Sustainability Commitment

We believe that sustainability efforts must include climate justice, which we see as a reframing of the fight against climate change to include consideration of racial and gender equality, and labor rights. Necessarily, then, fighting to increase awareness and to discontinue the disparate impact of climate change on black and poor communities in the United States is of paramount importance to any sustainability efforts. We’ve outlined our current and future efforts to operationalize inclusivity and equality in our DEI Commitment.

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As a Benefit Corporation, we hold our stakeholders on equal footing to shareholders; that means that we prioritize people and planet equally to profits. This Sustainability Commitment will outline for you the ways in which we have built these values into our operations, specifically with regards to intentional choices we’ve made in consideration of our impact on the environment.
 

How we currently incorporate sustainability into our operations:

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• In an effort to avoid using paper as much as we can:

  • We solely rely on digital note-taking and record-keeping, from meeting notes to application review; and

  • We primarily rely on digital form and payment submission for our certification process;

• All of our employees work from home, eliminating their commute and any associated fossil fuel emissions;

• We abide by home-office sustainability best practices, including recommending:

  • Use of power strips;

  • Powering down electronics and power strips when their workspace is not in use;

  • Minimize printing, and print using recycled paper; and

  • Shred no-longer-useful documents to use for compost;

• When selecting contractors, we consider whether or not the contractor maintains a sustainable supply-chain, and makes products of good quality to avoid the trash. Additionally, we look closely at the ownership and make-up of the contractor, as well as their sustainability and climate justice efforts or donations;

• When selecting materials we consider whether they are eco-friendly, recyclable, reusable, biodegradable, non-toxic (during and after use), manufactured locally (to avoid long-distance transportation), and will last;

• When shipping materials, we’ve incorporated sustainability into our operations by using eco-friendly and recyclable shipping supplies from EcoEnclose, and mailing with the USPS; and

• When deciding whether or not to add physical materials or merchandise to our storefront, community, or marketing efforts, we maintain a commitment to “sustainable swag,” choosing merchandise that will be used by the people it ends up with.

How we plan to continue this work going forward:

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• We will continue to develop and circulate information on recycling and reusing materials, from office/work-related items to everyday items;

• We are researching local recycling options and availability for all of our employees, as well as developing a list of resources to advocate for further availability of recycling locally;

• SHE’s internal dress code will formally reject work uniforms, or specific suit styles, eliminating the need for separate work and home wardrobes;

• We have begun researching transitioning to a local credit union (as opposed to a national bank), which will allow us to divest entirely from fossil fuels;

• We have indicated our interest in and intend to commit to 1% for the Planet; and

• We hope to soon partner with an organization to plant a tree for various company accomplishments, such as each submitted application.