Our main focus for the first quarter of 2020 is climate change and the environment and how public service organisations are responding to the UK Government's declaration of a climate change emergency in May 2019. 

We have been inspired by the innovative steps you and your organisations have taken to help tackle the climate change crisis. Some examples of what ALARM member organisations have been doing include:

• The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust have introduced cycle responders, who are fully trained paramedics and operate in the city centre where it may be too busy for an ambulance to get to. Cycle responders are equipped with a full medical kit including a defibrillator and oxygen.
• Dundee City Council have created a Climate Change Action Plan targeting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by Dundee by 2045. 
• Senior councillors at Leeds City Council have approved plans to cut the Council's carbon footprint by more than 50% by 2025. 
• Bristol City Council have recently launched their electric vehicle charging network Revive and they are on track to install 120 charge points over the next year. 

We are seeing a lot of major plans and actions being taken by organisations, but there are small steps that you can take as an individual in your every day role that will make a big difference. Here are our top tips:

1. Invest in a reusable coffee cup or water bottle - an average of 35.8 million plastic bottles are used every day in the UK, but only about half of these are recycled. By investing in a reusable drinks container you will signifantly reduce your personal plastic waste, and also most coffee shops now offer a discount if you bring your own resusable cup. 
2. Buy 'ugly' fruit and veg - beauty is only skin deep and that mishapen carrot is going to taste the same. 25% of apples, 20% of onions and 13% of potatoes grown in the UK are wasted on cosmetic grounds. Buying the 'ugly' produce helps reduce food waste.  
3. Bring your lunch to work - make lunch at home rather than purchasing it in a shop or work canteen. Pre-made sandwiches are often wrapped in copious amounts of plastic which cannot be recycled. 
4. Print as little as necessary - only print what is absolutely necessary and help reduce paper waste. 
5. Use electronic sticky notes - save the trees and use the sticky notes tool on your computer which adds unlimited, colour-coded sticky notes to your desktop. You can also save and archive them for later reference. 

Let us know what steps you have taken individually and in your organisation to help the environment by tweeting us @alarmrisk or tagging us on Instagram (@alarmrisk) and use the #ALARMGoesGreen.