Our small business climate action
As a sustainable investment platform it would be easy for Abundance to say “climate action is what we do every day!” and leave it at that. But that’s not how we operate. We’re a small business with fairly small budgets to match, and yet we’ve still found numerous swaps and initiatives that benefit the planet and our employees.
We don’t have all the answers and we’re aware there is an awful lot more to do. Here’s what we’ve done to date as a small business and what’s next on our list. We hope it can inspire you!
Our energy supply
Abundance buys its office electricity from a 100% renewable supplier. This was one of the first, and simplest, things we did to take climate action as a small business.
Environmental purchasing policy
A little more involved, but this is an internal policy which governs how we decide which cleaning products, soap, paper etc. to buy, and where to buy them from. It simply involves buying from a list of independently rated ethical suppliers.
In addition to this we buy in bulk and refill our washing up liquid, soap dispensers, and spray bottles, which reduces the amount of plastic waste we generate. Our old single use soap dispensers have been replaced with long lasting bamboo alternatives.
Our toilet paper comes from a company that produces recycled toilet paper and a virgin bamboo alternative. We chose bamboo because it’s an endlessly sustainable material; while recycled paper (which we love for our printer) is great, it still originates from trees, which take a long time to grow and thus replace. Bamboo grows 30 times quicker than conventional trees, and can produce similar multiples of oxygen and absorb as much carbon, too.
Office fruit
Our employees get free fruit in the office. Not only is this great for promoting healthy snacking, it’s also good for the planet. The fruit is delivered weekly in a returned and re-used wicker basket, and the only thing in (compostable) plastic is berries and grapes. Everything else sits merrily together, no wrapping needed.
While our employees are snacking, the company that delivers the fruit is busy planting fruit trees in Malawi. Each basket pays for 1 new fruit tree, which is good for the planet because it combats deforestation, and good for local communities, as each tree gives farmers a boost to their earning potential for years to come.
Sustainable transport
Abundance is a member of the Cycle to Work scheme, which is a government run scheme that offers discounts on bicycles and cycling accessories (locks, helmets, clothing, etc.). Helped by the scheme, half of our team cycles to work each day.
Next steps
The next big step for Abundance is understanding the carbon intensity of our wider business so that we can take steps to reduce it, and offset any that’s unavoidable. Fellow B Corp Carbon Analytics is a software that plugs into Xero and, using sophisticated knowledge and algorithms, can tell us the CO2 emissions of our operations and supply chain. We’ll report back when we’re up and running with it.
We are also looking to implement a business travel offsetting policy. There isn’t much flying done as part of our work at Abundance, but we’d like to ensure that on the odd occasion the need does arise, that we are committed to limiting and offsetting the impact in the best way possible. We’ll let you know which policies and/or charities we choose to do so with.
It is our hope that these examples may inspire other SMEs to make similar changes. We know it can be difficult to know where to start, and are hopeful that HMRC’s Making Tax Digital will make it easier for Government to see the impact of SMEs and thus use the data being gathered to inform and incentivise businesses to change. After all, if we are to avert climate breakdown then businesses are going to need to change their behaviour as much as consumers are being asked to. What Abundance does now is only the start.
Risk warning
As with any investment product there are risks. Part or all of your original invested capital may be at risk and any return on your investment depends on the success of the project invested in. You should be prepared to hold Abundance investments for their full term and investments may not be readily realisable. Estimated rates of return can be variable and estimates are no guarantee of actual return. Specific risks will apply in relation to each product. Consider all risks before investing and read the Offer Document for each investment.
