I have a good friend who runs an eco friendly business, we were discussing the wide range of businesses who now claim to have a green credential in some way or another and how realistic those claims are for various companies. For example, is it really possible to be green in any way if you are a transportation company? Many local councils have their green bus services now, these often run busses on palm oil, now as most people are aware, there is a completely different environmental impact from running busses on palm oil. Instead of the pollution argument there is the whole issue of destroying the rainforests and devastating the natural environment to clear land for the growing of the palm nuts which the oil is extracted from.
Whilst these are all issues there has to be something said for businesses who make a step in the right direction, rather than simply complying with the minimum levels of legislation which affects their particular industry sector.
My friends company is an eco business and the first thing which he said makes a huge difference is having a home office. It doesn’t matter how you get to work (unless you walk or cycle), this is usually the largest part of your daily carbon footprint, he has therefore eliminated this completely. He also does 90% plus of his meetings online now too, not only saving himself a huge amount of time traveling but also the fuel impact. He recycles and offsets the cost of electric and website hosting by funding tree planting.
His company, he explained, is easier to make green than most, he works in technology and internet services. I’m not going to claim to understand exactly what he does but I know hes a web designer, but then optimises them to appear in the search engines. Did you know when you do a search on Google for example, did you know it’s not just coincidence who appears near the top? There is a complex algorithm behind it, based on lots of different factors on the page of every single website, and who they link to and who links to them. It really is a minefield, but that’s what he does, basically he is a swindon search engine optimisation expert and provides services to companies from lots of different industries, including otherseo companies in some cases.
He combines seo and keeping it eco friendly very well, but it does make you think about how difficult it must be for many other industries, particularly those involved in transportation, chemicals or tourism.
