An older building, a stretched budget and a long list of competing demands. Where does a care leader start with sustainability? For Ravi Sodha, Director of ACI Care, a family-owned care provider, the answer lies in listening to colleagues, measuring progress and making changes that work for the people who call those buildings home.
A motion sensor might save electricity. But if it leaves a resident sitting quietly in the dark, something has gone wrong.
It is a simple example, but it captures Ravi Sodha’s approach to sustainability at ACI Care. Every improvement has to work in the everyday life of a care home, where comfort, safety and familiar routines matter.
“Residents’ safety, comfort and quality of care guide every decision,” he says. “An environmental improvement has to work in the reality of a care home.”
Building ACI Care with his brother Anand has shaped that thinking. Decisions reach beyond the business itself. They affect someone’s home, a colleague’s livelihood and a family’s confidence that their loved one is being well supported.
For Ravi, sustainability is part of looking after those things over the long term. It means maintaining buildings, using resources carefully and creating a workplace where people want to stay.
ACI Care operates in existing properties, with all the practical considerations that brings. There is no blank canvas. Progress comes from understanding what each home needs and deciding what can realistically happen next.
“Our approach is to adapt, adopt and retrofit,” Ravi explains. That might mean changing an everyday habit, introducing smart metering or replacing ageing heating equipment. Colleagues have an important part in those decisions because they know how the buildings work when everyone is getting up, meals are being prepared and residents are settling down for the evening.
Measurement helps Ravi decide where to invest; colleagues help him understand what will work in practice. Timing matters too. Equipment reaching the end of its useful life offers an opportunity to choose something more efficient. A phased approach allows improvements to happen without expecting every problem to be solved at once.
Solar panels are a visible sign of environmental investment. Heating efficiency, printing habits and staff commuting are less immediately noticeable, but they also contribute to a provider’s footprint.
Using Zellar has helped ACI Care establish a baseline and track its progress. Ravi says its more recent reporting shows a 10% carbon reduction since 2022. That gives the organisation something concrete to assess. It also creates a useful discipline around investment.
“A projected saving and an achieved saving are different things,” he says. An idea may look promising on paper. Understanding what it actually delivers helps determine whether to extend it, adjust it or put resources elsewhere.
The same practical thinking applies to involving residents. Gardening, growing food and creating spaces for wildlife bring sustainability into daily life through activities people can enjoy and influence.
Participation can take different forms. One resident may want to plant. Another may choose what is grown. Someone else may prefer to sit outside and watch the garden change. Each has a place in the experience. The benefits include conversation, purpose and connection with nature, alongside the environmental value.
For colleagues, Sustainability Champions help keep ideas moving and give people opportunities to contribute. Changes are more likely to last when staff can see their purpose and help shape how they work.
Ravi’s understanding of sustainability also extends to the workforce. ACI Care’s approach to overseas recruitment avoids minimum-service commitments designed to tie colleagues to the business. His starting point is that loyalty should be earned through the experience of working there.
“I believe we should earn colleagues’ loyalty through their experience of working with us.”
That puts responsibility firmly with the employer. Moving countries to work in care is a significant commitment. Feeling able to ask for help, having a contribution recognised and seeing a future within the organisation all help someone build a sense of belonging. These are everyday experiences, shaped by how colleagues treat one another and how leaders respond when support is needed.
Environmental ambitions also need to take account of staff workload. A process that reduces materials but creates unnecessary administration deserves another look. Equally, reducing heating consumption must still leave residents comfortably warm.
Often, the priorities support each other. Efficient equipment can lower running costs. A supported workforce can provide greater continuity of care. Where competing demands arise, Ravi’s approach is to consider the timing and protect the people affected.
There have been lessons along the way. Paperless working, for example, can sound like an appealing destination, but an absolute target may overlook practical needs within a care environment. Reducing unnecessary printing offers a more useful focus.
Ravi would also place greater emphasis on testing changes on a manageable scale, involving colleagues early and reviewing results before extending them.
His advice to other care leaders begins close to home. “Start with the building and resources you have.”
Establish a baseline. Listen to the team. Choose a few changes that can be delivered, then review what they achieve. Give someone responsibility for maintaining momentum while making it easy for others to participate.
Older buildings require thoughtful decisions and limited budgets require careful sequencing. Both can make progress slower. Neither has to bring it to a halt. As Ravi puts it: “Small changes, consistently applied and measured, can build a stronger foundation for the next investment.”
