Sustainability

The year was 2020, I was just about to start freelancing full-time, and things were uncertain. But something told me that I needed to do my bit to look after the planet.

Planting trees

I use Ecologi to plant trees – I have one account which I use for my family and business. I plant 20 trees each month and plant an extra 100 trees when I take on new clients. I also use Treekly to plant trees every day when I do 5,000 steps.

Doing

Donating to charities

I have monthly donations to various charities because I believe the only way that we can overcome the climate crisis is to tackle it from every angle.

Doing

Banking with Monzo

I have my personal, joint and business accounts with Monzo – a digital-first bank which doesn’t invest in fossil fuel projects and is ranked within the top 5 banks doing good with our money.

Doing

Investing ethically

I use Penfold for my pension, where my money is invested into companies with the highest environmental and social governance ratings. I also invest directly in companies who care about people and our planet.

Doing

Rejecting fast fashion

I don’t believe in buying new clothes for the sake of it, I have a small, versatile wardrobe of clothes and have some items that I’ve been wearing for 6+ years.

Doing

Searching on Ecosia

I use Ecosia as my preferred search engine on both mobile and desktop. Ecosia is a search engine that plants trees with the profit it makes from your searches – to date my searches have planted around 73 trees.

Doing

Using renewables

From powering my home to the websites that I build, I lean on solutions that run on green energy.

Doing

Driving less

Since going self-employed in 2020, I’ve reduced the number of miles I drive each week by around 80 miles. When I do have to drive to work with clients I do so in my 1.2L Ford Fiesta.

Doing

Eating plant-based

I began reducing the amount of meat I ate in 2018 and finally took the step to stop eating meat altogether at the end of 2021. I love cooking and so I share some of my favourite plant-based recipes over on Stryve.

Doing

Reducing food waste

My wife and I have been using our community fridge since 2020 – they take food from supermarkets and other local businesses that would otherwise be thrown away and instead passed on to people to help reduce food waste.

Doing

Paperless

I barely use any paper to run my business – the only exception is my notepad, which I use to take notes whilst on client calls or to sketch out rough wireframes. Some things are just better on paper.

Doing

Low-impact websites

It goes without saying, I’ve been trying my best where possible to build low-carbon websites for my clients and I continue to push the message to get others to do the same.

Doing

Reduce plastic use

Since 2020 I’ve taken steps to reduce the amount of single-use plastic I throw away. But there’s one last area of my life that still needs attention – food shopping.

On the horizon

Electric car

In the not-too-distant future, my wife and I will look at swapping out our family car for an electric vehicle – and ideally, get to a point where we can walk or bike for more day-to-day activities.

On the horizon

Eco-home

One day I hope to buy a small plot of land where I can get a modest-sized eco-home built which makes use of both technology and clever uses of nature to heat, cool and power it. And also some room to grow my own fruit and vegetables in the garden.

On the horizon

Supporting people and planet

I’m a firm believer in giving back and trying to help tackle the climate crisis from different angles – from monthly donations to investing in climate positive companies.