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Sustainability
Like many other Kiwis, we at Squiz want to help make the shift to a sustainable economy as quickly as possible.
Web technologies are part of the solution, being key tools to help us all make better decisions. However, they're also part of the problem: the IT industry as a whole is estimated to have a carbon footprint around the same size as the aviation industry's.
Squiz offices are taking their own actions to understand and reduce the environmental impact of our business operations:
- In Wellington - we've used the Enviro-Mark certification programme to design an Environmental Management System (EMS) for managing down our environmental impacts.
- In Sydney - staff created their own Going Green programme that's become part of the way we do things.
- In Canberra - Funnelback's Chief Scientist Dr David Hawking has a research interest in increasing the efficiency of search.
As part of Squiz NZ's environmental commitment, we will report on our efforts to reduce our environmental impacts. We're delighted if this helps any other organization make faster progress, and likewise to get comments, ideas and questions.
Enviro-Mark Certification
We've chosen to design and implement our EMS through the Enviro-Mark certification programme, which is run in New Zealand by Crown research institute Landcare Research.
Enviro-Mark helps organizations to develop and implement an environmental management system (EMS), with independent audit and certification. Squiz NZ has so far attained Gold–level certification. This is achieved through a third–party audit of the Bronze, Silver and Gold requirements and requires the production of an appropriate environmental policy as well as the implementation and monitoring of continuous–improvement targets and objectives. An annual audit is required to maintain the certification.
Squiz achieved Gold-level certification with the help of Greater Wellington's eMission programme, a one-year subsidised business sustainability and carbon reduction programme for businesses in the Wellington region. To help us through the certification programme, we hired a third year Environmental Studies student from Victoria University to work part-time at Squiz, solely focussed on implementing and embedding our EMS. If you would like any more information about Squiz's EMS, contact Matt FitzGerald (mfitzgerald@squiz.co.nz).
