Carers Leeds introduced a dedicated environment and sustainability group in September 2025, and they have been working hard to make a real difference. They started really thinking about how we can adopt more sustainable practices and how we can take accountability to drive change when thinking about the impact on the environment.

Litter Free Leeds

Staff have kindly contributed their time to support the Litter Free campaign, and they run a monthly litter pick around our offices at Mabgate. Staff have also dedicated time to litter pick in their own local communities. In the past 12 months staff have collected 67 bags of rubbish! More information about Litter Free Leeds can be found Here you can also follow the action across the city on their Facebook page here

Sustainable procurement

Carers Leeds are now using more ecological cleaning products and loo roll that are responsibly sourced from businesses that are committing to net-zero. Some of our products are now plant-derived, biodegradable, contain recycled materials and are safer for our health, our waterways and the planet.

Monthly Initiatives

Pre-Loved September

We collaborated with our lovely neighbours at Mabgate Smart Works which is a charity that helps unemployed women to get the coaching, clothing and confidence they need to secure employment and change the trajectory of their lives. We received an abundance of work clothing from staff to support the cause, and it really encouraged people to really think about the importance of pre-loved clothing, how it impacts others and the effects buying new has on the environment.

E-Waste October

This incentive really got people thinking about how much unwanted E-Waste they have. The team recycled a whooping 11.5kg of equipment including tons of cables, iPod, radio, plug adapters, headphones, walkie talkie, toothbrush, fire stick, phones, mice, scales, extension banks, power banks and straighteners!

Crafty November ‘buy less new stuff’

This gave us the opportunity to buy something special for the festive season or just for any season! We asked staff and volunteers to donate things such as handmade cards, crocheting, knitting, artwork or any new unwanted gifts. We also had some homemade gin and some lovely, sweet treats to helped us really think about buying less new stuff and raised £140 for Carers Leeds!

Veganuary

We created our very own Carers Leeds vegan cookbook for staff. Plant-based meals generally have a smaller carbon footprint, can be more cost effective and allows us to get more creative! The Carers Leeds cookbook can be found here

February – Random acts of kindness.

We worked with Leeds North and West foodbank to celebrate how small things can make a real impact. Staff and volunteers donated food and essential items to this much needed cause. We donated 29.6kg which equated to 70 meals, as well as toiletries and essential items. More information about Leeds North and West foodbank can be found here.

March – Leeds goes purple!

For the last 5 years in partnership with Leeds City Council, Litter Free Leeds has been running an annual campaign. Between the 27^th – 29^th March hundreds of volunteers across Leeds came together to clean up neighbourhoods across the city, filling the distinctive purple rubbish bags that are later collected by the council. Over 1,022 bags were logged (so may have been much more). Carers Leeds played their part and collected 30 bags to celebrate Carers Leeds turning 30!

May – World bee day

We celebrated world bee day with an office plant and seed swap with a focus on pollinators such as marigolds, lavender, borage, alliums and sunflowers. Some of our lovely Mabgate neighbourhood businesses also joined in the fun. Our very own beekeeper Andrew shared some amazing facts about bees which can be found here.

July – August – The big butterfly count 2026

Millions of butterflies and day-flying moths are recorded annually, with up to 1.7 million logged in a single summer. This count allows scientists to monitor how specific species are coping with environmental changes, providing vital warnings as over 80% of UK butterflies have declined since the 1970s. We embraced the heatwave in gardens, canals and parks to contribute to this very important study and even managed to get some lovely pictures too. More information about the scheme can be found on their website here.

August – Bin it right!

At our last all staff meeting our lovely Fiona did an interactive ice-breaking game which allowed us to talk about how we recycle. Did you know pizza boxes shouldn’t go in your recycling bin if the box is greasy, or that crisp packets go into your general waste! Thanks for providing an insightful session about getting it right! This A-Z is a very useful guide.

We have future plans such as a trip to Veolia. More news to follow and how carers can get involved! We are also embedding environmental and sustainability into all our policies at Carers Leeds. We look forward to the next 12 months.