WHAT IS A GREEN AND ETHICAL POLICY?

Here at EcoSwitch, we see our Green and Ethical Policy as a statement of our core values which underpin the way we manage our business.

It encompasses an ‘ethical policy’, ‘green policy’ or what others might call an ‘environmental policy’.

The Pillars of our Green and Ethical Policy are as follows:

1. ENERGY SUPPLY

We source ALL of our electricity from 100% Renewables.

We refuse to pay our energy bill to a supplier that doesn’t re-invest the majority or all of their profits back into Renewable generation. For every £1 we spend on our bill, our supplier will actually match that £1 and invest that money into building new 100% Renewable Generation -thereby ensuring a truly sustainable future.

2. WEBHOSTING

EcoSwitch is hosted on an energy efficient server with Rackspace Green Hosting.

3. AT HOME

Staff are incentivised to work from home where possible, thereby minimising CO2 emissions from travel. Alternative means of communication are encouraged such as skype meetings and/or teleconference facilities to further reduce emissions, save time and promote efficient working practices.

4. ON THE MOVE

If staff have to travel to work or meetings, we encourage them to do so by the following means (and in order of least CO2 emissions): foot, bicycle, public transport, scooter, motorbike, electric car or a car which emits less than 120g of CO2 per km.

Where fleet cars are purchased, only models that emit less than 120g of CO2 per km are sourced.

5. AT THE OFFICE

Once in the Office, staff use laptops which require 1/10 of the energy of a PC and use both sides of a piece of paper for notes.

Low energy lighting is used and lights and appliances are switched off when not in use.

All waste is recycled. We promote a culture of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

We source organic, fair-trade and sustainable food and stationary from suppliers. We believe that non-organic produce and the use of pesticides is very damaging to our ecosystems.

We do not source products or services from companies or organisations involved in the arms trade.

We offset an additional 2 tonnes of CO2 per year for every client or supplier that we work with.

6. SUPPLIER CARBON REDUCTION PROGRAMME

All Suppliers we deal with have a robust Green and Ethical Policy in place.

7. CUSTOMER CARBON REDUCTION PROGRAMME

Through thousands of online articles, how to guides and comparisons, we help consumers cut through the greenwash and identify the really green and/or ethical companies.

Through visitors switching to a green energy company and 100% Renewable tariff on the site, their Carbon emissions are reduced by a substantial 33% – the approximate amount of CO2 that power stations are responsible for emitting each year.

We help inform our readers and customers about Global Warming and Climate Change, together with the actions we can take to mitigate our Carbon Footprint.

We attend, promote and sometimes exhibit at leading environmental trade shows and conferences to help educate the public on environmental issues and taking action (switching). Events we are involved with each year include, for example, UKAware, The Economist Sustainability Summit and EcoBuild to name a few.

8. COMMUNITY

We provide Tree Planting jobs to local underprivileged people in Africa. So far enough trees have been planted to absorb over 500 tons of CO2 in their lifetime.

Africa has been relied upon for their beautiful hardwoods for years. Much of this now adorns our houses in the form of antiques and hardwood furnishings. We feel that it is now time to give something back to Africa. After we found out that trees in the tropics absorb up to 3 times more CO2 as they are growing in comparison to trees in Northern Hemispheres, we realised it made much more sense to plant abroad.

The trees are planted sustainably and are properly integrated with the environment. Locals benefit from the fruit, animals enjoy the additional habitat and all living creatures including humankind rely on the vital life giving Oxygen and Nitrogen produced by trees.

All trees planted are also registered with the United Nations Billion Tree Campaign.

9. OTHER EXCITING FEATURES OF OUR POLICY ARE COMING

Stay tuned. We update our policy regularly so there is always something new and improved on the horizon.

10. NOT CONVINCED?

Well what can we say? We may see you hanging from a wind turbine when sea levels rise and the tides come in…

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