With Brexit discussion monopolising the news for some time, it’s refreshing to read news that the governments and larger corporations are pushing climate change higher up the agenda. Inspiring young climate activist Greta Thunberg (search @gretathurnberg on Instagram) has proved to have had a profound impact on the government’s worldwide, setting a positive example with her fight for climate change and encouraging the younger generation worldwide to take a stand.
The South West is home to many firms which have ethical business values and are committed to being environmentally friendly and there are some fantastic initiatives setup to support the community, in together, becoming a greener region.
Sims Hill Shared Harvest is a fantastic Bristol based project setup just 4miles outside of the City centre: “Sims Hill provides local vegetables in Bristol raised using natural farming methods and runs social projects for and with the local community.”
Successful Bristol firm Pukka – whose core business is in teabag production, have been championing their values around sustainability and individual wellbeing since their launch. It’s a business which is true to their ethos, they have actively tracked and worked hard to reduce their operational carbon footprint. Have a read of their sustainability report here: click here.
We were also really interested to read about Pukka’s recent local Bristol based initiative launched to encourage children to connect and embrace nature, the have agreed to provide herb gardens to 40 schools across England – well done Pukka, what a wonderful thing to do!
Stroud in Gloucestershire is home to the large electricity provide; Ecotricity, which offers a very different approach to other electricity providers and off-sets and invests profits in to some great energy saving initiatives.
This got us thinking… Going green and making ethical changes not only benefits the environment but how does ‘going green’ impact employee moral and employee wellbeing? Budgets are limited for many SME’s, and more often than not, the most ethical route is often the more expensive route – yet should we all be adopting this and will it in turn have a positive impact on the bottom line, through creating a more rounded and happier team – that know they are doing things as ethically as possible and working for a business which is investing in the world we live in.
As a professional services business ourselves, we currently do the following to help the environment:
- As paperless as possible – but when we do print documents which require in-depth reading and annotating (the screen just isn’t the same sometimes!) but at the end we ensure we shred and recycle all our paper waste.
- Share car journeys – as we don’t have offices and our team work remotely, whenever possible, our team members will share car journeys to team meetings – saves both money and the environment.
- Cycle to work schemes: where possible we support companies to implement cycle to work schemes.
- Encouraging businesses to introduce greenery – both inside and outside of their offices, helping to reduce carbon dioxide omissions.
- Supporting local firms: where possible, we source items in local smaller firms, trying to support small businesses whenever we can and reduce the need to travel further afield.
What does your business do? We’d love to hear your tips and tricks on how your business is going green!
If you have anything further to add to this piece, and ideas of how we can support the environment better, we’d love to hear from you. Please do comment below or feel free to get in touch with us direct: Rise HR Ltd, call us on 0844 854 6704 or email us at hello@risehr.co.uk.