We are constantly researching and introducing measures into our business model to help us reach net-zero emissions and be kinder to the environment. Although we are a small business, everyone needs to do their little bit to help the environment and reduce our carbon footprint.
We have made significant progress internally as our business grows and are always looking to improve. So far, we have:
- Removed all plastic packaging, bubble wrap, plastic void fill and plastic tape from our customer's shipments and all inbound shipments from our suppliers.
- We have added biodegradable packing peanuts for box void filling for all shipments or recycled craft paper.
- Our spray triggers are premium trigger heads that can be reused repeatedly.
- Our bottles are manufactured from recycled plastic pellets, and we are working with our suppliers to move away fully from plastic containers in due course.
However, there is still more we can do. The largest carbon footprint/impact area is the shipment of customer orders. Our delivery partners are working on their initiatives to reduce this impact with cleaner modes of transport etc.. and whilst our partners are working hard to reduce direct emissions as much as possible, we can also help offset some of this carbon footprint.
To be clear, offsets are not a replacement for taking actions to reduce our carbon footprint — they are, in addition, to compensate for emissions we can't currently avoid until our partners can go net zero.
A portion of our revenue goes to carbon removal companies that scientists from Carbon Direct have vetted. Those companies use that money to remove however much carbon our shipments create. Any extra funds go toward the further development of carbon removal technologies as well as restoring forests by replanting trees.
We are utilising AI to drive carbon capture and help protect global forests by protecting old-growth trees and growing new ones. To start, we are working with the Jari Pará Forest Conservation Project, located in the tropical Amazon rainforest of Brazil. This project covers almost 500,000 hectares of land. An area rich with biodiversity and diverse plant species of ecological/social importance.
Each customer shipment will have its footprint measured and a fee calculated to offset the delivery carbon footprint. The collected funds are used to protect the forest and plant more trees. By collectively reducing our emissions and protecting forests, we can work towards net-zero emissions as our business grows. In time we will post further blog updates on how much of an area our shipment collections have assisted the Jari Pará Forest programme and other projects we will invest in as our business grows.
More information on our offset partner, Pachama, can be found at https://pachama.com, and this programme is certified by Verra https://verra.org/project/vcs-program/
Additional information on our Climate Commitment