vary from authority to authority. In some locations, GLL undertakes the majority of building work in libraries; in others, the Council undertakes the work, or uses its own contractors. Sometimes the client will ask GLL to undertake the work on its behalf. Whatever is done is usually discussed in advance between GLL and the client team.
You have already taken steps to look at how you can improve sustainabil- ity in the organisation and services you are providing – can you talk us through some of those initiatives and explain any challenges that you faced and how you overcame them. Has there been a one challenge in particular that has either been very difficult to overcome, or which has made big difference.
DE – The sustainability agenda is central to the work GLL does in facilities manage- ment. When we take over library services in a new area, we survey all the libraries, working with our Facilities Team – and develop a schedule for refurbishment and development. The schedule does not always go to plan: recently, we have had a number of opportunities for large scale development building development – and we grab the opportunities when they appear. Wherever possible, when facilities are refurbed or updated:
l we reduce energy consumption (and improved the lux levels) by replacing old light fittings with new LED energy efficient units which can reduce energy use by 50 per cent
l we reduce toxicity levels by using water based paints which emit minimal VOCs
l we upcycle shelving, wherever possible
l when new furniture is purchased, we ensure that products are sustainably sourced by buying from suppliers with Forest Stewardship Council accreditation
l if the existing carpet is too worn to reuse, we buy new carpet which had been manufactured sustainably, either using recycled materials or recycled material plus local material
l where we are in control of the facility management, GLL aims to improve heating and cooling controls to ensure environmental conditions remain optimal for customers/users and within our oper- ational guidelines.
Day-to-day routines are also changed to increase sustainability.
l Notices previously printed on paper are being replaced with large screens which provide information on activities
l toilet paper brands are changed to use bamboo or recycled paper, soap is changed to a ‘green’ variety and paper
40 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL June 2022
pose of packaging responsibly – and to be accredited for doing so
l we move to electronic invoices to reduce the use of paper – and books are usually delivered direct to library branches in order to make transporta- tion more efficient
l recently, the Royal Borough of Green- wich became the first in the country to move to fully biodegradable library cards that are made in the UK from ethically sourced materials. The suppliers are now onto Version 2 of the library cards, which last longer but which can still be recycled. With over 121,000 library cards currently in circulation within Greenwich alone, the change will have a significant environ- mental impact – reducing the amount of plastic going to landfill
Diana Edmonds.
towels are replaced by energy efficient electric driers
l we work with our cleaning company to move to a ‘green regime’, using environ- mentally friendly cleaning products – and using refills rather than buying new plastic containers when the old one is empty
l we now share IT servers, resulting in power reduction and all hardware is re-used or recycled
l book labels use recycled paper and adhesives are environmentally friendly;
l our book suppliers are required to dis-
l libraries receive lots of paper and we recycle wherever possible, providing a network of paper recycling bins across the whole of our operation. In some locations we offer a recycling point for the public, too, collecting things like batteries and small electrical goods, or acting as a refill station, providing water for reusable bottles
l all GLL facilities including Libraries offer recycling bins as well as general waste to encourage users to make the right choices and increase the level of recycled material. Currently GLL recy- cles around 35 per cent of its waste with a target of 50 per cent by 2025
l under our corporate waste contracts we also divert the remaining waste from Landfill through energy from waste schemes to convert it to heat and electricity. This means for over 180 premises, no waste goes to landfill.
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