There are so many steps any business can take towards net zero that don’t require audits, special permissions, certifications, or hiring expensive consultants.
Below is a grab-bag of ideas so you can get started pretty much right away.
(Head’s up, there’s a lot of switching).
If you can’t afford, or can’t obtain access to your own renewable energy, visit the Green Electricity Guide to find power alternatives that offer power from renewable sources in your state.
The big 4 banks are not your only option, and are actually the worst options from a climate perspective (even if they offer “green” products).
A lot of funding for coal mines, fracking, and other horrible industries comes from banks… and if you weren’t aware of this I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s actually your money they invest.
By switching to an ethical bank that both refuses to support the fossil fuel industry and instead supports awesome projects like renewable energy, community sports, and indigenous businesses, you’re taking control of where your money is invested.
If you bank with the big 4–or any of the banks listed on Market Forces as supporting the fossil fuel industry–check their list of alternatives by filtering for the ones that don’t support the fossil fuel industry, pick another one, and start the switching process.
Similar to banks, super funds use your money to invest in projects that either align with their values, or make big bucks (like fossil fuels).
And again, it’s all your money.
Market Forces has a separate listing of super funds here, so in the same way as banks above, filter for those who don’t support fossil fuels, pick a new one, and switch!
If the 3 steps above are too hands-on, sign up to Triple Switch where they’ll step you through the process of switching all 3 – power, banking and superannuation.
The web is pretty mucky. Our websites use power, which comes from server environments usually running on fossil fuel.
There’s a small but growing selection of green web hosting options where, depending on your platform, you can move your website in a matter of hours and instantly reduce your emissions.
If you want to know your current emissions, punch your URL into the Website Carbon Calculator.
To find an alternative green web host, ideally in Australia (or the country you usually conduct business in), check the Green Web Foundation directory.
We use and recommend Serversaurus for Australian-based green hosting and support (that’s an affiliate link).
A much bigger undertaking than switching web hosts, but if it’s plausible for you, consider reworking your website into a “low carbon” format, particularly if you receive high traffic.
Low carbon websites are optimised to consume the fewest resources possible, from removing superfluous code blocks, to optimising a darker colour palette, to minimising images and video, or removing them entirely if they’re purely aesthetic.
By default, a low carbon website will often also improve accessibility.
Check out the lowwwcarbon website for examples, and some specialist agencies to speak with.
This sounds big because it is.
Your suppliers are likely the largest contributor to your business emissions, so it pays to check on them now and then.
A simple method is to export your bank statement or accounting file, highlight all of your suppliers, and go do some digging.
Check their websites for sustainability (or similar) pages. If they don’t have a page, email and ask for either their sustainability statement, or their 2030 agenda – they may have a document that hasn’t made it to their website yet.
Read every supplier’s page – it’ll give you a sense for what everyone seems to be doing, and what matters most to you (if you don’t have an idea already). It’ll also highlight which of your suppliers are lagging behind everyone else.
If you spot one lagging, you have at least two options: Discuss, or replace.
DISCUSS:
Consider if this supplier is critical to your offerings, or just one of many alternatives.
If they’re critical, it’s worth mentioning to them where you feel they’re lagging behind in their climate commitments.
It can be as simple as an email or a DM asking if they plan to do something about X, Y, or Z in the near future, eg:
“I notice you’ve mentioned plans to be fully circular by 2030, but it looks like you’re still using non-recyclable materials for {this-thing}, any plans to fix that?”
Cool companies will like being challenged and often have a response ready, or will put it on the agenda to be discussed and keep you in the loop.
REPLACE:
Harsh, but if they’re easily replaceable, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to step up climate-wise, you can look for another supplier who will.
The number of climate aware companies are constantly on the rise, so while there will always be exceptions, there’s bound to be an alternative in many cases.
Your suppliers make up a huge percentage of your scope 3 emissions, which are the hardest of the 3 scopes to clean up.
For self-employed creatives, normal business traps are easy to fall into and overcomplicate things - but they’re totally avoidable when flying solo.
Learn how to keep things simple, enjoyable, and climate-smart in around 2 minutes a day by joining The Climate Soloist.