Measure and understand your full scope carbon footprint

Measure and compensate your personal carbon footprint

Use behavioral design to lower return rates

Map out your full supply chain footprint (Scope 3)

Join the "Time for Climate Action" Campaign

Refactor your code base using Green Software principles 

Complete Climate Neutrality

Leverage your supply chain to improve sustainability performance

Offer a sustainable pension fund to your employees

Offset the private footprint of your employees

Implement sustainability in your business model

Power your offices with Renewable Energy

Move to a cloud provider or region with 100% renewable energy

Appoint a member of the executive team to be responsible and accountable

Host your website with a provider powered by 100% renewable energy

Actively support climate strikes

Purchase voluntary additional carbon removal

Set Science-Based-Targets (SBTIs) for your company

Move to a bank that puts sustainability first

Develop sustainable management principles 

Introduce a “green” information channel

Highlight sustainability labels on your product pages

Remove carbon emissions that you can‘t reduce 

Publish your net zero plan

Run our climate action planning workshop

Motivate your customers to take climate action 

Track sustainability status of your supply chain

Adopt an internal carbon tax

Minimize the carbon footprint of your entire shipping

Introduce CO2 removal donations at the checkout

Optimize your packaging size and material

Employ reverse logistics to facilitate circularity

Innovate last mile delivery

Include a sustainability filter in your search bar

Pilot reusable packaging

Donate to climate engaged non-profits

Apply sustainability principles in your office

For Investors: Apply the Sustainability Clause

Host regular climate action talks

Implement the "We take climate action" badge on your website

Incentivize climate positive lifestyle choices

Minimize everyday commute

Outdoor events: city cleanups and tree planting days

Setup a policy for responsible business travel 

Use your tech skills for good (host hackathons etc.)

Veggie Food & Catering

Run your own digital infrastructure on 100% Renewable Energy

BASIC thinking ist ein modernes Medienunternehmen, das mit seinen Magazinen pro Jahr über 20 Millionen Sichtkontakte erzielt. Wir sind "Leaders for Climate Action" beigetreten, um unseren Teil zu einer nachhaltigeren Zukunft beizutragen.

Decide about your offset strategy

Invest into carbon offsets

By supporting the Climate Demo's of the Fridays for Future movement, you can help to increase the pressure on politicians. Many big companies like Atlassian, Flixbus, Kickstarter and many more do it already. Join them! 

Give your employees a few free hours or half a day off to go to important climate strikes.

Share the news on social media 

Use your Marketing channels and social media reach to support big climate demonstrations.

Participate in the strike as a team event

Use Fridays for Future toolkits 

Make yourself visible during the event

You cannot improve if you don't know where you are standing. Use either our build-in carbon estimator or work with a third party to analyze your carbon footprint. Afterwards offset your footprint and upload the certificate as a confirmation.

Decide how you want to measure your emissions

Measure your scope 1 and 2 emissions

Map and estimate your scope 3 emissions

Update your calculation from year-to-year

Document your approach and publicly communicate it

The measurement can be done through our build-in carbon estimator or through a third party. It is important though that the measured scope includes the carbon emissions of your digital infrastructure as well.

Log your measured carbon footprint here in the app

Make sure that:
- you have a company-wide recovery and recycling program that includes: paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal, and composting
- you recycle waste not only from the kitchen but also all papers in your working spaces, cartons at your warehouse, etc.
- your utility service works with all types of waste after you separate it, so it goes into the correct waste sorting centers.

Proper waste separation system

What you can do to print less:
- implement electronic signature systems where possible
- instead of printing reports before business meetings, use more screens in meeting rooms
- decrease the amount of pages by reducing font or page border sizes of regularly printed documents: contracts, agreements, etc.
- add a reminder to print less in your corporate signatures
- as a default setting, double-sided printing in black and white is recommended.

Plus, you can recycle your printer cartridges using a free recycling box from [Caritas](https://www.caritas.de/spendeundengagement/andershelfen/caritasbox/caritasboxstartseite). 

Minimal printing policy

Mark this action as completed if you will buy office supplies made from recycled materials, produced and delivered in an eco-friendly way from now on. 

Recycled paper is 100% made from used paper, saving resources and water. Although the recycled paper is no longer pure white, it is also free of peroxides, sodium carbonate, and sodium hydroxide. These chemicals are used both in the production of fresh fibre paper and for bleaching paper. Recycled paper has two to three times lower energy consumption during production. 

