4 Ways Businesses can Kickstart their Sustainability Journey in 2023
With COP27 just after finishing, and we start looking into the eyes of 2023, it’s easy to say that “sustainability” was the word on everyone’s lips in 2022.
Incorporating sustainability is crucial for businesses today. As well as helping to create a greener future, sustainable practices pay off. 43% of companies already have plans to become carbon-neutral or achieve net zero, but the question often is – where do you start?
We’ve put together 4 simple ways your business can kickstart your sustainability journey in 2023, ensuring you’re not being left behind.
1. Measure you carbon footprint
What gets measured, gets managed!
The first thing to do is to understand where you are starting from – what is your current level of emissions and what are the sources of these emissions. Once you understand your starting point, then you can work out where the opportunities are for reducing emissions. In general business CO2 emissions come from using energy – electricity for light, IT, cooling, thermal energy for space, process and water heating, and transport fuels for business travel.
Are you still not sure where to start? At Techies Go Green we can work with you to measure your carbon footprint, and what’s more, create an action plan to reduce it! You can also check out this post where we talk about how you can start measuring your carbon footprint.
2. Switch to Renewable Energy
On site renewable energy is becoming more attractive as technologies improve and costs fall. These my include Solar PV to generate electricity onsite, solar thermal to generate hot water or even wind turbines may be appropriate if you’re not located in an urban area.
Switching to renewable electricity seems like a major task for businesses - but it actually couldn’t be easier. There is a lot of support out there from organisations like the SEAI (in Ireland), who are promoting the options for green electricity all the time.
One of the Techies Go Green goals is for all of our signatories switch to a green energy provider (electricity provider). We have the support and resource to help you do just that, with switching taking just 30 minutes and can be a massive step on the journey to carbon neutrality.
3. Get involved in the circular economy – recycle your IT equipment!
Did you know that each year over 50 million tonnes of electronic waste is created? This figure is astonishing and leads into why you should start looking at not only recycling your old IT equipment, but purchasing it too.
When it comes to sustainable IT, buying refurbished technology is only one part of creating a circular economy. If IT equipment you’re looking to upgrade is still in working order it should be repurposed again through a sustainable IT asset disposal company. By using a certified organisation you can rest assured your device will be refurbished and resold or if unsuitable sustainably recycled, with parts and components being harvested for reuse.
4. Carbon Offsetting
Carbon offsetting can be defined as reducing or sequestering carbon emissions in one area in order to compensate for carbon emissions made in another area.
When you have gone through the above steps to minimise your carbon footprint, if you want to become carbon neutral, or carbon negative, you can buy carbon offsets - for example you could invest in tree planting which will remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
There are several agencies that conduct independent verifications of the quality of offsetting schemes. While the approval of a reputable third party such as Gold Standard or Verra is certainly a plus, it does not always guarantee quality; you should also investigate offsetting projects yourself before investing in them.
The next step? Join Techies Go Green.
If you want to learn more about sustainability and what your company can do to become more sustainable, consider joining Techies Go Green. Techies Go Green is a movement dedicated to decarbonising IT and tech-oriented companies through collaborating and sharing knowledge. Membership is open to both companies and individuals within the UK and Ireland. We would love to have you join and to help you in your journey towards sustainability and decarbonisation.