Throughout my working life I have seen poor examples of businesses and organisations engaging with their suppliers and customers, their local communities and their local environments and am often left wondering, why? At Practically Green we want to be a valued partner for our suppliers, customers, local community and our local environment. As a new micro business, a full environmental management system is impractical so what we do is manage activities with consideration for the environment, our local community, customers and suppliers. What does this mean in practice? It means;
- minimising office energy use by ensuring all equipment is switched off when not in use,
- minimising office waste by using electronic media and documents, invoicing etc.
- developing a transport mix that reflects weather conditions and journey requirements.
- engaging with clients in ways that help minimise environmental impacts.
A copy of our environmental policy is available here. A copy of our sustainability policy is available here.
In addition to our environmental commitments, we help support local environmental and community activity;
- September 2010 – I was sponsored to complete the First Monster 120 km duathlon challenge and raised funds for the local primary school.
- As a director of our local community trust I am part of the team that supports and develops local projects that encourage a positive social, economic and environmental legacy.
Reflecting our business philosophy, we are one of the 56 UK members of the global 1% for the Planet initiative which has nearly 1,400 members. This initiative was started by climber Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia outdoor clothing, and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies. They understood it was good business to protect the natural resources that kept them in business. Each year we all allocate 1% of our revenue to support local environmental and community projects, reducing our impact on the planet and helping to help sustain our home, our children’s home and their children’s home.