Serving the nation’s dreams

We are committed to careful environmental management. As well as applying environmental standards to our own operations we also work to bring a positive influence to bear on our various stakeholders – from suppliers and retail partners to other lottery operators around the world. However we realise that this will become more difficult in the future with green electricity being in short supply and more demanding technical requirements in the third Licence period.

As the operator of The National Lottery we believe it is vital that the environmental benefits brought by Good Causes funding are not compromised by the process of raising the money for that funding. We are therefore committed to ensuring that the environmental impact of the lottery is assessed and reduced at every possible level – and we will continue that commitment into the next Licence period.

Our major achievements in 2007/08 include:

• Significantly exceeding our target for reducing CO₂, for the second consecutive year. Our total carbon emissions were down 36% on the previous year, more than triple the 10% target we set
• Increasing the proportion of paper we use which is from recycled or sustainable sources to 87%
• Reducing the proportion of waste we send to landfill by 28% – more than nine times our target
• Reducing the total waste we produce by 31%
• Reducing the energy we consume per employee by 12%
• Increasing our score in the Business in the Environment Index from 94.17% to 95%, putting us into the Platinum category, which means our environmental score has more than doubled since we first took part in the Index in 2002
• Gaining re-accreditation for the BITC "Big Tick" for Environmental Leadership. The "Big Tick" is given to companies which demonstrate the positive impact of their responsible business behaviour - both internally and on society. This highly prestigious award is judged by a panel of independent, experienced practitioners.

Read more about the impacts we have on the environment and how we manage them.

We try to work with key stakeholders - like our suppliers, retailers and other lottery companies - to reduce environmental impacts. Read more about how we are involving others here.

Read more about what we are doing to reduce the impact of our products, how we are trying to use energy more efficiently and how we are cutting water use and waste.