Sustainability

At Capella sustainability is really important to us. We have a policy that sets out our intentions and key tools.  We also know that every time we spot an opportunity for improvement and implement sustainable changes that address problems or close gaps, we are reducing waste.

We teach about waste in our Improvement programmes and the acronym TIMWOOD is great for raising consciousness and awareness of where waste comes from:

Continuous, incremental improvements yield significant results over time, and we all have an opportunity to make a real difference through our everyday activities.

Delegates on our Improvement programmes learn methods and tools to improve all aspects of operations and receive coaching support from our experts to apply this learning. Their completed Improvement projects include before and after measures that clearly show the benefits delivered and all of these can be translated into environmental gains through reduction in Waste.

Peter Manifold recently completed an apprenticeship at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Derby. As part of his apprenticeship, he worked on reducing the cost and environmental impact of Toyota.

For instance, Peter found ways to reduce the amount of printing, a 154,872 drop in the number of pieces of paper! Peter has been on a journey with Toyota since 1998, originally starting out as a production member in the assembly shop. He has also worked on vehicle data.

 

“It was an eye-opener to see how we can not only perform or improve financially, but how we can improve environmentally too,” said Peter. My apprenticeship has opened my eyes to how just the smallest change can lead to a massive difference. More people should do apprenticeships and look at the opportunities which are out there.”

Peter completed the Level 4 Improvement Practitioner apprenticeship with Capella. You can see his case study, along with other examples, featured on the Institute for Apprenticeships website here 

"This gives a win in terms of building individual capability, a win in terms of improving organisation performance and a win for the environment: why wouldn’t anyone want to do this?”   

 

Kate Smith, Capella's Managing Director

So, if you’d like to know more about how our Improvement programmes can help to support you with your Environmental or Sustainability challenges contact us now

Capella are also looking at ways in which we can support The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. There are 17 Goals developed by the UN “aimed at transforming our world”. At Capella we believe that we have a responsibility as Educators to contribute to as many of these goals as we can.

The UN Goals that we believe we can contribute to include:

Goal 3 - Good Health and Well-Being

At Capella we encourage our learners to look after their health and promote mental health and well-being for all through our learning resources and social media channels. We also have specialists who are skilled in providing additional support to learners.

Goal 4 - Quality Education

At Capella we deliver quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. “Education helps to reduce inequalities and to reach gender equality. Education is also crucial to fostering tolerance between people and contributes to more peaceful societies.”

Goal 5 – Gender Equality

At Capella we believe in and promote the equality of opportunity for men and women through our policies and procedures. This is seen by the UN as “a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world”.

Goal 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth

At Capella we share employment opportunities and promote the creation of quality jobs. We require all learners to have a safe and secure working environment which is evidenced through our employers’ Health and Safety Checks.

 

Goal 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

At Capella we support Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure by encouraging our customers to develop skills within their supply chains and by challenging learners to look for improvement opportunities which deliver innovation and sustainability.

Goal 10 – Reduced Inequalities

Capella believe in reducing inequality and through our policies and procedures we include consideration for the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized learners. We also have delegate specialists who can provide additional support for learners if required.

 

Goal 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities

At Capella our aim is to ensure that we provide an inclusive and safe environment to learn. We encourage learners to maximise sustainability benefits through their improvement projects.

Goal 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production

Our Birmingham Chamber of Commerce case study shows how delegates' projects delivered improved performance metrics including compressed air utilisation, packaging waste, electricity and gas consumption and manufacturing rejects and efficiency. Case Study - Birmingham Chamber of CommerceCase Study - Birmingham Chamber of Commerce (311 KB)

 

Goal 13 – Climate Action

Is about taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. At Capella we encourage learners to look for more efficient ways of doing things as well as low carbon solutions.

 

Increasingly in government, the role of the Education and Training sector is being highlighted as vital to sustainability. At Capella we know that we have a responsibility as educators to help change individual behaviours and to encourage learners to THINK and ACT differently when it comes to the environment.

