Sustainability: Avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance. The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.
Here at A4 we are trying to focus more on sustainability within the firm. We are making changes where possible and constantly reviewing our processes to make sure that we are still heading towards our goal of being a "less-paper" office.
By choosing to try and reduce our waste, and in particular our paper usage, we are enforcing our commitment to the environment. 70 – 80% of organizations today are still being managed on paper. Here at A4 we are trying to move to a “less paper” office by electronic filing and sending the majority of our invoices, statements and newsletters via email. Anything we do print is double sided and printed on carbon neutral paper that is sourced in a responsible way.
Fact – by Recycling 1 tonne of paper it is possible to save 17 trees and over 31,000 litres of water!
Some of the other initiatives here at Accounted4 are:
- All paper waste is shredded weekly & used by a local lily company for the packing of their flowers.
- Food waste is collected + composted via the Cambridge Primary School's compost bins, which are used for their gardens. Accounted4 supported the schools recycling effort by the donation of a worm farm.
- You may have noticed our various recycle points and reminders here in our tearoom. All recyclable materials are collected and taken to the recycling centre.
- Electricity, the lights within our building have been changed to LED tubes; these use much less energy to power. All technology such as photocopiers and computers are set to default to standby mode when not in use.
- All clients are by default setup to receive invoicing, statements and tax notices via email – Less paper!
- When attending out of office training & meetings, we use carpooling.
- Team members often share excess produce from their home gardens.
- Health of Employees; we have created a breakout room which is equipped with a leaner type desk for stand-up meetings, giving team member’s opportunity to stand-up away from desks. Also several team members have stand-up desks.
The above initiatives are actively encouraged by the senior management & Directors of the business and all Accounted4 team members are committed to playing their part!
One Director in particular takes care of the recycling & rubbish collection, and is responsible for ensuring all equipment is turned off or in eco-mode when vacating the premises each day.
Our big goal at the moment is to make our office paperless – you might call this ambitious, after all almost everything we receive and do is on paper – but we are confident that we can eventually achieve this goal, after all every little bit helps!
