Laurel's Blog

When will your business be Carbon Zero?

I was surprised to be asked this question as part of a service procurement process earlier this year. I have very strong principles about sustainability and reducing my carbon impact, but I don’t undertake any formal process of measuring. So that’s something to add to my training and skills plan for the next year. In the meantime, I took time to reflect on the things I do to reduce my impact.

My life, and by extension my business, is based on being environmentally friendly and sustainable, treading lightly to reduce my footprint. I follow the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle and when purchasing I support local businesses, social enterprises and charities.
My New Year’s resolution for 2022 was to look to purchase locally first and online second to support my local high street. I was surprised at the benefits I experienced from this change. Physically visiting my local shops boosted my mood, getting to know producers in the market, small business and shop owners. Time spent strolling was much more enjoyable than time spent scrolling. Chance encounters with friends, serendipitous purchases and some fresh air made me smile.

I was delighted to find a local social enterprise for printing while attending a Pride event in 2022. Flourish Paper in Tavistock has good environmental credentials and supports vulnerable women back in to work. As well as printing my business cards, they produce a great range of stationery. If you are looking for environmentally friendly printing do look them up online https://www.flourish-paper.co.uk/
I reduce my carbon footprint by doing most of my work online including most meetings, but occasionally I travel to meet with clients, deliver training and make visit sites. I use public transport when I can, but also calculate my travel related carbon using an online carbon footprint calculator and offset those emissions with a donation to an environment charity. There are a lot of environmental charities where you can donate to offset your carbon, but I chose to support a local project conserving rare lowland heath in line with my decision to support small local organisations.

I volunteer for 2 local charities that promote recycling, improve local spaces for nature and engage the public through events and activities. My workplace is heated and lit using renewable energy and this year I plan to change my transport to a hybrid or electric vehicle.
Meeting funders requirements on sustainability

When working with clients I help them to meet funders requirements on sustainability, here are some of my suggestions:

1. Support local businesses, charities and social enterprises to reduce travel miles and benefit your community.

2. Catering – using a local supplier is normal for catering, consider finding a start-up business or social enterprise that provides employment for people who are being supported in to work to increase your impact. Using vegan catering will educe your impact and can introduce people to alternatives from a meat or dairy based diet. It is important to ensure that food is sourced sustainably, especially fish.

3. Venues – if you need to hire meeting rooms, hot-desk or need a venue for an event, consider supporting charities, local churches, community buildings or small businesses with space to rent.

4. Printing and Stationery – use environmentally friendly printers using eco inks and recycled paper. Consider alternatives to print, do you need a physical leaflet?

5. Suppliers - are they environmentally friendly, if not can you make a swap to a supplier with better eco credentials.

6. Nature - Can you do anything to support nature and help with the biodiversity crisis? Planting for pollinators, create a pond, take part in nature survey’s or create habitat.

7. Community - Can you support efforts in your community, help people to understand the impact of the climate crisis or give space to local groups that champion change?