How We're Contributing Towards "Net Zero"
A Problem, A Goal and A Timeline.
The Problem:
From the UK Government’s Website: “We are at a crossroads in our history. As we recover from the impact of the pandemic on our lives and livelihoods, we know that it will not be enough to go back to the way things were before. The science is clear, we know that human activity is changing our climate and that this will have a devastating impact on human lives, the economy, and the natural world – ranging from the extinction of some species and the melting of ice caps to extreme weather patterns threatening our homes, businesses, and communities.”
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued warnings around an increase in global temperatures between 1.5-2 degrees to have long lasting, devastating consequences and the scariest part is, we’re already seeing it happen. Forest Fires in Australia as big as the entirety of Spain, Californian fires which killed 31 people and destroyed thousands of homes and the worrying fires destroying such a large portion of the Amazon Rainforest, often referred to as “the Lungs of the Earth”.
It’s not just fires though, in 2023 we saw record breaking levels of flooding throughout the UK and the wider world. Flooding in Libya killed 11,000. Greece went from seeing devastating wildfires to suddenly being hit by more rain than is typically seen in an entire year as Storm Daniel hit.
In the farming sector in the UK, climate change impacts our ability to grow food. Current projections show that both crops for humans, food for animals and the animals themselves will all be impacted through Heat Stress and drought.
The Goal:
The UK Government has the goal of reaching “Net Zero” by 2050. Net Zero as a term means that across the board, the UK will not produce excess CO2. This comes from a balance of both producing and removing CO2.
Some industries in the UK, such as Agriculture and Transportation would be immensely difficult to stop CO2 production completely, so the Government’s plan is to reduce CO2 production across the board as much as possible by doing things like switching to renewable energy and increasing efficiency where possible, and then investing in carbon capture projects to essentially remove from the atmosphere every bit of CO2 we still produce, if not more.
The Timeline:
The Government’s “Net Zero” goal has a timeline of up to 2050. This timeline allows for a tiered approach to reducing net CO2 contributions and allows for developments in technology to make it easier. This means that there are steps and phases to the plan which get more aggressive and efficient in combatting CO2 emissions.
Easipay Carpets is on board with Net Zero. This is why, this is how.
In the face of the ever-growing threat of climate change, At Easipay Carpets we’re stepping up our commitment to environmental responsibility by tackling the root causes of the crisis. As we witness the alarming rise in global temperatures, melting ice caps, and extreme weather events, the urgency to address the factors contributing to climate change becomes more apparent than ever.
It’s clear that humans are part of the problem, and it’s not just up to governments around the world to fix it. While the UK governments pulls the large corporations on board, such as the leading energy providers and the “Energy Company Obligation Act” which seeks to reduce household emissions, we choose to hold ourselves accountable too.
At our core, we’re a company ran by people, for people. We’re just as human as our customers, with our own families and children that we need to set an example for. As a business, we offer our flooring payment plans to help our customers be physically comfortable whilst remaining financially comfortable and we pride ourselves on our care if our customers hit a rough patch, but we’ve decided that we need to be good for everyone, not just our customers. We’re joining the fight against climate change.
We’ve created a comprehensive approach to these efforts and plan to join the battle from all fronts. We started this last year, and we want it to be a focus for us throughout 2024.
Directly in the company we’ve had discussions and meetings around how we contribute to climate change from big ways to small ways, such as the driving our reps and fitters do to appointments right through to how we communicate with our customers.
In response to this we’re lowering our own impact as a company optimising how we operate. We’ve hired staff members who now help route plan for reps and fitters and organise their diaries. This means there’s less driving involved and less emissions, but we can also fit in more appointments along the way too because we’re taking this planning time away from the workers on the road. We’re adding new flooring ranges with lower environmental impacts during their production. We’re switching all communications to text and email where possible, and only using postal mail as a last resort.
We’ve had office discussions about how as individuals we can each lower our carbon footprints, and we’ve made working here more efficient too, right down to the light bulbs. We’ve made working from the office optional, so our workers get more time in bed, a more relaxed morning and we save them the car trips to and from the office.
We're going above and beyond - Here's How:
The steps we’ve began already are a great start, and we hope more companies and businesses follow suit too, but it’s still not enough.
We as a business want ourselves to reach Net Zero, and then go further. Our current plans are going to be doing this in 3 ways, which are similar to how the Government is also working towards Net Zero.
Method 1 is to lower our own impact as a business and as individuals. We’ve already started this (mentioned above) to limit and reduce the environmental impact we have as a company.
Method 2 is to undo the present. We’re doing this by investing in carbon capture projects and initiatives throughout the world. We’ve started this already by investing in Solar Projects in Indonesia (We don’t get much sun in the UK). We’re also looking into Biocarbon removal projects and Blue Carbon removal projects for future investments. This will be gradual but continuous, and we’re aiming to remove tons and tons of CO2 from the atmosphere this way.
Method 3 is steps for the future, and we want our customers to be part of that. We can do this together through supporting wildlife and nature as well as by planting trees. So here’s where we make our promise to our customers:
Starting this year, for every single 5-star review we get, we’re going to plant a tree. The reviews under 5-stars will be treated the same as always – we’ll action them, we’ll fix any issues, and we’ll turn them into 5 stars, then plant a tree for those too.
This means that right now by leaving us a 5 star review you’ll be contributing to the cause too, for free, and there’s 2 ways to do it. You can review us both on Google and on Trustpilot and we’ll count both, so we’ll plant 2 trees!
You can check below to see how many trees have been planted on behalf of our customers, starting from January 15th 2024. You can also add to this by clicking the buttons to leave reviews too, and we’ll buy the trees for you.
If you want to join the fight more directly, you can even make an Ecologi account using the button below and begin both planting trees and removing CO2 on your own initiative!