Case Study: Veterans at Ease – getting creative to solve everyday challenges and save resources
Business overview
Veterans at Ease is a national Military Mental Health Charity headquartered in the North East. It supports all members of HM Armed Forces Community through high level psychotherapy and mental health services. Alongside this vital work, it runs a number of charity shops to help fund the organisation and create welcoming spaces for the community. Its Shields Road shop in Newcastle was the focus for Green Street support, giving Veterans at Ease the chance to trial small sustainability changes that could be shared across its other nine shops.
The challenge
Reducing waste and saving energy are important to the way Veterans at Ease runs its shops. The Shields Road branch relies on volunteers, but the back room where donations are sorted had no insulation and no heating. Installing a heating system was too expensive, so the team looked for another solution. If they could not heat the space, they decided to keep volunteers warm instead.
They were also keen to cut unnecessary costs and reduce waste linked to their daily operations, including how they price clothes and print till receipts. Green Street helped the team look more closely at these systems and come up with simple, practical ways to improve them.
What they did
Using their Green Street grant, Veterans at Ease:
- Upgraded the back room lighting to LED.
- Provided heated body warmers for volunteers in unheated areas.
It also worked with Green Street to explore other changes:
- Replacing single use price tags with a reusable tagging system, using the existing security tags in a new way.
- Exploring a new investment for a till system that makes printing receipts optional to minimise paper waste
- Appointed energy champions in each shop to support closing routines and track improvements.
The impact
- A saving of around £60 a year on electricity through LED lighting upgrades.
- A potential saving of several hundred pounds a year by switching from single use price tags to reusable options.
- Volunteers feel more comfortable and valued through the use of heated body warmers, supporting wellbeing and helping with retention.
- Tagging clothes will be quicker and creates less waste meaning volunteers can spend more time on other tasks.
- Reviewing till receipt usage has helped start a conversation about upgrading to a system that reduces waste and gives customers more choice.
- A more consistent approach to closing routines and energy saving through the appointment of energy champions.
- The shop now has a set of actions and ideas that can be shared with its wider network of nine shops.
What other businesses can learn
Veterans at Ease shows how creative thinking and small changes can help solve everyday challenges. When heating a cold room was not possible, it focused on keeping volunteers warm instead. When price tags were becoming a cost and a hassle, it looked at what was already at hand and used the security tags in a smarter way.
This idea came from Green Street sharing what had worked for another business, showing the power of collaboration. When businesses share solutions, everyone benefits. These changes are not only better for the environment, but they also save time and money.
