Did you know that your carbon footprint goes beyond the places you go and the things you buy? It also follows you online and into a lot of the things you do in the digital world – so your business could be a lot less eco-friendly than you think.
When we put it that way, it’s easy to give up on the idea of being an environmentally friendly business before you’ve even begun. It’s like getting into ‘The Good Place’ – is it even possible to make a good decision and a positive difference in the modern world? It can feel like there’s not much point sometimes, and that all of the small things we could do won’t make a difference.
But that’s where you’re wrong. Even the smallest change is worth making, and it all contributes to a healthier, better world. If you’re still not convinced, then I want to share the journey I have taken into the world of sustainability and environmental action.
The Hampton Digital Services Journey
Looking to move away from the world of IT support, I wanted to use my tech skills and knowledge to help smaller businesses. So Hampton Digital Services was born and before long I was building websites and loving it. Several years later, and I’m still at it, but with a team around me now, and a big mission.
Because here’s the thing you might not know, I’m very passionate about the environment. Growing up in New Zealand, I was brought up understanding my impact on the world around me, being taught to respect the environment and exploring all of the wonderful great outdoors the country has to offer. But this attitude of being eco-friendly stayed with me when I moved to the UK, and I’ve been chipping away at my impact day by day.
In my personal life, I’m an avid user of ‘waste reducing’ services like Too Good To Go and OddBox. My husband and I both drive electric cars now, we are mindful of the brands we buy, and are even trying to grow some of our own fruit and veg…some more successfully than others mind you! But it always went beyond a passion – and the more we do, the more we want to do.
A Switch in Thinking
In 2021, I decided that my journey into sustainability shouldn’t just stay in my personal life. I wanted the business to be as environmentally friendly and carbon-neutral as possible too. Firstly I started with how I ran it, moving into my converted garden room in our home, with big windows to let all the natural light in and solar panels to provide most of the power I need. There is no water or gas connected to the office at all, which made it about as carbon-neutral as it could possibly be!
I then turned my attention to my suppliers. As a web developer, most of my work is in the digital space, and I was shocked to see just how much of an impact digital activity has on the environment. Particularly website hosting, where a single data centre can produce as much carbon as a town with 50,000 residents. In that model, every click on a website we built produced anywhere from a few grams to several hundred kilograms of CO2. I was over the moon when I found 20i – a data centre run by 100% renewable energy, producing 0 carbon footprint. By switching my clients to this data centre, I could provide green web hosting and cut both mine and my client’s carbon footprint significantly.
Now, Hampton Digital Services is greener than ever, and working to become more so. We’ve been working with several organisations to obtain green credentials, including Mossy Earth and Ecologi, have become members of local business environmental groups like Surrey Hills and are starting to work towards bCorp accreditation.
So yes, it started small for Hampton Digital Services, but by making those changes in a small and gradual way, we’ve been able to minimise our carbon footprint and improve our business without disruption. And the small changes really do add up!
In a digital world, it’s easy to forget that what we do online can have an impact on the environment, so why not join the journey and see where it takes you?
If you want to have a chat through where you’re at and how you to can make a start, then please ********************@*******co.uk/bookings/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>book a call with me, I love talking all things sustainability!