GOING GREEN
SYSTEMAGIC ACHIEVES CARBON NEUTRAL STATUS
Achieving Carbon Neutral Status is no easy task , it takes time , commitment and a complete analysis of every aspect of a business and its processes . James Eades , Owner and Managing Director of Bradford on Avon-based IT Support firm , Systemagic shares his business journey to carbon neutrality .
What process did you go through to get to this stage ?
We started by using a free online tool to do an initial assessment . Then we looked at our main source of emissions – our offices – and decided to invest in making them as energy-efficient as possible .
We had a smart heating system installed and we even upgraded our office shower to an energy-efficient model . We also changed our office waste contractor to Hills because they can recycle more of the waste they collect .
Lastly , we started to reduce our travel by doing more jobs remotely where possible . We then used a third party to perform a full carbon footprint assessment .
How long did it take ? The actual analysis and certification process only took a few days – it ’ s important to have electric , gas and water usage stats to hand . It can then take a bit of time to collate annual figures like business mileage , total spend on cloud computing , Software as a Service [ SaaS ] and web hosting and even how much you ’ ve spent on food and drink as a business . But a good assessment partner should walk you through the process .
What is the biggest thing you learnt on the journey ?
It was eye-opening to learn how much of a carbon footprint cloud computing and SaaS services – like Microsoft 365 and Xero – have . This area is overlooked on all the free calculators we ’ d found but is a huge contributor to Systemagic ’ s carbon footprint as I ’ m sure it is to many companies .
How are you incorporating offsets and reductions into your plan ?
Sadly , using offsets seems to be the only way of getting most businesses to a carbon-neutral state . Even if we ’ d moved our office to solar electricity , it would have been impossible to offset the carbon emissions caused by commuting , working from home and using things like Microsoft 365 - so offsets are an important part of any carbon neutral programme . What ’ s important is to do your due diligence on offset projects and ensure their integrity and transparency .
Which online calculators or tools did you use ? We started by using www . carbonfootprint . com which is a free basic calculator . We then worked with Freddie at Minimum Office ( www . minimum . eco ) who is creating a fantastic tool to make the whole process faster , easier and more accessible .
What tips would you give to anyone else setting out on this journey ?
If you ’ re going to do it , do it properly !
For more info : www . systemagic . co . uk
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