09/04/08 New growth for Capita as Call Centre goes green

Sheffield's biggest call centre, operated by Capita, is set for a major growth spurt after staff at the Nunnery Square site planted 600 new trees today, creating a brand new area of the South Yorkshire Forest.

The decision to plant trees blossomed from the company's carbon reduction policy, and an aim to offset carbon emissions through local projects led Capita to develop the project with the South Yorkshire Forest Partnership. Steve Robertson, Capita's Business Director explained: "We've been working hard over the past few years to cut down on energy consumption and decrease carbon emissions. In the past year alone we've reduced our energy usage by over 10% saving around 100 tonnes of carbon, but we want to do even better. Our staff tree planting day is another way in which we intend to balance our carbon output; by working with the South Yorkshire Forest to plant trees across the region, we're moving closer to achieving our carbon neutral target."

Richard Walker, Director of the South Yorkshire Forest Partnership said: "We've been very impressed by Capita's commitment to the environment; not only are they taking responsibility for their carbon emissions at every level, they're also making sure that their path to carbon neutral status brings immediate and long term benefits for local people and wildlife."

Situated between The Parkway and the railway line, the Capita site occupies a significant urban space that the tree-planting project will transform into a vital link in the city's wildlife corridor. Call centre staff will be working with a team from the South Yorkshire Forest to plant a mixture of native woodland species including wild cherry, rowan, silver birch, willow and oak around the site. As they grow these trees will provide food and shelter for birds and other wildlife, but the 1000 staff will also benefit from the transformation as the environment around them grows greener and more pleasant. Steve Hadley, from Capita's Facilities department who has been driving the initiative commented: "The staff are really looking forward to seeing the seasons change through our new trees and looking out for visiting birds. Apparently some of the species are quite fast growers so hopefully we'll be enjoying shady summer lunches among them in the not too distant future!"

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