Earth Day is an annual event which takes place on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection.
TechRound hears from the likes of Fiverr, BayWa r.e., and Glovo on how companies can improve their work toward sustainability and the shared mission to inspire individuals and organisations around the world to continue moving toward a zero-carbon future that makes our world more habitable.
Our experts:
Matthias Taft, CEO BayWa r.e
“Although the need to assure energy security and independence has been a key driver of the renewable energy transition for several years, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the associated disruption of energy markets has brought the longstanding issue into even sharper focus. That’s why today, on Earth Day, it’s more important than ever to come together to “Invest in Our Planet” and move away from fuel dependence by accelerating the transition to renewable sources of energy. This is the only credible, sustainable, and economically viable option to avert the climate crisis.
We need decisive and bold action; with individuals, corporations and governments all having a role to play. The solutions exist, but we must focus on putting policy into action, facilitating the implementation of new projects by removing barriers, and delivering a strong legal framework to rapidly scale renewable energy. It is vital that we all recognise this pivotal moment for the climate crisis and the future of energy generation in Europe. We must act now to foster a new, greener future.”
Kit Kyte, CEO, Checkit
“Sustainability should be synonymous with corporate stewardship. This year’s theme, invest in our planet, hits this. It’s important to stress how this supports investing in our own businesses. Using IoT sensors and artificial intelligence to understand the ambient environment and equipment usage within it drives down energy wastage whether through something as simple as checking fridge temperatures, or as complex as calculating production demands. Bringing down energy wastage helps the planet and our wallets. With connected sensors allied to digital assistants, it’s never been easier to create a virtuous cycle of sustainability and cost control, whilst supporting better working conditions for staff. Digitisation aids paperless environments, with better knowledge retention, support, and connectivity.
There’s an ancient saying: ‘What’s good for the hive is good for the bee’. What’s good for the planet can be good for everyone, consumers, businesses and employees. It’s a case of grasping the opportunity. Rising energy prices and alarming predictions from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change mean collectively we have to work together to deliver more, using less.”
Michele Romanow, Co-Founder and CEO of Clearco
“Climate change continues to be a key concern for consumers when they are making purchasing decisions, this is particularly true amongst younger demographics. Innovative businesses are seeing and responding to that demand. In particular, many ecommerce businesses are ensuring that they are operating in a sustainable way, and helping their customers to do the same. Safiyaa, a brand we fund at Clearco, is an example of an eCommerce apparel company that is challenging fast fashion by only making garments to order.
We encourage everyone to play a part in the journey to Net Zero. At Clearco, we feel that we have a responsibility to ensure that we are giving sustainable companies a fighting chance to grow and have an impact quickly, as the climate crisis only becomes more urgent. Revenue-based funding models are geared towards this through non-biased capital decisions that can be deployed faster than most traditional funding options.”
Peggy de Lange – VP of International Expansion at Fiverr
“The theme of Earth Day 2022 is “Invest In Our Planet. What Will You Do?”, but this is a question we should all be asking ourselves every day, not just on Earth Day.
As individuals it’s vital that we look at small ways we can reduce our waste and cut emissions. However, I believe that the most impactful progress will be made through collaboration. Without delay, governments, businesses and citizens must act, innovate, and work together for the benefit of the planet. Worryingly, according to a recent Fiverr survey, only 15% of UK workers surveyed say their business is not doing enough to combat climate change.
Together we need to be committed to driving meaningful impact on the fight against climate change. At Fiverr, our goal is to have carbon neutral operations by 2030, and we are focussing on reducing the carbon footprint by enabling remote work and driving responsible resource use. Platforms that facilitate communities to collaborate without the need for travel will be key to initiating steps and programmes to use resources more efficiently and conscientiously, thus, gradually reducing our ecological footprints.
This is the moment for all of us to change the narrative and create a sustainable, green and prosperous future for generations to come.”
Sébastien Pellion, Head of Social Impact & Sustainability, Glovo
“This year’s Earth Day focus is to act boldly, innovate broadly and implement equitably – to ensure that we are able to help put a stop to climate change. As a leading global platform player operating in the multi-category delivery space, Glovo is at the forefront of consumer needs. Sustainability is now, more than ever, a key element to customer decision making and Gen Z is leading this trend with a recent Deloitte study revealing that 45% stopped purchasing certain brands because of ethical or sustainability concerns. We see the need to adapt to these customer needs.
