Sustainability Staff Networks: Encouraging collaborative climate conversations

By becoming a member of one of the networks, employees can be part of how the council evolves, know their voice will be heard and that they will be valued as an individual. Network members are encouraged to participate in staff engagement at all levels and contribute with their ideas, getting the chance to make the changes they want to see. We have a range of staff networks available for employees to join which provide a great opportunity.  

Staff Networks are there to: 

Our Sustainability Staff Network: 

The Sustainability Team lead a Sustainability Staff Network with over 300 members of staff, which is the largest staff network within the council. Our network is themed around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to encourage us to consider and tackle global objectives under the broad umbrella of sustainability. 

Our objectives are: 

• To respond to staff sustainability needs (issues both at work and outside of work).
• Give additional learning opportunities, network, and continue the climate conservations following the Council’s Carbon Literacy programme. 

Central Bedfordshire Council has a Sustainability Plan, adopted in 2020 and refreshed in 2024, which sets out a clear 'road map' of commitments and projects to work towards supporting the Central Bedfordshire area to be net zero carbon by 2030. It commits us to lead by example by investing in sustainability while encouraging and working with residents, businesses and key partners to do the same.  

Our progress is reported each year and measured against the detailed carbon emissions data outlining our operations and our area emissions. A key component of the plan is building momentum and embedding sustainability in the culture and everyday operations of the council, which the staff network helps to achieve. 

Staff are encouraged to attend Carbon Literacy training and join our network when they join the council. We promote the network through our staff newsletter and Microsoft Teams channel. Over the past year, we have had around 50 regular attendees at our monthly meetings.  

This year’s sessions have included: 

• January – Sustainable Education and Communities: Welcomed guest speakers from the Wildlife Trust, Greensands Trust and University of Birmingham to discuss community participation and awareness, as well as young people’s environmental actions.
• March – Water: Talks on flood risk management from the ResilienTogether project, sustainable urban drainage systems, and volunteering opportunities in the Upper & Bedford Ouse Catchment partnership.
• April – Earth Day: Hosted a networking session and discussion around Earth Day and the 3 actions promoted as part of this campaign. Ran a photo competition to encourage staff to share snaps of what ‘sustainability’ means to them.
• May – Electric Vehicles: Myth busting session from our Senior Sustainable Transport Officer and information about the staff benefit scheme for Electric Vehicles. NHS Fleet Solutions attended with a model Electric Vehicle for staff to tour and ask questions.
• September – Wellbeing in Nature walk: Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity hosted a wellbeing walk for staff in our local woodland, which included a gentle walk with sensory and creative activities to help staff connect mindfully to nature.
• October – Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) and Vegetarian Society: Our LNRS officer shared information and updates on the Local Nature Recovery Strategy Project, and the Chief Executive from the Vegetarian Society spoke about successes and challenges from the recent Vegetarian Week.  
• November – Waste and Recycling: Our Environmental Services team spoke and resources and waste projects in our local area, and promoted the waste hierarchy and how we can all reduce our waste. A community recycling scheme shared their programme and a local perspective.
• December – Sustainable Christmas Crafts and Clothes Swap: Hosted a festive network session for staff to swap Christmas jumpers and party outfits with colleagues, alongside a low waste craft session for decorative wreaths and garlands. 

With hosting monthly meetings, it can be a task to maintain engagement throughout the year due to busy work schedules and varied interests among our network members. Our main feed of staff joining the network is following staff’s completion of Carbon Literacy training, however, the training is optional, and uptake can be low, especially with ongoing budget pressures. 

We aim to keep the network interesting by hosting meetings that cover a diverse range of topics, depending on what staff find important and would like to focus on at that time. We use two main methods to determine the content of our meetings: 

• annual survey for all members
• Network Working Group.

 
Our network working group has representatives from across different council teams to drive the direction of the working group and organise meetings. It helps ensure we make the meetings accessible and interesting for all staff. We have found that organising a mix of online and in-person meetings has increased attendance and helped to foster a community feel within our network.  

A network sponsor from our Corporate Management Team helps to provide feedback and ideas for improving support of the networks to senior management within the council. Together these steps help us overcome the challenge of low engagement and encourage new ideas for how the network can progress. 
 
We look forward to continuing our Sustainability Staff Network in future years to educate and discuss sustainability challenges that will affect the council, our staff and residents.