Link’s Innovation Challenge will focus on two sustainability themes; Please Use Less Paper (PULP) and Stop Email Attachments (SEA).

Graeme Bruce, Link head of sustainability, said: “This initiative will highlight the areas where a small change in the way we work can have a big impact on the environment.

“Each letter we send has a carbon cost of roughly 280g – even when recycled paper is used – while an email is only 5g. Similarly, an email with an attachment has a carbon cost of approximately 51g, but an email with a document link is only 5g.

“By engaging with our staff to take on these challenges, we can explore new ways to significantly reduce our carbon footprint and support sustainable working practices.”

Ken Fox, Link director of digital services, added: “This is our second Innovation Challenge. Our first asked staff how we could improve business processes more generally and we got some great feedback and suggestions.

“This time, we are focusing on sustainability and how we can make improvements to help us meet our commitment to net-zero.”

In 2020, Link was the first housing association in Scotland to achieve the internationally recognised Certified Sustainable Housing Label.

Sustainability will be a key theme for Link’s 60th-anniversary celebration activities, which will begin in April 2022.