Askham Village Community in Doddington, Cambridgeshire has installed charging points for visitors and staff using electric vehicles.

The Cambridgeshire based care provider has been offsetting its daytime electric consumption with solar panels since they were installed in 2021 and is expected to save as much as 800,000 kg/CO2 over the next 20 years.

Aliyyah-Begum Nasser, director at Askham, said: “Installing the electric car charging ports was an obvious next step at Askham as we can see how important it is for us to play our part in encouraging more drivers to opt for electric vehicles. It’s important that we support the use of carbon conscious transport and demonstrate to those visiting that we have a genuine commitment to being more sustainable. This commitment is also evidenced by the solar farm that sits next to our care centre, which allows us to significantly reduce our imported energy consumption and utilise the latest sustainable technologies.” 

Askham has also embarked on a transition to LED lighting, while also reviewing all its suppliers to ensure green credentials are given due consideration.

Nasser added: “There is something very rewarding about generating your own renewable energy and given the soaring costs of energy, this has been a particularly valuable asset over the past few months. The environmental impact of social care is significant, with all the PPE and packaging we are responsible for using. Therefore, it’s important we offset this in whatever way we can — it really is a shared responsibility and something we simply cannot ignore. Something as simple as remembering to switch off lights and limiting wasted water use can have a huge impact over time and this is a mindset we all need to adopt if real progress is going to be made.”