KFA are (and have always been!) Carbon Neutral
At the beginning of 2020, our resident environmental expert Kathryn was given the unenviable task of assessing our carbon footprint. For anyone who’s ever thought about this work, even as a small business it’s not straight-forward. It’s no mean feat, and the arrival of coronavirus definitely didn’t help!
But we’ve now got fantastic news to share.
I’m very pleased to say we have no scope 1 emissions, and no scope 2 either, so by all current methodologies we are (and have always been!) zero carbon.
Our business model was designed to leave nothing but footprints;
- Our purchasing policy demands no purchases of anything new.
- We try to source from as close as possible to our base, from independent traders wherever possible.
- Our IT kit is all refurbished.
- Our office furniture (including the most comfortable armchairs I’ve ever sat in!) is all second hand.
- Our office kitchen is made out of reclaimed scaffolding boards and recycled worktops.
- We are paperless, well, not quite… The only paper we do use is loo roll, which is 100% recycled, bleach-free and arrives in plastic-free packaging.
- And our energy comes from 100% renewable sources.
But you can probably spot our biggest issue… Scope three, and our extended supply chain, becomes more challenging to measure, control and change!
Mostly because the major inputs into either end of our supply chain are software companies and HMRC – neither of whom have placed much importance on carbon (beyond surface level greenwashing for marketing purposes – in my opinion!).
There is also an ideological issue with “net zero” as an objective; “net” anything allows less scrupulous businesses to say “we’ll continue business as usual, but buy credits to offset the damage we’re doing”. Which isn’t actually the point. The change is the point – the original three word slogan was “reduce, reuse, recycle”, recycle being the last of the three options.
If everyone gets their own house in order (starting with buying renewable energy and recycled loo roll), and strived to reduce their own environmental footprint, we’d stand a good chance of saving our species from melting or drowning as a result of climate breakdown.
There’s a bigger picture of course, and regulation is needed, along with the end of fossil fuel, banking and farming subsidies, but as we saw in parliament yesterday, the system is stacked against us (Dawn Butler getting kicked out of parliament for telling the truth… how can that be ok?!?!?).
Everyone must do what we can to force system change, and when the Tories finally realise, they’ll have no choice but to adapt to support us, or fizzle out into insignificance (here’s hoping).
There are an ever increasing number of us who know old-school capitalism is destroying our planet and every species that lives here.
These same people know the system needs to change, but the weight of power at the moment is against us, although with movements like BCorp things are changing. But still lots of people and businesses will need encouragement into doing the right thing, which is why government involvement is required.
Time is running out, but change is coming… we need everyone to become climate activists now, do whatever you can to make a positive impact and keep the ripple spreading wider and wider.
If we don’t, the consequences don’t bear thinking about.
Remain positive, and hopeful!
With love and rage,
Team KFA