At [Memo](http://www.memo.de), [EarthHero](https://earthhero.com/product-category/home/office-supplies/), or [GreenPicks](https://www.greenpicks.de/en/office-supplies-stationery/) you can find all of your sustainable office supplies.

Eco-friendly office supplies: paper, post-its, pens, business cards, etc. 

One of the projects where you can find cleaning products and soap without microplastic: [Zero Waste Era](https://www.zerowasteera.com)

Mark this action as completed if you will buy only eco-friendly cleaning products and soap for your office from now on. 

Conscious office cleaning: eco-friendly cleaning products, minimal bins and plastic bags

Our aim here is to minimize the delivery footprint and support local businesses.
Only purchase food and drinks with verified environmental standards. 


 Responsible food and drink: local, organic, seasonal

These purchases can influence your carbon footprint significantly. 
- implement a repair-first policy: it's better to fix a laptop than buy a new one
- regularly calculate and check the footprint created by your equipment purchases (some companies, such as [Apple](https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/products/notebooks/13-inch_MacBookPro_PER_may2019.pdf) and [Dell](https://i.dell.com/sites/csdocuments/CorpComm_Docs/en/carbon-footprint-latitude-7490.pdf), share data about their products’ footprint on their websites)
- when you need to buy things for your new office, don't just pay attention to them being made of ‘natural’ materials, but also to their production footprint
- utilize old and broken equipment in specially designated places.

Responsible use of office equipment and furniture

Here are some ideas on how to make your marketing materials more eco-friendly:
- at conferences, fairs, and festivals, consider digital ways to interact with potential customers: screens, VR & AR, QR-codes, projections, e-business cards, and catalogs, etc.
- if you do choose to produce some giveaways, opt for materials with less of an end-of-life process
- order production locally to avoid causing additional emissions through deliveries
- improve your planning process to minimize waste after events.

Minimal giveaways: t-shirts, flyers, stickers, etc.

What you can do:
- encourage your colleagues to order food delivery less: organize lunch in your office, subsidize lunch in the nearest cafes, or arrange food delivery in reusable containers,
- make sure you use glasses in your office and wash them instead of one-use plastic cups,
- buy beverages in returnable glass bottles,
- buy office snacks in bigger packages with less plastic.

Minimal plastic waste: no plastic cups and bottles, reduced food delivery waste

Install low-flow faucets, toilets, and urinals in your office. 
Low-flow should meet or exceed the following EPA WaterSense standards: faucets use a maximum of [1.5 gpm](http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/products/bathroom_sink_faucets.html), toilets - [max 1.28 gallons per flush](http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/products/toilets.html).


Water conservation

Most public transport companies offer corporate ticket programs. Moreover, these programs are also tax-deductible.
Check out how it works at Berlin’s [BVG](https://www.bvg.de/corporate-ticket).

Public transportation subsidies


__Minimal requirements:__
- join the government bicycle subsidizing program, which allows employees to spend on bikes and equipment, tax-free, making a claimed saving of up to 42 per cent on the overall value. e.g. [JobRad](https://www.jobrad.org/arbeitgeber.html) (DE) and [CycleScheme](https://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/?utm_source=knowledge-base&utm_medium=web-link&utm_campaign=can-i-apply-ee) (UK).
-  ask for commitment. At the beginning of spring, riders commit to a certain frequency (daily, weekly, monthly) of commutes by bike. High frequency riders get bigger bike subsidies if they fulfill their commuting goals for the year. Track riders over the next twelve months with an honor-system spreadsheet. If they meet their riding commitment, they receive their full subsidy as a year-end-bonus. 

__If you want to go the extra mile:__
- Invest in a basic maintenance and repair station. This could be as limited as a bike pump, multi-tool, and bin of replacement tubes, or a full setup with a truing stand and bike repair rack.
- Offer a bike pool for your employees. All it requires is an up-front investment in a small collection of bikes – preferably low maintenance models with internal gearing – and geometry that scales well to a range of rider sizes. Establish your bike pool at the beginning of the calendar year and encourage riding with bonuses and incentives for participation. 
- Engage: track miles and ride frequency in an honor-system and organize monthly group rides.
- Dedicate a shower for riders, with a changing room and personal locker area. 

Cycle-to-work program

If it has to be the car after all for some team members, you can offer them to use shared car services such as [Clevershuttle](https://www.clevershuttle.de/en/), [Pendler Portal](https://www.pendlerportal.de/), [Berlkönig](https://www.pendlerportal.de/). 

