Aims
We aim to operate our accountancy practice with as little environmental impact as is possible. We recognise that our business has impacts on the environment both directly (eg electricity use) and indirectly (eg web hosting).

We monitor all aspects of our business including environmental impact on a monthly basis.  We will always aim to reduce impacts where possible.

Environmental legislation
We have a good understanding of environmental legislation.  We fully comply with all areas and will remain aware of our duties. 

Office
We have a home based office (16m2) which is well insulated and receives good natural light.  The office is currently heated using gas.  We carefully monitor gas usage enabling accurate calculation of the amount used by the business.  Our aim is to switch to wood burning for heat using wood saved from landfill and from local sustainable sources.

We refurbish and purchase recycled equipment where possible.  Our favourite office desk is in its fourth ownership (originally owned by the Midland Bank) and was first bought in 1981.

Transport
Most of our work is based at home and involves no transport.  Meetings are held at our office locations or clients’ premises in Oxford, Reading or London.  All travel to such meetings is by bus, train, tube or by foot.

Occasionally we use our Ford Fusion car to travel when there is no bus service or public transport would take three or more times longer.  Our car has emissions of 117g CO2 per km (£35 per year road fund tax).  We monitor car use and related carbon emissions carefully.

Paper and printing
We try to run as near to paperless as possible.  Some forms and reports do still require original signature creating an unavoidable use of paper.  We purchase paper and envelopes made from 100% recycled post consumer waste. 

Our printing is carried out by Seacourt, a local waterless printing company or Park Lane Press a printer that also uses waterless printing.

Electricity and web hosting
We monitor and minimise the amount of electricity used.  We have investigated use of solar panels but have found them not to be cost effective at the present time.  All of our electricity is 100% renewable provided by Good Energy.  

Our website is hosted using by Ecological Hosting who operate in an environmentally friendly way.  The web hosting servers are powered entirely by solar panels.

Waste and recycling
All paper waste is security cross shredded and then composted along with our daily tea bag mountain.  All plastic and cardboard are recycled to the extent possible locally.

Water usage
We drink tap water and monitor water usage.

Suppliers generally
We review the market carefully when selecting a supplier.  In some areas such as professional resources there is currently very little opportunity to buy from environmentally or ethically aware suppliers.  In these cases we are asking our suppliers to provide environmental policies. 

Banking
We bank with the Cooperative Bank.  We believe this organisation to be amongst the leaders in ethically sound financial services.

Hardware, software and consumables
We minimise the amount of equipment purchased.  We use the Greenpeace consumer electronics survey to review all electrical equipment including computers, printers and mobile phones.  Our choices are at or near the top of each Greenpeace survey.  We refill printer cartridges.

Clients and customers
We provide our services to any business; many of our clients do not have environmental policies.  We encourage consideration of the environment but do not allow this to distract from our main service of accountancy, business and taxation advice.  Those clients that are interested in environmental issues benefit from our knowledge of environmental conservation.

Participation in environmental discussions
We comment on environmental policies affecting small businesses.  We attend local climate change network meetings and various environmental seminars, open days and exhibitions.

Carbon offsetting
We calculate our carbon emissions on a fully inclusive basis and calculate monthly targets and performance.  Whilst minimising carbon emissions, we cannot prevent them entirely whilst remaining in business.  

Trees absorb about 2.5kg of carbon dioxide per year until the tree is five years old.  This rises to 14kg of carbon dioxide per year when the tree is 20 years old.  The average rate over the first twenty years is about 10kg of carbon dioxide per year. 

We will purchase and plant one tree for every 10kg of carbon dioxide per year that our business currently generates.    We record the total calculated carbon dioxide absorbed by our trees and monitor this against total business emissions.  More trees will be planted each year to replace any losses and allow for growth in our business.

We recognise the temporary nature of carbon absorption by trees.  Burning fossil fuels increases the amount of carbon in the biosphere.  Planting trees only makes it solid instead of gaseous and for only as long as those trees exist.  We therefore also offset our business carbon emissions with Climate Care who concentrate on renewable energy projects.

Review procedures
We review each item within this environmental policy on a monthly basis.

Links to external pages (open in a new tab or window)
Park Lane Press
Oxford GreenPrint
Ecological Hosting
The Cooperative Bank
Cooperative Insurance
Greenpeace guide to electronics
Climate Network
Climate Care
Carbon info (tree absorption information)