Our Impact
We take our environmental & social impact seriously, setting stretching impact targets set each year.
Our mission statement is quite simple:
Knowledge, Empowerment, Sustainability: Providing knowledge for personal growth and business success, while promoting sustainable practices that benefit people and the planet.
It’s what we do; not because we have to, but because we should do.
This page provides details of where are and where we’re going in terms of our impact metrics.
We regularly monitor & review our impact targets. If there is something else that we can add, we will, and you’ll be able to read about it on this page.
Our Beliefs
We believe that knowledge is only useful if it’s shared and when shared, great things can happen.
We believe that knowledge and information can be shared with everyone, irrespective of sight loss, hearing impairment or neurodiversity.
We believe that we can all make small differences as individuals, but working with others can magnify our impact.
We believe that globally, some of the biggest challenges we all face are plastic pollution, deforestation and warming seas.
Our Values
- Provide you with the best training possible.
- Learn more today, to be better tomorrow
- Live the Charter for Employers Positive about Mental Health.
- Promote equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Do what’s right, even if it’s not right for us.
- Maintain the highest level of integrity.
- Continually further our commitments to Social Value and Environmental Responsibility.
Carbon Footprint
Website: Our website is continually assessed by a third-party for it’s carbon footprint, with their findings being noted above. We’re proud to say that our website is hosted using carbon-neutral web hosting provided by Google Cloud Platform-powered infrastructure.
Planting Trees: We’re immensely proud to be working in partnership with JUST ONE Tree. Our partnership means that every time you book on a course, we donate a portion of your course fee to JUST ONE Tree.
JUST ONE Tree is a non-profit initiative who work to reverse biodiversity loss through global reforestation, helping to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
JUST ONE Tree plant trees on land and kelp forests in the oceans, restoring the entire ecosystem. Trees are planted in areas severely affected by deforestation to maximise the effect on reducing global warming. In the process, they help to provide agricultural education and sustainable incomes to local communities. In turn, this employment has enabled those caring for seedlings to be able to pay for their children to attend universities, bringing additional wealth and knowledge to these communities.
In February 2023, JUST ONE Tree became an Actor in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. They are part of 200 organisations, nonprofits, and agencies around the world committed to preventing, halting and reversing the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean.
JUST ONE Tree also focus on helping to shape the next generation of planet-conscious thinkers, by bringing environmental education into UK classrooms with lesson plans and JUST ONE Tree Day (15th October).
To date you have helped us fund;
- 2,597 Trees planted
- 32.0 tonnes of CO2 sequestered from the atmosphere each year (approx.)
- 799.88 tonnes of CO2 sequestered from the atmosphere over the next 25 years (approx.)
Thank you!!
Third-Party Certification: Our target for the first half or 2024 is to become a Certified Carbon Literate Organisation. We’re early in the first stages of this process, and we’ll keep you up to date as we progress through this process. Our first target is to gain Bronze accreditation, with a view to gaining Silver in the next 2 two years.
We also have a stretch target for 2024 of becoming a Certified B-Corp. We’re under no illusion of just how challenging this can be, but with a local business who has also managed to gain this certification, it’s an achievable target. We also have a client who is a Certified B-Corp, so the drive to achieve this second certification is there.
Ecosia: In addition to JUST ONE Tree, we now plant trees simply by using Ecosia as our preferred internet search engine. Every search you make via Ecosia removes 1kg of CO2 from the atmosphere. Imagine that! It’s a brilliant way that every business can become greener and it’s absolutely free as the tree planting is paid for by the companies who pay to advertise on Ecosia. 
You can learn more about Ecosia at their website and by watching this video. Create a free account with them and get searching the internet.
Ecosia don’t store your information other than to quantify how many searches you’ve made and trees this equates to. What’s more, is that their search engine is powered by Bing who also power the likes of Duck Duck Go, so you know you’re getting great search results.
Car Sharing: You can help us with our carbon reduction targets by car sharing when coming to our training centre.
We realise that car sharing isn’t always possible, but where there is a group, or even just a few of you attending from the same business, car sharing will reduce our overall carbon footprint and reduce your overall course costs.
