Environmental policy
Global warming and our changing climate has created a need for individuals and businesses alike to make efficient use of resources, without wasting those precious resources. Therefore, Your Biography has produced its Environmental Policy below:
energy
We have positioned our office desks next to windows to maximise the use of natural light.
In the event of a power-cut, we will use clockwork devices. For example, clockwork radios and lamps, thereby reducing our consumption of batteries. We use rechargeable batteries on those occasions when batteries are needed.
Our offices are fitted with draught excluders to minimise heat loss.
equipment
We switch electrical appliances OFF when they are not in use; not leaving them in sleep mode. Furthermore, to avoid low-level drawing of power when not in use, we switch appliances off at the power point.
We ensure that office equipment is turned off even when only temporarily out of use, such as lunchtime.
We use back-lit computer keyboards to minimise the use of electric lighting.
We use solar-powered charging for our portable devices.
Our offices are fitted with electrical plug-in timer devices for use when we are out of the office, so that no energy is wasted.
We purchase modern energy-efficient computers with software updates for seven years (when available).
We use Chromebooks for computing as they use less electricity than Windows PCs. However, for some non-web computing purposes, we continue to use Windows.
We aim to charge our mobile phones within the range of 30%-70%, thereby extending the lifetime of the phone battery and therefore the life of the phone itself.
paper & printing
We avoid printing as much as possible. Any printing that is undertaken for internal (not for a client), we endeavour to re-use the reverse side as much as possible.
travel
We do not run any vehicles. We travel by train or bus and self-propulsion - walking and cycling; only when necessary, hiring a car or taking a taxi.
website
In terms of website design, darker colour pixels (depending on the monitor) usually require less energy to illuminate than lighter ones, with black being the lowest energy colour and white being the most energy intensive. Using maroon and deep blue as the dominant colours of our website, means that we are reducing the carbon footprint of our site. Moreover, this will reduce the energy consumption of viewers’ of our site.
packaging
We have moved from delivering customised CDs containing life-story interviews to branded memory sticks (although CDs are still available for clients preferring them). The packaging materials of CDs, including paper, toner and plastic cases are removed with our transition to branded memory sticks.
The 8Gb memory sticks often have spare capacity which can be used by clients, thereby further reducing the need to print.
promotion
We have moved from printed business cards to digital business cards - a credit-card sized plastic card with a QR code, taking the reader to our online presence and all of our contact details.
In addition to attending physical, face-to-face business networking events, we practice attending virtual events, thereby reducing our travel carbon footprint.
purchases
For any items purchased by the business that are packaged using cardboard, we ensure that the cardboard is recycled.
For any publications to which the business subscribes, we always opt for electronic subscription (when available).
communication
We prioritise the use of digital communication methods and only print when specifically requested by clients.
We have instituted a Client Relationship Management (CRM) system to reduce as much as possible the use of paper.
version
We keep our Environment Policy under review and we will place any updates on this web page. This Environment Policy was last updated on 1 July 2023.