My Ethos & Values

I work hard to ensure my business and working practices are as sustainable as possible and reduce the environmental impact of my business. But, as much as I try, my business still produces carbon emissions.

However, to reduce that carbon footprint, I do the following:

How my business is eco-friendly:

Tree Sisters

I have a partnership with Tree Sisters called Trees for Transactions. This means that ecological restoration is embedded into my business in a very real way.

For every hour I work for you, I donate to plant 4 trees. I therefore log and charge time in one-tree increments (15 minutes).

You, as my client, are directly contributing to these tree planting programmes. See “my forest” here.

Search Engine

And speaking of planting trees, I use Ecosia as my primary search engine. If you have not heard of Ecosia, it is the search engine that plants trees! I search the internet with Ecosia, who generate income by search ads and then they use this money to plant trees.

Since 2009 they have planted over 100 million trees! Occasionally I do need to revert to Google but I love to support this cause in such a simple way.

Energy

I work from home and I use energy from 100% renewable sources (Tonik). As much as possible, I use natural light and ventilation to work, but I have also invested in LED lighting and try to use low-energy computing and other equipment wherever possible. Of course, I also turn off and unplug equipment when I’m done for the day.

Travel

Even before Covid-19 made home-working normal, I was avoiding the daily commute by working from home and avoided work-related travel where possible. The use of Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp and email, together with remote access and collaborative software means that meeting in person is not a requirement. Which is a good thing, as some of my clients live on the other side of the country! But I’d definitely take the train to see them.

Paper and office supplies

As I run a paperless office, my need for office supplies is generally low. But when I do have to use paper/envelopes/files I, of course, prefer to purchase recycled and try to use environmentally friendly ink for the (very occasional) printing. I also try to reuse and/or recycle paper and stationery wherever possible.

Ethical businesses choices

When procuring products or services, for myself and for clients, I do my due diligence and research the most eco-friendly and ethical alternatives. For example, this website is hosted using Eco Web Hosting, which is carbon neutral and powered by renewable sources.

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