It may also reduce the likelihood of you getting a parking fine as fewer cars in Knutsford means more available parking spaces.
Plastic Waste
We’re immensely proud to be members of the Surfers Against Sewage: Ocean Network, removing plastics from the beaches and seas around the UK. 
To date you have helped us fund;
• 52 reusable beach clean kits. These provide collection and safety equipment for 30 amazing volunteers!
• 3,885Kg of plastic removed from UK beaches, streams, mountains and streets. That’s assuming that the beach clean kits are only used once, but as they’re heavy duty and reusable, the actual total could be many times more than this.
We’ve got two of these beach clean rubble sacks as well, collecting another 17.9Kg from just one beach in just a few short walks with the dog. Look out for more images of our beach clean sack in use on our social media posts.
CPR manikins: Our CPR manikins use single-use recyclable plastic lungs, but we’re always looking for more environmentally friendly options. These are broken down into hard and soft plastics & recycled using municipal recycling schemes. CPR manikin faces are also cleaned between use using plastic wipes. Read how we’re managing this below.
Pens: We’ve purchased a brand new type of pen for use on our courses by candidates. The pen is 80% bio-compostable, with the rest being recyclable. The pens can also be refilled, extending their lifespan even further!
All other plastics & packaging is segregated, cleaned where necessary & recycled using commercial & municipal recycling schemes.
Charity Donations And Discounts
North West Air Ambulance Charity
Helicopters are notoriously expensive to run and the NWAA have three EC135 aircraft. These small efficient aircraft ensure that they can get to incidents quickly and land in smaller areas than a larger aircraft would require.
In 2018, they introduced HEMS response vehicles to their fleet. They have now have four vehicles based at their Barton and Blackpool airbases. The BMW X5’s are used for nearby incidents, or where it is not suitable for an aircraft to land, such as city centres. These vehicles also mean they can continue lifesaving work when the helicopters are grounded due to bad weather.
As well as gifting a portion of your course fee to NWAA, you can also add additional monies when you purchase your course. We then add this to our quarterly donation to the North West Air Ambulance Charity.
To date you have helped us fund;
• 753.29 miles of life-saving flight!
Thank you!!
Discounts for Charities: As well as supporting the North West Air Ambulance Charity, we offer a 10% discount to registered charities who book their training with us. The money that they spend on training has been donated to them, so it’s only reasonable to ensure that they get value for money.
Travel and Accommodation
Vehicle use: We travel extensively throughout the UK delivering our courses. While this isn’t exactly environmentally friendly, the concept of the trainer going to the group of students, rather than the other way around, does minimise the road miles per course.
Our current vehicle is Euro 5 Emissions Standard compliant and returns an average of 65-70mpg on motorways & 47mpg around town. It’s also a few years old, meaning that we’re helping by not contributing to additional vehicles on the road, or the use of energy in the production of a new vehicle.
Unfortunately, running an electric vehicle isn’t a practical option at the moment given their range limitations and the weight of equipment that we take to courses.
Accommodation: Travelling more than 2 hours away from our base often necessitates the use of overnight accommodation for our trainers. When booking accommodation, we give precedence to the closeness to the clients venue, the venues environmental credentials and whether it is a small business or a larger chain. Supporting a local B&B can have a much better social impact than booking into a national hotel chain.
Paper and Packaging
We’re continuing to reduce the amount of A4 paper that we use to an absolute minimum.
Paper supplies: All paper used in our office is;
- FSC accredited.
- Totally Chlorine Free (TCF).
- Lower weight paper that has received less chemical treatment.
- From recycled paper or from responsible sources.
In the office: We re-use as much used paper as we can. For example, paper that has single sided printing is used as note paper.
In the classroom: Exam question papers are be reused where possible.
Shredding: Prior to recycling, anything with confidential or identifiable information is cross-cut shred. Under BS EN 15713:2009 paperwork that includes identifiable information (i.e. DIN 66399 data protection Class 1), should be cross-cut shred to <320mm2. Our cross-cut shredder produces particle sizes of 4mm x 10mm. This is regarded as being greater than DIN 66399 Security Level P4 (160mm2) and almost Security Level P5 (30mm2). Shredding at any higher security standard is not regarded as being necessary (by National Protective Security Authority) and would increase our electricity consumption considerably.
