Sustainable Planet

YMCA Norfolk believes that we should all commit and take action for the protection and regeneration of our planet, preparing for a transition to a net zero future recognising that the young people we serve will inherit the planet.

We commit to supporting the global YMCA movement to become greener, an active youth voice on climate justice and champion of youth-led sustainability solutions.

We recognise that environmental degradation disproportionately affects marginalised communities and vulnerable people.

YMCA Norfolk is an independent charity, alongside YMCAs from across the world has helped develop the global YMCA’s strategic pillar of a “Sustainable Planet” as part of Vision 2030.

YMCA Norfolk is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050.

Agreed by the Board of Trustees in October 2025.

In 2023, The Board of Trustees approved a 10-year framework providing a direction of travel for the strategic priorities of the next decade. A key priority is the reduction in our environmental impact.

Through our 2023-26 strategy, we have:

Worked with residents and staff to reduce energy usage by 5%.
Invested in Solar Panels at a key hostel.
Ensured that 49/50 of our housing properties meet EPC C, with the goal to complete the final work by March 2026.
Completed energy audits on our Community Hub and several hostels.
Invested in 3 energy efficient boilers and windows at our largest hostel.
Provided sustainable ways for employee commuting including the UK Government’s Cycle to Work scheme.
Invested in new energy management systems.
Offered discounts to customers who re-use a cup when using our Café.
Worked with residents through our allotment and Life Ready Garden to produce their own food.

Our Next Steps

We recognise that sustainability is a journey. We have a framework with the following three stages: Early, Intermediate (Developing), and Advanced. These stages function as benchmarks to assess our current progress and plan the next steps on the journey to achieve our sustainability goals and target outcomes.

Currently we are in the Early Stage and will seek to progress to Intermediate (Developing) Stage in the 2026-29 strategic period.

At this stage, we are in the initial phases of integrating sustainability into our operations. We have focused on foundational actions such as:

• Setting sustainability goals.
• Conducting initial assessments using the YMCA Sustainability Toolkit.
• Starting pilot programmes, such as reducing energy usage.
• Beginning data collection on emissions, waste reduction, and sustainability efforts.
• Making sure staff and leadership are on board to develop a culture of sustainability.
• Updating our Environmental Policy include an ‘Environmental Statement’ in our Trustee’s annual report.

At this stage we will move beyond foundational actions and put in place structured sustainability initiatives into place. Key features will include:

• Developing and expanding sustainability programmes, such as water conservation, waste reduction, and green procurement.
• Reduce mileage & invest in green fleet vehicles.
• Formalising sustainability policies and including them into operations.
• Putting in place reporting frameworks to track progress and share data with stakeholders.
• Increasing young people engagement by hosting educational events or creating youth-led environmental groups.
• Collaborating with external partners to increase the impact of sustainability efforts.

At the advanced stage, we will show leadership in sustainability by embedding best practices across all levels of our operations, focusing on:

• Setting ambitious sustainability targets, such as achieving net-zero emissions and completely switching to renewable energy.
• Carrying out independent sustainability audits and continuously improving reporting processes.
• Becoming local leaders in sustainability by sharing best practices with other organisations.
• Developing large-scale green infrastructure projects, such as eco-friendly buildings or climate resilience initiatives.