News / Blog

As the end of another successful year rapidly approaches we have been thinking about ways to improve our business. After a team meeting there was one clear agenda at the top of everyone’s list – reducing our carbon footprint. So, with that in mind, we have chosen to make 2007 the year when Blue Latitude changes colour by becoming more environmentally friendly.

This does not mean that we are going to be moving offices again and setting up a commune of tipis in Cornwall, but it does mean we will be reviewing our energy use.

We will be keeping you up to speed on how we are doing and aim to be able to claim we are “Carbon Neutral” sometime in the first 6 months of 2007. We will do this, not just by buying trees to offset our emissions, but by making some simple changes to the way our business works.

Some of the things we are doing or have planned are listed below and we hope that this will encourage you to join us!
1. Change to a green energy supplier

Blue Latitude already gets energy through the EDF Green Tariff

EnergyWatch.org.uk

2. Reduce energy use

• Lower wattage lighting in our fixtures
• Timer switches on meeting room presentation equipment
• Switch off PC policy (with automated software to close systems down)
• Digital seven day thermostat on heating
• Installation of “OneClick” devices that turn of all items by just switching just one off

OneClickPower.co.uk

3. Reduce air travel

• Aim to reduce trips or combine travel to cover multiple meetings
• Undertake video conference or Skype meetings in place of face to face
• Offset unavoidable air travel with carbon balancing initiatives

4. Encourage green travel

• We subscribe to CycleScheme which enables employees to purchase a bicycle at up to 50% off the retail price by allowing employees to pay for the bike out of pre-tax earnings.

5. Recycle waste
• For the past 2 years we have used the very efficient, friendly and cheap recycling service at The Laundry to dispose of all our paper and card items.
• Plastic and glass bottles are taken to local recycle bins or home for recycling through employees home recycling collections.

We will be in touch again in the New Year with news on how we are doing. In the meantime, read more about going carbon neutral at Carbon Neutral.

If you can suggest any other ways we can reduce our carbon footprint, please let us know.

Have a fantastic break and a great New Year.

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