Well, 2023 is here. 2022 came and went almost in the blink of an eye. It was fun though, the team grew from two to five and our projects were varied and covered the entirety of Scotland from Thurso to Jedburgh… but what’s next for EP Ecology?

We’ve decided that this year we’re going to shift some more of the focus of our business towards making ourselves more sustainable. We already do this a little, we consider the environmental impact of our work, and we take steps to reduce this impact, but with the climate crisis ever more at the forefront of our thoughts, we’re going to make an even more conscious effort to reduce our impact.

You may be wondering what we do now?

• We use re-usable batteries where we can to reduce our battery wastage;
• We buy and use second-hand equipment where it’s use won’t impact the quality of our work;
• We recycle as much of the waste that we generate as we can;
• We donate our used IT equipment to charities to further extend their lifespan;
• We choose materials with a long life-span for use in our clients sites (e.g. woodcrete as opposed to wooden wildlife boxes);
• We choose boxes for bats that reduce the requirement for additional checks and maintenance which reduces our mileage;
• We opt wherever possible to use more fuel efficient vehicles, saving our 4×4 for those tasks that require off-road or bulky equipment transport; and
• We donate to Ecologi.com who plant trees in our name to help offset our businesses emissions.

What can we do better?

In 2023, we’re going to start thinking more about the work we do, and the projects we take on. Our goal is to:

• Only take on projects that have sustainability elements built into them. This may be sustainable energy generation, or may be sustainable travel facilitation;
• Work harder to help our clients achieve a biodiversity net gain and improve their projects prospects for biodiversity inclusion;
• Consider the distances we are travelling for our projects and the means by which we are travelling – aiming to reduce fuel inefficiency;
• Move to digital data collection to reduce our reliance on paper;
• Try to find, and choose, the most sustainable suppliers of materials and resources in our supply chain;
• Calculate our carbon footprint and measure our carbon emissions in a bid to achieve Net Zero;
• Reduce or eliminate waste by upcycling and recycling as much as we can;
• We’re going to aim to replace our 4×4 with a more fuel efficient model which utilises electric or hybrid drive where possible; and
• Support more local small businesses and charities or volunteer organisations either directly through donating our time, or by donating money and equipment.

We look forward to updating you all on our sustainability goals and how we are working towards them, and we would really love it if others shared their sustainability principles and ideas with us so that we can “recycle” them and help improve our business practices.

Here’s to a sustainable 2023!
Cheers,
Erik