“The foundations of last-mile delivery were not built on sustainability, but now is the time to implement new and innovative procedures. In January this year, for example, Glovo achieved carbon neutrality across its entire value chain by working with our partners, couriers and customers; however, we’re not stopping there. We’ve set even more ambitious goals to help in the fight against climate change, including upping sustainable packaging to account for over 92% of our orders and making recyclable packaging accessible to thousands of restaurants at a discounted price.
“On-demand delivery players have a responsibility to educate and encourage their delivery partners and become champions for sustainability across products, incentives and behaviour to help rebuild delivery with its environmental impact in mind.”
Tanya Channing, Chief People and Culture Officer, Pipedrive
:Every business can play a part in sustainability to invest in the planet. From simply reducing the impact of products and services and the ecological footprint to even bigger steps. There is a huge groundswell of support for climate action. Stakeholders enjoy being part of a business doing good.
Pipedrive planted trees when we hit recent employee milestones, like 900, one for each employee, in Australia, 800 in India, and 700 in the Amazon… Our environmentally friendly practices start with our generally paperless offices with waste and recycling sorting, sensor-based lights systems, and room-based ventilation and heating. Little practices like not purchasing one-time cups, decorations, or bottled water all contribute. Our colleagues appreciate the opportunity to play a part in supporting environmental practices locally and we encourage this and moments of collective action such as World Cleanup Day.
Creating ways to bring together passion and action gives colleagues a greater sense of purpose and belonging, and makes a better collective difference. By supporting environmentally conscious behaviour companies can encourage behaviour employees take home, creating a bigger positive impact.”
Mani Balakrishnan, Director of Social Responsibility and Sustainability at Zebra Technologies
“Earth day 2022 is about asking ourselves what we can do for our planet. Every business is responsible for change and can make a difference by embedding sustainable practices into their business model and encouraging a climate-aware culture. Improving our circular economy is one of the main ways that we can look to create a bright and green future.
At Zebra Technologies we enable businesses to operate more efficiently. Through automation and AI-led innovations, we’re facilitating smarter workflows, helping to improve productivity, reduce waste, ensure safety, and empower workers. Our Circular Economy Program was recognized with a 2021 Sustainability Service Of The Year award by the Business Intelligence Group. We are also excited about our newly formed employee-led group, ‘The Green Herd’, that will help to drive further progress.
At Zebra, we’re committed to strong corporate governance practices and environmental and social initiatives that benefit all stakeholders, including a focus on improving the environmental impact of our operations, products, and solutions; fostering an inclusive culture and diverse workforce; protecting and developing our employees; and investing in the communities where we live and work.”
Iesha Berry, Chief Diversity and Engagement Officer, DocuSign
Society can no longer ignore the impact of climate change. A recent report by the IPCC warned us that ‘the next few years are critical’ and ‘the time for change is now’ to stabilise the Earth’s depletion and reach net zero.
At DocuSign, we have pledged to halve the company’s emissions by 2030 and reach science based net-zero no later than 2050. Through strategic investment in high-quality REDD+ and Verra verified carbon offset projects focused on preventing deforestation and supporting reforestation, DocuSign reached carbon neutrality in 2022. Most recently, we celebrated Green IMPACT Week, a week-long celebration of our commitment to help protect the world’s forests, facilitating our employees to support and create a more sustainable planet.
This Earth Day, businesses are encouraged to better invest in our planet so that we can tackle the climate crisis, together. Adopting responsible practices and building sustainability into your business model allows organisations to achieve net zero. Simply creating an anywhere working experience for your employees will not only cater to new agile future of work trends but improve your bottom line and carbon footprint.
What’s more, businesses can harness the power of technology to establish modern workflows that include more sustainable habits. By building in automation and smarter experiences, it will not only reduce emission, conserve environmental and human resources but also improve productivity and supply chain efficiency.
We have helped other businesses achieve their sustainability goals by digitising legacy paper-based processes. E-signature solutions offer a way for companies to sign and manage contracts, sustainably. Since 2003, DocuSign has saved more than 6 million trees, 55 billion sheets of paper, and in the UK alone, we have saved 22 billions litres of water and 148 million kgs of waste, to date.
