What will you do for World Earth Day?

We don’t mean what plans do you have to celebrate April 22nd, what we really mean is what actions you might consider in an effort to do your bit to achieve a better planet.

We’re not going to get all preachy but we’ve learned a few things along the way and we thought these tips might help act as a practical quick-fire guide to make you think about what else you can do other than recycling your empty beer cans at home!

If we are to have full disclosure, then it’s important to declare that here at Just Enough Brave we do ‘some’ of these things, but not ‘all’ of them. It’s a guide, some advice, a step in the right direction, but even if we all started with just ‘one’ or even ‘some’ of these things then we could start to make a genuine difference.

So, here’s Just Enough Brave’s quickfire guide to doing good business.

Switch your server
You may not know, but the majority of servers that host websites, consume huge amounts of energy but shifting to more renewable, conscious hosts will make a significant difference. If enough organisations make the move, then it’s expected that the established players will subsequently change their ways. At Just Enough Brave we switched to Krystal, which prides itself on offering premium web hosting that protects the planet.

Banking ethically
In simple terms, the banking system invests deposits to create a return, but the truth is the established high streets do very little to make sure that those investments are done ethically. Choosing to go with a bank that does invest ethically can make a massive difference and the more popular it becomes, the more the big banks will have to follow suit. At some point, ethical banking will overtake traditional banking.

1% for the Planet
We like to think that we put our ‘money where our mouth is’ here at Just Enough Brave and when we talk about doing our bit, that means more than turning the lights off in the office. 1% for the Planet membership is a commitment to accountability and doing better for people and the planet, so we give 1-5% per year of our turnover to the Marine Conservation Society as part of www.onepercentfortheplanet.org.  The concept is fairly self-explanatory, so click through, check it out, and get involved.

Your sustainable supply chain
It’s not just about what you do yourself, it’s also about what your supply chain does behind you at the same time. At Just Enough Brave we use the UK’s most sustainable printing firm which is handily based just 30 mins away. Remember there’s not a lot of point in your business reducing its carbon footprint for your suppliers just to shoot theirs through the roof. Ask your suppliers how they commit to lessening their impact on the environment.

Ethical divestments
We’ve already highlighted what the big banks do (or don’t do) about ethical investment but this is more about how you invest direct yourself. Pensions are a major part of any business organisation, making sure that the financial futures of your team are safe and secure. At Just Enough Brave we make sure that our pension investments are always placed within ethical funds and managed in the right way. Here’s some background reading on the subject.

Miles better
Recent estimates suggest that by 2030 nearly 30% of the UK car market will be powered off a plug and not a fossil fuel. That’s the sort of change that makes a genuine environmental impact. Better still there’s a decent range of tax benefits on pure EV’s for 2023/24 and 2024/25. The next logical step is to speak to your accountant, it could help you save money as well as the planet. Having only recently converted to electric fleet vehicles we can highly recommend it!

B’come the difference
Certified B Corporations or (B-Corps for short) are those companies that are verified by B Lab to meet the very highest standards of social or environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. There probably isn’t a higher recognition for a company that wants to do ‘good business’ and it’s one that we are definitely aspiring to at Brave.

Hopefully, this quick-fire guide gives you some practical ideas, it might even inspire you in some way. Just bear in mind that we’ve all got to ‘step up to the plate’ and do our bit and there’s no better time to start than World Earth Day on April 22nd.