Small ways businesses can help the planet this Earth Day

Earth Day is celebrated every year on the 22nd of April as a global celebration of our planet and an ongoing commitment to protecting our environment and everything in it.

As a certified B corp on a mission to use business as a force for good, we’re always looking for ways to look after our planet and reduce our impact on the environment and as there are now 2000 B Corp-certified businesses in the UK even more businesses are doing the same. 

Looking at your day-to-day purchases, there are usually plenty of swaps you can make to be more sustainable. When looking at our suppliers, the things we try and look for are: plastic-free, eco- friendly and B Corp-certified businesses. 

We changed the way we order company merch. We now use a local supplier and choose products that are made from recycled materials. We also ask the team what they would actually wear and order the correct size for everyone, so they get the fit and style they want.

We’ve also made simple changes in the kitchen, such as eco dishwasher tablets, recycled bin bags and bamboo scrubbing brushes instead of plastic sponges. 

Even the way we do our monthly team lunches has changed. We used to do a random Deliveroo pick and let everyone order what they fancied, but we found the amount of throw-away unsustainable packaging that was left over was huge. 

Now we choose from a short list of ethically minded local restaurants and takeaways, where we know they use recyclable or compostable plastic-free packaging. We often collect the order on foot as well reducing the carbon footprint of our monthly deliveries.

A tricky one to figure out and implement, but one that we think about a lot. Through our Ecologi subscription, we plant 2 trees per employee every month, which means we offset up to 11,000 kg of Co2e per month across the agency. 

On top of this, we also encourage virtual meetings whenever possible and offset our emissions when travelling to meetings or events that need to be in person. 

Employees receive advice on energy efficiency at home, such as turning devices off at the plug and installing energy-efficient lighting. 

For both home and the office we have preferred supplier docs for purchasing equipment and supplies. This list includes plastic-free suppliers, B Corp businesses and small local vendors – reducing the temptation to just go straight to Amazon.