Recycling: Paper that doesn’t contain confidential or identifiable information is not shred before being recycled. This also helps to minimise our electrical consumption.
Certificates: All our course certificates are now issued in pdf format by default. This has had a significant impact on the amount of paper that both the Awarding Organisation (for Ofqual accredited courses) & we use. This change has been driven by the expectations of our clients as HR departments expect to receive certificates in electronic format. It also significantly reduces our environmental impact in terms of resources used & the waste products created during printing.
The future: We continue to investigate ways in which we can move our paper forms online. The slight increase in electricity consumption in using electronic forms will far outweigh the amount of electricity used in the production of the paper.
Electricity & Electrical Items
Electrical Supplier: Our office is now powered by E.ON using their 100% renewable electricity supply.
Lighting: Our office only uses LED light bulbs. LEDs consume less electricity, meaning reduced emissions from fossil fuels.
Computers: Our laptop computers still have long battery run times, meaning that some courses can be run “off-grid”. Batteries are replaced, when required, rather than replacing the entire computer as this is generally the greener option. Refurbished laptop computers are purchased for new staff, with preference being given for products that can be proven to be carbon neutral or negative, such as our external keyboards.
Servers: For security, we have moved all data onto an office based server. The only data held on our laptops is our course presentations and blank forms that we can print out if necessary.
Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS): Our office equipment (server, laptop, screens, printers, scanner, etc) are powered by UPS systems. These were sourced as refurbished second hand items.
LED Projector: We have invested in a new LED projector for our training course. This is lighter than previous models and has a built in speaker, meaning less fuel used to take it to courses and less electricity used as we no-longer need a separate speaker system.
Batteries: We use a lot of AA and AAA batteries on our courses as they power our training defibrillators & remote controls. In 2020 we invested in rechargeable batteries & now power all of our training equipment with rechargeable batteries. Our battery rechargers have been upgraded to “intelligent” versions, which only charge batteries as they need it, including trickle charging. This means less electricity used to charge the batteries and that the batteries will last longer over all.
Overall: We continue to maintain a small carbon impact footprint by using IT equipment that is mainly second hand or 4+ years old, reducing our impact on sourcing new materials.
The Future: We are investigating the possibility of a solar system for the office. We are also investigating moving our website to a more ethical hosting provider as part of our new website rollout programme. If we can give back, so should they.
Accessibility and Inclusion
This year we are working to make our courses even more inclusive.
Language: Ofqual regulated course have to be taught and examined in English, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make learning more inclusive for you! We make use of Microsoft’s live translate tool for our learners. We’re also including subtitles for our videos. Where these aren’t available, the live translate tool can create subtitles “on the fly”. This is also used on non-Ofqual regulated courses.
Hearing: For those who have hearing impairments and wear hearing aids that feature the Loop/T setting, we’ve invested in a portable hearing loop system. If you’re coming on a course and have a hearing impairment, simply let us know when you book your place if you’d like to make use of our hearing loop system. We also have a Bluetooth microphone for those that have Bluetooth enabled hearing aids.
Building: Our training centre already has a wheelchair ramp to the front door and a lift to the upper floor of the building. There are disabled access toilets on both the ground floor and upper floor.
Menopause: Occasionally “life” sometimes gets in the way of learning, so we have created a welfare bag that includes emergency essentials for ladies. This forms part of our menopause policy.
Reasonable Adjustments: We’re here to support learners with all different types of learning needs. If you have a learning support need, please contact us before you book your course so that we can investigate whether we can put in place any reasonable adjustments to support your learning and assessment.
Chemicals
Anti-Bacterial and Anti-Viral Cleaning: High-risk training resources, such as our first aid CPR manikins faces are wiped down between each student using them. Traditionally they’ve been wiped down using single-use anti-bacterial/anti-viral wipes, similar to “wet wipes”. Unfortunately these are not the easiest item to recycle in the UK. Wipes that are branded as being “Fine to Flush” don’t possess the same cleaning properties and are being withdrawn from the UK market along with the “Fine to Flush” branding. During Lockdown 1.0, we used a 70% v/v solution of isopropyl alcohol to sanitise our training resources. This worked really well & we have now moved to using cloths made from 90% bamboo (one of the worlds most sustainable fibres) to help ensure the spread of this cleansing solution. As soon as our current supply of manikin wipes is used up, we will only be using the bamboo cloths.
