Our Promise to the Planet
Scouts Scotland’s environmental policy
“Leave this world a little better than you found it.”
- Robert Baden-Powell
Our promise
Everywhere we go and in everything we do we will be mindful of our impact on the planet.
The world is in climate chaos and it is essential that we act now to make sure our young people have a safe, habitable and beautiful planet in their future.
We are committed to embedding environmental responsibility into every level of our charity, and making it a key consideration in all of our activities and events. We will work hard to understand our current impact and identify specific areas where we can improve and reduce our carbon footprint.
Our values
Care – we care for our planet and each other
Respect – we respect our environment and are conscious of our impact
Integrity – we will act environmentally responsibly and lead by example
Belief – we will support our young people to explore their responsibilities to the planet
Cooperation – we will work with our members and partners to achieve our sustainability goals
What we will do
We will make sure that our sustainability goals are linked to our strategy
We will involve our members in our plans and learn from their feedback
We will support our membership to develop local sustainability plans
We will audit where we are now and establish a baseline to work from
We will work with partners who can help us to achieve our goals
We will be prepared to invest to reduce our carbon footprint
We will be bold and transparent in our goals and our journey towards sustainability
Specific areas for action
Travel and transport
Waste management and recycling
Conservation activities
Energy and water consumption
Financial decisions and purchasing
Environmental impact on mental health
Education and community engagement
Next steps
To deliver this policy we will:
Establish a working group with members from our board of trustees, staff team, and wider membership who have a specific interest/expertise in environmental impact.
Perform an audit to understand our impact across our headquarters function and Scout Adventures Centres.
Agree short-term and long-term sustainability targets.
Identify partnerships and funding opportunities to support our goals.
Create an action plan reach our goals, along with clear budgets for work.
Review policies to improve sustainability eg. purchasing, events, travel etc.
Support our Regions, Districts and Groups with tools to audit their own functions and create action plans to improve sustainability.