out and show you how it works if you’re still not sure. You should never need electric heaters and if you do, something is wrong with your heating so please give us a call.

We know there is lots more to do, so we recently ran our Sustainability Survey which enabled Unipol tenants to let us know how we can make it easier for them to live more sustainably in our properties. Responses to the survey are currently being analysed and we will start working on the next steps straight away!