Here at Hattusia, we believe in not just talking about meaningful change, but actively impacting that change. We also aim to make 'unintended consequences' a thing of the past, and understand our stakeholders include everyone that our work – and technology - touches.
One of our values at Hattusia is that “We will protect the environment.” To adhere to this core value, we need to make sure not only that the work we directly undertake does not cause harm to the environment, but that the companies and technologies we use and work with don’t either.
When the UN chief announced the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment on our planet’s future "is a code red for humanity", this was a clear red flag that we all have a very big part to play to halt the damage.
At Hattusia, one action we took earlier this year which we hope may inspire others, was to get in touch with the companies we work with to ask if they currently use green energy. QuickBooks lived up to their namesake by responding impressively quickly to say, "Earlier this year, we announced that we hit our goal of being 100% powered by renewable energy, 10 years ahead of schedule. We’ve continued to set bold new sustainability goals to help reverse climate change both within Intuit and beyond" They added, “To help us reach our goals and increase our impact, we’ve teamed up with the United Kingdom’s largest renewable energy provider, Octopus Energy, to provide alternative energy solutions, including solar, wind and water to our Intuit UK employees and QuickBooks Online (QBO) customers." So big steps made.
Canva responded to say, "we have a PPA agreement that provides us with 100% renewables and annually we pay for LGC’s associated with that energy used." It’s great to see big companies taking big steps.
Buffer confirmed, "I'm sorry to say that we haven't yet been able to complete an audit of the energy sources used by Buffer and our partners and affiliates. This is definitely on our radar, though I don't have an ETA on when we might be able to have this information available to share. Thanks for the nudge on this, I'll be sure to bring it up with our team, and if I have any news I'll circle back with you."
When did you last check what the technologies you use, and companies you rely on, do to negate any harmful impact on the environment?
Reassuring to know it’s on the radar of companies such as Buffer, but it’s important we keep asking these questions so that it’s top of the agenda. When did you last check what the technologies you use, and companies you rely on, do to negate any harmful impact on the environment? If we don’t ask, and we keep on using despite 'unintended consequences', are we contributing to any environmental damage they do?
Asking the companies you work with whether they use green energy is perfectly reasonable - and actually really simple – to do. Simply locating their email address or web contact form and writing to each company to say, "I am checking if the services we use/companies we work with use green energy.... are you able to confirm this?" is all it takes – some companies responded within days. Those that didn’t – we will keep emailing. If enough of us do this, it sends a message loud and clear to companies that for their customers protecting the environment is a priority.
Simply locating their email address or web contact form and writing to each company to say, "I am checking if the services we use/companies we work with use green energy.... are you able to confirm this?
Notion said, “At the moment, we don't share information about how Notion is built publicly. Sorry about that.” We hope this changes soon and that all companies become transparent about the energy they use. Big companies we work with – such as HubSpot and LinkedIn – we still need to ask. And keep asking we will.
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