AusTiger Hosting's Carbon Neutral Primer

Carbon Neutrality is a Core Value at AusTiger Hosting

One of our core values at AusTiger is our stance on carbon neutrality. We like to call this notion “stepping lightly on the planet” and it states our simple goal to make the least possible impact on the planet, while giving back to our customers and their customers that use our hosting services indirectly, the greatest value we can on every level.

We are committed to the notion that businesses, through responsible action, can help make the world a better place. In that spirit, AusTiger hosting shares a few thoughts on how businesses can achieve carbon neutrality.

What Is Carbon Neutrality?

Carbon neutrality or having a net zero footprint is defined by Wikipedia as “achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference.”

Another way to think about the whole thing is that you and your business produce carbon dioxide emissions, a form of greenhouse gas, when you drive a car or fly in a plane for a business trip or use manufactured goods or eat food bought in a restaurant or a grocery store. When you tally up all these emission for a year, you get your carbon footprint which tells you how much you or your business contributes to global warming.

To understand how much carbon dioxide your business is pouring into the atmosphere, you can check a carbon footprint calculator online like Carbon Neutral’s calculator at https://carbonneutral.com.au/carbon-calculator/. You might also want to check out ACCIONA’s carbon neutrality explainer video here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pPsso2acew

Carbon Neutrality is a Stance

As much as understanding your carbon footprint and taking steps to offset your (or business’ impact), being carbon neutral is a stance, much like AusTiger’s mission to step lightly. The commitment to carbon neutrality needn’t be overly difficult, but it does need to become a practice — a part of your company culture — to be effective.

By weaving a perspective of sustainability and environmental commitment to your organisation’s culture and general approach to business process, you will be taking the significant first strides towards sustainable operations.

Some Practical Initiatives to Achieve Carbon Neutrality

• Plant Trees — A great way to reduce your business’s environmental impact by planting sustainably-managed trees.

• Incentivise Carpooling and Cycling to Work — Make it a company policy to carpool or, better, cycle to work.

• Turn Off Appliances — The act of switching off appliances at the end of the day will help reduce your small business’s carbon footprint and save money.

• Enable Power Save Mode — For appliances like photocopiers and monitors, enable the ‘power save’ mode to drain less energy when not in use.

• Trade Desktop Computers for Laptops — Laptops use 80% percent less power than desktops.

• Recycle — Every businesses should make recycling their waste a habit. Install recycle bins for specific waste to get the right materials go to the right recycling unit.

• Buy Responsibly — Make it a point to trade with sustainable businesses (like AusTiger Hosting).