Sustainability is no longer a “nice to have”—it’s a key part of how businesses operate, make decisions, and deliver projects.
At Active Workplace Group, it’s something that’s been evolving for years. But what does that actually look like in practice?
We sat down with Dawn Mancer, who leads sustainability at Active, to talk about where the journey started, the challenges along the way, and how the business is continuing to push things forward.
“Sustainability at Active probably goes back 10–15 years—it started in quite small ways.”
Ben: Hi Dawn, thanks so much for joining us today. We’ve been putting together a series of conversations around topics our clients are really interested in—and today is all about sustainability. From your perspective as our sustainability lead, it would be great to talk through how Active approaches it, and how that’s developed over the years.
Dawn: Yeah, absolutely. I’d say sustainability at Active probably goes back around 10–15 years. It actually started in quite small ways—things like apprenticeship schemes, supporting local communities, and working with charities.
Ben: Which, on the face of it, people might not immediately link to sustainability.
Dawn: Exactly—but that’s really the ESG side of things, the “doing good business” side. Over time, that’s evolved into what we now recognise more traditionally as sustainability. We were already doing a lot in that space, and when we started working with larger brands—who were beginning their own sustainability journeys—they really recognised that alignment early on. From there, we decided to take it further. Around 2021, we brought in a consultancy to help map out our sustainability journey and formalise it into policies and procedures. Since then, it’s grown into something that touches every part of the business—both internally, in how we operate, and externally, in how we work with clients and suppliers.
Ben: And since then, what sort of barriers or challenges have we come up against?
Dawn: Like anything in business, it takes resource—and there’s definitely a cost to doing it properly. There’s also a lot of “tick-box” behaviour in the industry, where sustainability is approached more as a requirement than something meaningful. We focus on the practical side, but we still have to meet those formal requirements, which can be a challenge. Another big one is that we can’t control everything—especially when it comes to the supply chain. A lot of what we do depends on the goods and services we bring in, so extending our sustainability approach across the supply chain has been a key hurdle.
“There’s also a lot of “tick-box” behaviour in the industry, where sustainability is approached more as a requirement than something meaningful.“
Ben: That leads nicely into the supply chain actually—how have we approached that?
Dawn: We made a clear decision that we would only work with suppliers who are on the journey with us. That doesn’t mean setting unrealistic standards, but it does mean expecting good business practices—ethics, equality, and sustainability fundamentals. Every supplier is onboarded and assessed before they work with us. They need to demonstrate that they have the right processes and systems in place, even if they’re a smaller business. We also hold supplier days to communicate our direction and make sure everyone stays aligned.
Ben: And I think that’s been a really strong part of what we do—it’s not just financial onboarding, it’s values, ethics, and sustainability all wrapped into one. How are clients responding to this approach?
Dawn: Sustainability is a huge topic for clients now. It’s rare that it doesn’t come up as part of a tender process. There’s definitely a trickle-down effect—the larger organisations are setting expectations, and that flows through to companies like us, and then down into the supply chain. It’s becoming more of a waterfall now, which is a really positive thing, because real impact only happens when everyone is aligned.
“Real impact only happens when everyone is aligned.”
Ben: If we look at business relocations specifically, what are some of the biggest sustainability decisions companies can make early on?
Dawn: The biggest one is avoiding landfill. When a business relocates, there’s a huge opportunity to look at what they already have and decide what can be reused, repurposed, or recycled. We do a lot of asset surveying to support that process. And where items can’t be reused internally, we often donate them to charity. That approach can make a huge difference. On some projects, we’ve actually achieved zero landfill, which is a fantastic result.
Ben: And the level of detail we provide back to clients on those projects is impressive as well—it’s not just about the outcome, it’s how we show it.
Dawn: Exactly. With relocations, it’s relatively straightforward to measure things like fuel, mileage, waste, and people involved. Where it becomes more complex is in design and build projects, because you’re looking at lifecycle impacts—things like embodied carbon and how materials are manufactured. That’s something we’re starting to focus on more now. We’ve got our first carbon reporting projects coming through this year, which is really exciting.
Ben: And I think that’s going to be really valuable insight for clients. If we switch to facilities management—if a business could make one change tomorrow to improve sustainability, what would you suggest?
Dawn: I’d say choosing the right FM provider. It’s a complex area, and you need someone who understands everything from building performance and energy use to new technologies and EPC requirements. It’s about having that knowledge and being able to guide clients on where improvements can be made.
Ben: Yeah, it’s about advising as much as delivering—keeping clients informed and helping them improve over time
“We’ve got our first carbon reporting projects coming through this year, which is really exciting.”
Ben: Looking ahead, what’s next for Active in terms of sustainability?
Dawn: We’re really focusing on expanding our reporting—making everything more visible and measurable, both for us and for our clients. We’re also introducing electric vehicles into our fleet, and starting to look more closely at upstream impacts, which is a more complex area but really important. And we’ll continue to develop our supply chain expectations—encouraging more sustainable choices across everything, even down to the materials being used.
Ben: It sounds like a lot—but also really exciting.
Dawn: It is. It’s a lot of work, but it’s all about continuous improvement.
Ben: Dawn, thanks so much for your time today. It’s been a really interesting conversation, and I’m looking forward to sharing more of what Active is doing over the next 12 months.
Dawn: Thanks Ben, it’s been great.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s all about continuous improvement.”
Sustainability at Active Workplace Group isn’t about quick wins or surface-level changes. It’s built into the way the business operates, from the partners it works with, to the decisions made on every project.
As expectations continue to grow, the focus remains the same: keep improving, stay accountable, and make choices that deliver real, measurable impact.
If you’re looking to make your workplace more sustainable, or want to understand what that could look like for your business, get in touch with the team at Active Workplace Group.
📞 0118 944 2903