Sustainability Update - May 2022

​'Invest In our Planet' was the theme for this year's recent global Earth Day - a theme that calls on businesses (of all sizes) to shift towards sustainable practices in order to address and mitigate climate change and its impacts on all of our lives. At RedCloud, this year's theme could not be more timely as we continue on our own sustainability journey, making strides and learning more about the various layers of sustainability, particularly in a professional services industry in which large scale reductions can be elusive simply by the nature of our business (we're not making large widgets or consuming vast amounts of energy).

As we shared last year, our leadership has committed RedCloud to operate as a carbon neutral company by the year 2025. An ambitious goal, but one we feel absolutely certain about, and that our community of employees and clients support. One key first step to achieving our goal of carbon neutrality is simply measuring and disclosing our carbon footprint, or the total emissions of our operations and supply chain. This may sound simple, but once you begin to peel back the layers of a company's operations, products you purchase to run your business, and the daily "habits" of the business and its people, measuring can be complex! 

To that end, we're proud to say we again are participating in the CDP - formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project - a global initiative and best practice for companies of all sizes, across all industries to publicly disclose their emissions. From Fortune 500s like Microsoft to SMBs like us, companies of all sizes are setting goals for emissions reductions that cascade their benefits throughout our collective supply chain. 

The CDP's annual Climate Change survey asks companies to report their environmental data (energy use, travel, reduction goals, supply chain dependencies, etc.) to inform stakeholders of their commitments to sustainability. When environmental data is disclosed, it can protect and improve a company's reputation, boost its competitive advantage, track and benchmark progress, uncover risks and opportunities, and get ahead of regulation. These are all huge positives for RedCloud, which build on the simple notion that this is the right thing for our planet and children. 

Emissions reporting through CDP is just one aspect of our commitment to sustainability. Since 2019, we've reduced travel related carbon emissions by 76% and energy use by 88%. And we think we can do better by investing in an energy efficient office, technologies, and continuing to research and compare best practices with those in similar industries. We continue to do what we consider baseline sustainability practices, determined to minimize our carbon footprint in all areas of our business from recycling at the office and purchasing sustainably-made items from local suppliers. 
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As we march towards being a carbon neutral firm by 2025, we look forward to fostering and supporting innovation in our industry and even applying our knowledge to help our own clients address the carbon footprint and related sustainability programs through our practice areas that can create efficiencies across any business. 
Finally, we encourage any member of our broader RedCloud community to join us in measuring and beginning to plan how to reduce your carbon footprint. We certainly are all in this together!