Reducing our Carbon Footprint

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This year EVONA have pledged to reduce our carbon footprint…

Together we must act now

The climate crisis has been at the forefront of many of our minds for the past few years, with increasing global temperatures, rising sea levels, extreme weather events and melting icecaps – It’s impossible to ignore the impact human activity is having on the earth. Whilst the term climate change is used by scientists to describe complex changes caused by greenhouse gas emissions, the levels of carbon dioxide are the most worrying, accounting for 76% of all emissions. These carbon dioxide emissions are mainly created from burning organic materials such as coal, oil, gas, wood, and solid waste.

It has been estimated that the globe only has one fifth of its “carbon budget” left until the amount carbon in the atmosphere will cause an increase of 2 degrees in the global temperature. Something that would be catastrophic for the earth and life as we know it, which is why it is so important for us to act now.

In light of this, EVONA have pledged to reduce our carbon footprint with an aim to become carbon neutral, but what does being carbon neutral mean?

Carbon neutrality does not mean producing no carbon; however, it is the balance between carbon emitted to carbon absorbed from the atmosphere – which usually happens through carbon sinks. The main natural carbon sinks are forests, soil and oceans which are estimated to remove between 9.5 and 11Gt of CO2 per year and yet the world produced around 34gt in 2020.

We are planting 2 trees per employee every month

As part of our strategy to reduce our carbon footprint and become a carbon neutral corporation we have started growing our own forest with the help of Tree-Nation, a reforestation initiative aiming to stop climate change by planting trees. EVONA has committed to planting two trees every month per employee in order to offset the carbon that we produce. Here’s a few reasons why and what we have achieved so far…

Trees are vital to the planet’s survival

During photosynthesis trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere and use it for the construction of new biomass, whilst a small percentage of carbon is re-released back into the atmosphere a great deal of it gets trapped in carbon locking processes. This is why not only reforestation is important but also protecting existing areas as when trees are cut down and burned or allowed to rot, their stored carbon is released into the air as carbon dioxide.

It’s important to remember that planting trees cannot replace slashing carbon emissions…

As we grow, we are becoming more aware of our impact on the environment and are continuously looking for ways of incorporating greener strategies into our business. The seriousness of the climate crisis cannot be ignored and the decision to plant trees as our main strategy is not the only way we are contributing to helping the planet. For example, our office is completely paper free, and you can find out more about the pledges EVONA have made this year and the ways we are working to be a greener company.

‍How you can make a difference

You may have already heard of the Paris agreement, which has seen 196 parties agree to a legally binding international treaty on climate change. With many countries submitting drastic action plans to tackle the issues in 2020, there is hope that the next 30 years we will begin to see real change happen. That doesn’t mean your own personal efforts go unnoticed and we all have a part to play in this.

We would love for you to be a part of our mission to plant as many trees as possible and offset carbon by growing the EVONA forest. You can see the work we have already done over on Tree-Nation and plant your own trees in our forest too!

TO DONATE TREES TO THE EVONA FOREST CLICK HERE

If you are as passionate about the cause as we are and want to consider a number of ways you can live more sustainably the UN has suggested 10 simple actions to get you started:

The UN’s 10 Simple Steps to Living Sustainably
  •  5-minute showers
  • Bring your own bagall EVONA staff have their own branded bag when they join the company
  • Drive less
  • Turn the lights off our office lights switch on and off automatically, saving us money and saving the planet! 
  • Buy local produce (or even grow your own)
  • Eat more plant-based meals
  • Recycle we recycle all the waste from the office where we can
  • Refill and Re-use all EVONA staff have their own insulated mug and water bottle in their welcome pack when they join.
  • Unplug devices when you aren’t using them – EVONA operate a remote working / hot desk policy, so no electronic screens or computers are ever left on stand by in our office.
  • Zero waste fashion

Also, if you are curious to learn more about the environment and the effects of climate change, there’s a number of resources and documentaries you can turn to:

  • Our Planet – David Attenborough
  • An Inconvenient Truth
  • Chasing Coral
  • Kiss the Ground
  • Cowspiracy
  • Paris to Pittsburgh
  • 2040
  • One Strange Rock