Waste Chemicals: Our use of chemical cleaners & hand sanitiser dramatically increased during Covid-19. We received significant help from Diverse Select, a local company who gifted us a case of alcohol-free hand sanitiser for us to use on our courses. Generally, we produce very little in the way of waste chemicals, other than the diluted sterilisation solution used to clean the first aid manikins. This is a food safe sterilisation chemical (typically Milton, or similar) created in small batches as & when required. It’s then disposed of in accordance with manufacturers instructions.
Single Use Training Products
Gloves: We’re continuing to locate an alternative to single use medical/food grade gloves. These must be equally type approved, but need to be recycleable or locally compostable. Unfortunately all our previously sourced alternatives have proven to be unacceptable.
Bandages: Our first aid training materials are sourced from out of date stock where possible, but we do have to buy in new stock occasionally. Traditionally we’ve re-used our bandages a few times before they become to “tatty” to reuse and we have to replace them. Candidates are always encouraged to take bandages with them to practice with later at home. The plastic wrappers that the bandages come in, along with the paper sleeve, continue to be recycled. We are always glad to receive donations from clients of their out of date resources which can no longer be used in workplace first aid kits. If you have some that we can make use of, please email us so that we can liaise over their collection/delivery.
Crepe bandages: When we use of Crepe bandages, they’re washed between courses to ensure hygiene and safety between uses.
Calico triangular bandages: These are used on multi-day first aid courses & they’re washed between courses to ensure hygiene and safety.
Fire Extinguishers: During our fire marshal courses that include the use of fire extinguishers, we only use extinguishers filled with either water or Carbon Dioxide. All our extinguishers are sourced second-hand & many of them have been refilled prior to acquisition. Our water filled fire extinguishers are refilled by our suppliers, but our CO2 fire extinguishers are more difficult to refill due to the lack of companies who can undertake this work. We now donate all our used CO2 fire extinguishers to a local resident who repurposes them into sculptures and other pieces of artwork.
Food Waste: We produce very little food waste as part of our courses. Naturally there is some waste created by students own lunches which is disposed of in waste bins. During our two day outdoor food safety courses, which include elements of game meat preparation & cookery, there is a greater amount of waste created. This is segregated & disposed of appropriately. Raw & cooked vegetables are composted. Raw meats & carcasses are typically disposed of in accordance with local Environmental Health Officer requirements. On occasion, these are, at the request of the land owners, returned to nature.
For Our Team
Our team is our greatest asset. We support our team with the following initiatives:
Mindful Employer: Chris Garland Training are signatories of the Charter for Employers Positive about Mental Health. Established in 2004, Mindful Employer has a long history of empowering employers across the nation to achieve better mental health at work. Open to all employers, regardless of their location, sector, industry, or size, the Charter for Employers Positive About Mental Health is not about comparing employers against one another. Instead, it is about recognising those employers who are committed to supporting the mental health of their staff – no matter how far along they may be in that journey – and it is about helping employers to adapt the best and most up-to-date clinical practice to achieve this goal.
Disability Confident: Chris Garland Training are signatories of the Governments Disability Confident Scheme. The Disability Confident scheme was developed by employers and disabled people’s representatives to make it rigorous but easily accessible, particularly for smaller businesses. Disability Confident is creating a movement of change, encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.
Armed Forces Covenant: Chris Garland Training are signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant. The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise that together we acknowledge and understand that those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy, and society they serve with their lives.
Everything Else
On Target
If there is anything that doesn’t fall into the categories listed above, they’ll;
- Be reused where possible
- Be repurposed, sold, given away or recycled where not.
- Be disposed of in accordance with manufacturers guidelines, when all other options have been exhausted.
If you have any suggestions of where we could improve our impact further, or you’d like to discuss your training, please email us now.
Trusted Training Partner
These are just some of the businesses and third sector organisations who trust Chris Garland Training as their training partners.