How to Make Your Digital Business More Sustainable
Last week, Rebecca Kimber, CEO at Create.net hosted an online Breakfast Session about making your digital business more sustainable.
It’s no secret that we are in the midst of a climate crisis. No matter which way we turn, it seems that someone is there to tell us about all the damage being caused; the frustrating thing is, no one seems to be telling us what we can do to reverse it!
Watch the recording to learn more about the steps we can all take now to make our digital businesses more sustainable, and read on for her top tips:
1. Switch to a renewable energy provider
Did you know that the energy you consume accounts for approximately 15% of your carbon footprint? If you can, switch your office energy providers and encourage your team members to make changes at home, especially if they work remotely. You could also consider offering them a financial incentive to do so.
Not sure which provider to use? Check out Big Clean Switch to compare providers
2. Consider company transport
Have you thought about how your employees travel to the office? Think about encouraging greener travel options, with bike schemes and changing facilities for cyclists or runners.
If you’re thinking about switching to electric vehicles, remember that they need to be charged from renewable sources, or their footprint is similar to fossil fuels.
How about where your employees travel on holiday? Consider extra holiday days for team members who don't fly to their destination.
3. Review and change suppliers
Start with a list of all your suppliers, then have a look into their policies online for information about what they are doing to be more sustainable. Choose to change suppliers that aren't moving in the right direction where it's easy, or make plans to do so when you can.
4. Offset Your Teams Footprint
Did you know that you can pay a monthly fee per employee to offset their time at work, business travel, and the carbon footprint they may produce outside of work?
Ecologi offer a subscription service, in which they plant trees to offset your carbon footprint. And, you'll get to visit your forest of trees virtually and see them age in real-time.
Visit Create.net's forest - they have over 250,000 trees!
5. Clean Your Digital Footprint
This might surprise you - but anything stored in the cloud can be burning fossil fuels just to be there. Cut down on your digital footprint by:
- Making it company policy to just keep what's needed for future reference.
- Deleting old emails and old files on internal servers (web servers, drop box / icloud / google drive etc).
- Deleting old social profiles and websites you don't use - optimise images shared online.
Consider switching the tools you use to more sustainable ones, such as using Ecosia as a search engine, which plant trees whenever you use them.
6. Move Your Money
Review who you bank with and who manages your company pension schemes. How we save and spend our money (both in our role as consumers and business owners) drives change.
Here are a few more sustainable options:
- https://makemymoneymatter.co.uk
- https://www.switchit.money
- https://www.triodos.co.uk
- https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk
Want to learn more?
Thanks so much to Rebecca Kimber for sharing her expertise on this topic. See more about what Create.net are doing.
- Check out The Million Tree Pledge if you're interested in taking some radical action.
- Take a look at Small 99, they've created easy-to-follow guides for all parts of your business. You can make practical changes in your business today and kick start the journey towards net zero.
- Take a look at the SME Climate Hub
What's the first step or single change that you can make in the next week?