Change is now: Our path to carbon neutrality

by | Jun 18, 2021 | News

Over 20 degrees in February and non-stop rain in May. These are the tangible effects of climate change in our country. They may be bearable for us, but what about the people who experience climate change in way more extreme ways? A long spring and a hot summer will hardly bother us. But what about the people who are losing their homes because of climate change? The potential consequences of climate change that scientists have been warning about for years are already here.  In recent years, the issue of climate change has become unavoidable – rightly so! Forests are burning, glaciers are melting and whole parts of lands are being washed away by storms. People have to leave their familiar surroundings and fight for survival. Greenpeace predicts 200 million climate refugees in the next 30 years if human-made climate change continues as it has. For long enough, we have wasted our resources recklessly, looked the other way, and done nothing: It’s Time for Climate Action!

We are climate neutral!

Last year we joined the Leaders for Climate Action (LFCA) community. This initiative supports companies becoming carbon-neutral and developing a climate-friendly company culture. To achieve these goals, the first step was to appoint a climate officer within our company. Our colleague Tamara Pariente agreed to take on this function. Thanks to  Tamara, the changes could be implemented quickly and efficiently. With the support of the LFCA’s Climate Action Platform, we were able to start the process of emissions management, in which we calculated the CO2 emissions of our company. Through the calculation, we were and are still able to successively reduce and offset our emissions. Saving the climate requires monumental changes in our behaviour — Opinary is up for the challenge.  Furthermore, as part of this year’s Earth Week in April, the LFCA initiative asked us to join 200 leading digital companies and support the “Time for Climate Action” (TFCA) campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to create awareness around climate action. As part of the campaign, and with the support of publishers such as T-Online, we used our tool to raise awareness about the climate crisis. Furthermore, we used our social media channels to inform about climate change and its consequences as well as to educate about measures to protect the climate. But we have not only used our social media channels for this purpose, we have also used our newsletters and our monthly “Blitzumfragen” to share information on the topic of climate protection during April and May. In addition, we used our polls to redirect users to the TFCA-Opinary landing page, which provides information on what simple actions each of us can take to take action on climate change. Thanks to our LFCA membership, we have made the following changes:

We use green energy!

Our digital services run on green energy. Digital services are powered by computers that run on electricity. To reduce the footprint of these services, we ensure that the used electricity comes from renewable energy sources. 

We travel green!

Another aspect is business travel. Air travel is still one of the most famous ways to travel. With little effort, one can quickly reach the place of one’s choice. Many business people even fly within their country to reach their clients more quickly. But domestic flights in particular can be avoided by resorting to train travel. We do not fly domestically and avoid business trips that can be made online instead of locally.

We raise our voices!

Not only individuals but also companies can support climate movements such as Fridays for Future. By participating in climate strikes, companies can increase pressure on politicians and bring about change. Opinary supports climate movements and encourages its employees to participate as well.

We plant trees!

We want our earth to become greener again. Therefore, for every 1,000 euros earned, we plant 10 trees.

We educate ourselves!

Opinary regularly holds internal trainings to educate its employees on greener and more sustainable lifestyles. For example, our colleague Valeria Aleksic La Cruz recently gave a lecture on the vegan lifestyle, as this also has a big impact on our climate: Scientists estimate that switching to a plant-based diet would reduce the average carbon footprint of each individual by 900 kg CO2/year.

We plan green events!

We are also currently planning green events, such as “Clean your neighbourhood!” (Clean your Kietz). As soon as the current Corona situation allows gatherings of several people without a big risk of danger, we want to explore this topic further.

These are some of the measures we have taken in recent months to live and work in a more climate-friendly way. On the website of the “Time for Climate Action” campaign you can see what we – and all other companies – are doing and already have achieved for climate protection throughout the year. We are green – are you?