Our Planet. Our children’s future!

One of the biggest concerns we as parents have today, is what kind of a future do our kids have with global warming happening fast and furious, thanks to generations of thoughtless pollution and deforestation.

In this day and age, people in general are becoming more and more aware of the impact that we are having on the environment. This doesn’t only mean doing things within your own home, but also being aware of what businesses are doing to slow down the damage. It is vitally important that pressure is put on any business that is not doing enough.

Here are 10 easy things that small businesses & individuals can do to help slow down the harm being done to the earth!

1. Change all lighting to LED – it is one of the most energy efficient forms of lighting
2. Keep phone chargers unplugged when not in use
3. Recycle waste – set up an easy system for this
4. Using ceiling fans instead of air conditioning will significantly reduce energy consumption and help you save on CO2 emissions
5. Work from home if possible – just by not commuting, you will save a huge amount on carbon emissions
6. Recycle old computers rather than storing them or having them end up on a land fill
7. Cycle to work and the shops – not only will you be helping the environment, but your body will get fit and healthy too
8. Switch off appliances when not in use – this will reduce your carbon footprint and save you money
9. Offset with tree planting – this is a big one in our industry and very important for our paper suppliers, although we can all do our bit, even on a smaller scale
10. Efficient heating during winter by not having drafts, closing windows and dressing to keep warm

Here are some ideas that we at The Papery are implementing

• We are systematically moving all our products over to cream paper, which is unbleached and far friendlier to the environment – this is a process that will take a bit of time and will also come with a slight price adjustment as the paper does come at a cost. 
• We have for years made sure that we recycle every scrap of paper and plastic that we can.
• Our own brands are manufactured locally and besides the obvious benefit of being good for the economy and job creation, it saves on pollution incurred by transport.
• This season we are embarking on a project / drive to educate and encourage our customers to make EcoBricks, starting with their diary packaging and delivery material. Sadly, we do not yet have an alternative packing solution, but until we do, we will make sure we are eliminating single use plastic as far as possible.
• We are making sure that the brands that we have chosen to align ourselves with, are all making enough effort to reduce their carbon footprint. Faber-Castell is a great example of this and one of the few companies in its industry to have complete CO2 neutrality.

If every business and every person in their homes make minor adjustments, that will add up and result in a major improvement! We saw this with the water shortages in Cape Town, where many people pulled together and had a massive impact on NOT reaching day zero. Now we need to do the same for our planet!