I know that “going green” can feel daunting. Or expensive. Or like a concept that doesn’t apply to you. I’ve worked on successful sustainability advocacy projects for the better part of a decade, with the Environmental Defense Fund to the National Maritime Sanctuary Foundation. But it wasn’t until I launched my own agencies that I started to look under the hood. Or bonnet.
A few weeks ago, my business partner and I joined comms experts from across the UK at Comms Unplugged to talk to them about our own sustainability journey, and how we communicate our efforts with our audience. We encouraged them to undertake the Sustainable Pathways model and assess how their organisation or business was doing, and to pitch their comms strategy to us. The winner received our carbon-neutral, 100% organic t-shirt (yes I did a ton of research to find a print on-demand, zero-waste UK manufacturer).
There are businesses and organisations that make pledges to carbon neutrality, but don’t take action. And there are even more that don’t even take the pledges because of lack of awareness or a variety of factors. According to Forbes, 30 percent of UK SMEs have no plans to adopt a plan to become carbon neutral.
We are aiming to be carbon neutral by the end of 2023. I have a plan, thanks to Small Business Britain’s six-week Sustainability Course with Oxford Brookes Business School, Small99 and a few other very helpful resources. It is top of mind for me and I am taking steps to ensure we achieve this goal by the end of the year.
We are a consulting agency and do not always produce a physical product. However we still believe that we all have a part to play in achieving carbon neutrality. We are working on this and are transparent about our journey. Here’s where we are right now:
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We have signed the UK’s Pledge to Net Zero by 2050 and submitted our Commitment to the SME Climate Hub.
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We have joined our formal, local circular community of businesses and nonprofits called Circular Dorking.
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We have assessed our Carbon Footprint using Small 99’s Calculator and continue to take steps to make DigiKind a sustainable business. Our website is currently hosted on a platform which we have recently discovered is not hosted on a green provider. We are taking steps to remedy this now and are moving to a green host and are building our website on a new CMS. This has been a lift for me, but I am doing it. I design and code sites but it really comes down to dedicating the time to doing the work.
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We’ve spoken with our service providers, like Squarespace, Slack and others and evaluated their carbon footprint, as well as our own. Which is why we are leaving Squarespace.
We focus on creating a digital ecosystem that listens to the needs of our local communities. We all have a role in doing our part in reducing our carbon footprint. It can start with just starting. Here are some recommendations and some actions we have already taken:
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Choose Local and shop locally
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Create sustainable communities
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Switch to renewable energy suppliers
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Evaluate operations and logistics
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Purchase furniture and appliances that are used or second hand – why not embrace the upcycling revolution? This will help cut down on your total emissions.
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Evaluate your partners and suppliers – are they as sustainable as you are? Small99 has a nice template for this.
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Plant a tree and offset your emissions. Join us and plant trees in our ‘DigiKind Forest’
We reserve a portion of our client work to be sustainability focused, and we make efforts to use green tech platforms and work hard to reduce our carbon footprint as individuals. We also promote and support sustainable companies, organisations and SMEs for free on our channels. We are open about our progress and share resources and directories to help others. I have found these to be particularly helpful:
Small Business Gift Guide promotes sustainable, local and artisan makers
Assess your business using the Small 99 Carbon Calculator
Measure your website’s carbon footprint
Join us in our efforts and let us know how you are getting on.
