Digitech recently became a Climate Smart Company, as a further testament to our commitment of environmental responsibility. Climate Smart, a Vancouver-based social enterprise, was founded in 2007 as a pilot project of Ecotrust Canada. For the pilot program, 10 BC businesses and organizations were selected to under-go a comprehensive analysis of their carbon-footprint, followed by training and changes in policy to reduce that carbon footprint. The pilot program was so successful that in 2009 Climate Smart was incorporated and has to-date trained more than 190 enterprises.
The advantage for a small or medium-sized business of working with Climate Smart is in gaining a further understanding of how their operations may be effecting the environment. Through the help of expert consulting and analysis, enterprises learn what their current impact is and how they can implement policies that will help reduce that impact.
Digitech’s primary business goals are to provide its clients with an environmentally responsible solution to all their printing needs. We refill, refurbish and remanufacture toner cartridges and ink cartridges for businesses through-out Vancouver and the Okanagan. Since we are helping other companies reduce their carbon footprint, it’s only natural that we would want to do everything in our power to further reduce our own carbon footprint.
The Climate Smart Program that Digitech went through follows 3 primary steps to success:
1 - Measure
Climate Smart helped us map the sources of all our greenhouse gas emissions, collecting all relevant data, and then using that data to calculate our carbon footprint.
2 - Reduce
Using the data and its results, Digitech was able to identify the best opportunities by which to reduce our carbon footprint, set future goals and calculate what our business’s cost savings would be.
3 - Leverage
At the core of Climate Smart’s motivations, is the recognition that small and medium-sized enterprises have been largely overlooked in the development of policies and tools to address climate change. The Climate Smart Program teaches participating businesses and organizations about being “carbon neutral”, helps them evaluate the emerging voluntary carbon offset market and helps them in communicating their commitment.
The Climate Smart Program is a continuous process, of measuring our carbon footprint and using the tools and software provided to regularly analyze how we can further improve our policies to meet our carbon-neutral goals.
Ecotrust Canada is an enterprising non-profit that works at the intersection of conservation and community economic development promoting innovation and providing services for communities, First Nations and enterprises to green and grow their local economies.
If you have any further questions about our involvement with Climate Smart, please contact our offices and we will be happy to give you more details of our experience.
