Keeping our own health and wellbeing in check is very important, but we must never dismiss the wellbeing of our planet.
The lifestyles we have become so used to seem harmless, so how is it they have become so damaging to the environment? We are on a mission to have a Sustainable September, making positive changes in the Whyfield office for the good of the planet.
Over the course of the month, we will share our favourite ideas that will help us all make sustainable substitutions to the things we buy and the way we live.
There are plenty of businesses out there already pushing the boundaries to be as green as possible, some going far enough to become carbon neutral.
There are countless things we could change to reduce the amount of CO2 going into the atmosphere and the plastic going into our oceans.
Of course, there are higher impact changes like buying an electric car. However, it’s the day-to-day changes that everybody contributing to would really add up and create positive change for the environment.
Here are just some of the changes we can all make:
Our first change for Sustainable September was part of a staple in day-to-day office life. With all of the tea and coffee we drink, it only seemed right we cancelled out the plastic from the milk that we get through.
While we strive to move forward with the new ways of digital accounting through Making Tax Digital, some things are best left to the old ways.
Going back to glass bottled milk is certainly refreshing; it costs less, has barely any impact on the planet and we think it tastes better!
In the UK alone, we use over 35 million plastic milk bottles a year. If that wasn’t bad enough, it is estimated that half of them aren’t even recycled!
If enough people switch to glass-bottled milk it will make a massive difference. We highly recommend seeking out your local milk refill station by Rodda’s. You simply pick up a clean milk bottle at the station, fill it with milk and return the bottle when it’s empty.
We love our beaches, so there is nothing worse than seeing them littered with plastics that have been left behind or washed ashore.
We are organising our first beach clean, and hopefully the first of many! Full details will follow, so keep an eye on our social channels or sign up to join our mailing list to find out how you can take part.
Single-use plastics and other disposable materials are creating a huge issue for our environment. Production has ramped up with the demand for disposable items like face masks rising since the pandemic.
But if you’re a tea or coffee drinker then there’s a really easy switch to make that will save tonnes of paper and plastic a year. Carrying a travel mug or reusable coffee cup with you will cut the need for a disposable takeaway cup.
Takeaway cups are not recyclable, not the majority at least. We go through roughly 2.5 million of these every single year and that is only projected to rise for the foreseeable future.
We can stop millions of disposable waste going to landfill or filling our seas just by making one change: using reusable cups.
We have already cut our paper usage by more than 80%. This month, we have decided to begin giving back to the planet. Find out more about our Paperless Pledge.
This is such a big change that so many businesses can make. Even cutting your paper use can save trees being cut down for unnecessary printing.
On average a single tree can store up to a tonne of CO2 in its lifetime. The more trees that are cut down, the more tonnes of CO2 that are going into our atmosphere.
By cutting down on our paper usage we have saved 5 trees a year for the past four years. To make up for all of the paper we have used, we will plant trees every September to replace those we have used.
If you too would like to replant the trees you have used or continue to use, we recommend checking out the National Trust’s Plant a Tree fund.