So, in addition, we’ve been helping the Green task force to ensure people have the right skills and to support promotion of the benefits of Improvement apprenticeship standards including:

  • Working together with the Green Apprenticeship Advisory Panel (GAAP) to add Green job roles to the Level 3 to Level 6 Improvement standards. Find these apprenticeships under Green Job Titles here on the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) website
  • Working with the IfA to provide learner case studies for their website which show the environmental benefits that have been achieved through Improvement projects which are delivered alongside the Improvement apprenticeships
  • Encouraging learners to reflect on their own organisation’s Environmental and Sustainability Policies and how they can support their organisation to deliver these through their Improvement projects
  • Increasing awareness that there is a good correlation between Continuous Improvement and waste elimination and improved efficiency
  • Asking delegates to consider the reputational damage of not being proactive, when it comes to environmental and sustainability issues, as part of their Improvement projects

Goal 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

Feeling safe whatever ethnicity, faith, or sexual orientation. Strengthening the Rule of Law and promoting Human Rights and ensuring inclusive participation. Capella is committed to promoting the spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development of learners, particularly through promotion of the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs, and individual liberty. These are the British values defined in the Prevent Strategy. These values support and are consistent with the behaviours set out in the Apprenticeship Standards and all learners must develop and demonstrate these.

 

You can find out more about the United Nations SDGs at Sustainable Development Goals: 17 Goals to Transform our World​ | United Nations

 

 

 

 

 

  • Client Testimonials

    Examples of Our Clients

    • Testimonials

    • Capella have provided a superbly structured programme, and have proven to be entirely supportive of delegates in completing their apprenticeship with confidence. Key to this has been the instructor’s knowledge of the subject matter, allowing him to apply the theory to a variety of scenarios in the delegates’ work. We have appreciated the instructor being approachable, flexible and understanding of the challenges of extra-curricula activity for people with busy jobs. All staff that we’ve engaged with at Capella have been professional, welcoming and clear in their communication.

      Mark Robbins, Retail and Pension Operations Training and Communications, Fidelity International

    • Capella’s focus on developing long-term relationships and their continual search for innovative approaches to upskilling has enabled Toyota and many other employers to learn and apply best practice Problem Solving tools which deliver great outcomes for all. In our experience, no other training provider has taken such a lead role in the development of sector wide initiatives such as the Automotive Industrial Partnership and development of the ‘improvement suite’ of Apprenticeship standards. Capella constantly seeks innovative opportunities to deliver an excellent service to the learner and to the business.

      Paul Fitzpatrick | Senior Manager | Toyota UK

    • We have found Capella really professional and flexible and their passion for delivering high quality training is a culture we have in common between us and has made working with them highly beneficial. Their knowledge of the automotive sector in particular has also been very useful and has simplified working together to create a really excellent training programme. In addition, they have managed to modify their usual commercial programmes in line with government approved apprenticeship standards, which has enabled us to utilise our Apprenticeship Levy to fund the training.

      Chris Bauman | Group Managing Director

    • Capella are delivering the Business Improvement L4 programme to a cohort of 12 staff at our Barnard Castle site. We chose Capella after a series of meeting with Kate and her team and from day 1 we have been impressed with the professionalism, enthusiasm and knowledge of the team. The staff have really thrived on the learning schedule and through working with the programme tutors and we have had nothing but positive feedback. Internal changes on site have impacted on the programme delivery, which Capella took this in their stride, adapting delivery timelines, providing support and working with those facing change has added another dimension to the relationship that has been developed between the site and Capella. While still in delivery mode GSK already believes that the programme has been a success for all involved and we look forward to its completion and sharing that success within the organisation.

      Tim Buchanan | Apprenticeship Vendor Manager | Talent, Leadership and Organisation Development- Centre of Excellence

    • Capella worked closely with Wilko to deeply understand our needs at a strategic and operational level, helping us to jointly explore a range of options to meet these needs. Capella have an experienced team of Lean Six Sigma experts. Their programme design, management expertise and resources are second to none. Wilko have been allocated a dedicated Account Manager which helps us ensure the learner is always front of mind. Capella’s programmes have developed the knowledge, skills and drive of our Wilko delegates to seek and implement improvements in every process, constantly reducing costs, waste and inefficiencies. Capella also enabled Wilko’s leadership of continuous improvement to be showcased through the publication of an extensive article for the Chartered Quality Institute's Quality World magazine.

      Teresa Ward, Wilko Talent Programme Manager, Wilko

    • I would sincerely like to thank you again and the fabulous team at Capella for the dedication shown in achieving the Black Belt qualification. It is such a pleasure to work so closely with passionate professional people and I hope our partnership continues to grow especially with the role out of the new standards.

      Richard Bates, Managing Director, Qualitrain

    • "Capella are a company that keep to their word, they have supported me fully during and even after my projects have been completed. The coaching team are always on hand to help with any issues and often put themselves out to ensure support is available. Highly recommend anyone looking to progress their career to take a look at Capella."

      Chris Woodcock, Jaguar Land Rover