Car sharing/pooling, instead of car owning

You can just add it as a requirement in your interview invitation template, or offer to cover train ticket costs for travels less than 5 hours. 
In many cases, responsible candidates prefer to work in companies who care about the environment, so such requirements can even increase your chances to hire the best team members. 

Train travel for on-site job interviews

If your company has its own carpool, investing in electric company cars can improve the environmental balance as long as the electric cars run on green electricity. 

Electric cars only for taxi services, rentals, and company fleet 

Start tracking it regularly and set reduction goals.
If your company’s headcount grows extremely quickly, track the commute footprint normalized by the number of employees in the corresponding quarter.


Quarterly survey to track commute footprint

Meat and dairy consumption cause a lot of carbon emissions. By minimizing carbon-intensive food and drinks you can decrease your footprint significantly.

Make sure that:
- you don't serve any meat
- you offer a plant-based milk option or serve only plant-based milk
- you minimize food waste
We can't control what people eat at home but, as a company, we can decide what to buy based on our values.

Some vegan and local catering providers for your reference: 
 [Pele Mele](http://www.pele-mele-berlin.de/catering/), [Fake Gourmet](https://www.facebook.com/fakegourmetberlin/), [Yummy Mummy](https://www.facebook.com/yummymummyberlin/?hc_location=ufi), [Goodies Deli](https://goodies-deli.com/pages/catering), [Hummus Dealer](https://www.facebook.com/hummusdealer/), [Beets and Roots](https://www.beetsandroots.de/catering), [My Goodness](https://www.mygoodnessberlin.com/), [No Tiers Vegan Catering](https://www.facebook.com/NoTiersVeganCatering/), [TRJFP](https://www.facebook.com/TRJFPBerlin/), [Gayaya](https://www.gayaya-berlin.de/en/home-en.html#catering-en), [Smunch](https://www.smunch.co/).
These projects are based in Berlin, but for those of you who are based elsewhere, they give you a general idea of what’s available and you can find similar options in your area.
 
Mark this action as completed if you do not  cater meat in your office and during business events.

Vegan catering and snacks

Switching to a 100% renewable energy provider for your office energy is a simple but effective step to reduce your company's carbon footprint. It is important to use a reliable provider which transparently communicates the orgins of its energy.

Switch to a 100% renewable energy provider, including electricity and other energy consumption from heating, hot water, etc. Often it’s the most impactful thing companies can do immediately. 

Even if you lease your office, it's still possible to switch, but it requires some time and effort.

We recommend the following green electricity providers in Germany: [Greenpeace Energy](http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/products/toilets.html), [Naturstrom](https://www.naturstrom.de/geschaeftskunden/), [Elektrizitäts Werke Schönau](https://www.ews-schoenau.de/ews/energiedienstleistungen/angebote-fuer-gewerbekunden/) 

Note: The difference in savings from the future footprint offsetting will often be more than a slight increase in energy cost. 

Your office (and warehouses) run on 100% renewable energy

Switch to sustainable Heating

Buy your own solar plant

Lobby in your co-working space for a more sustainable energy consumption

Evaluate the current landscape and decide if you want to move the service provider or only the region

Make a migration plan and move your services

Find a hosting service that is powered by 100% renewable energy

Check and get the label of the Green Web Foundation

Get support and certification from projects working on the topic

Prefer a hosting service that runs on Renewable Energy and not on Renewable Energy Credits 

Talk to your hosting company and research if they are running on 100% renewable energy

Switch to a provider with 100% renewable energy or make sure that your office with the servers is running on renewable energies

Cutting down on your flights and moving towards train travel has a significant impact on your carbon footprint.

For domestic routes under five hours by train, take the train.
Railway stations are often more centrally located than airports, which makes arrival and departure easier and reduces the footprint of using taxis.  

Mark this action as completed as soon as you change your corporate travel policy accordingly.


Trains over planes policy

For intercontinental travel, a seat in business class produces __two to three times__ as much CO2 as an economy seat. 
First-class seats even produce up to __six times__ as much CO2.

Mark this action as completed as soon as you change your corporate travel policy and make sure that you buy only economy class tickets from now on.

BASIC thinking

Über uns

Measure and understand your full scope carbon footprint

Measure and compensate your personal carbon footprint

Use behavioral design to lower return rates