I'd been invited to talk because of the work we have done to make our own activities sustainable, and help other businesses to adopt a sustainable communication strategy. To find out more you can visit the Today and Tomorrow website. I explained a little bit about our motivation to create a sustainable design company, the work we have done to turn our office green, and what the benefits of embracing an environmental strategy are.
So what are the benefits? There are two; it helps us to make money and it helps us to save money. In a competitive market place those are two very useful things. We have been exposed to new business opportunities that would have passed us by if we hadn't adopted an environmental position. And we have saved money by reducing our energy consumption - by 9% at our last review - and that's just by unplugging our computers from the mains at night.
But what about the bigger picture? How does this help the environment? Well, we have also reduced the volume of waste that leaves the office by 15% (and by printing on both sides of a sheet of paper before we recycle it). We're consuming less energy, and by implementing our Green Procurement policy, we are supporting other businesses that are also trying to make a difference. At our last review 37% of the services we bought were from 'green' suppliers. And that's really where we can have the biggest impact - helping our clients to reduce their impact, through the services we buy on their behalf. Print buying is the most significant area; from the paper we specify, to the printer who does the job.
It's not perfect by a long way, but it's a step (or two) in the right direction.
