Wednesday
16Sep2009
T. HandySquarespace and the Environment
Squarespace has always had a positive relationship with the environment. Serving web pages is always going to be far more green than manufacturing paper, so we have that going for us. We recently sat down to do a review of our complete footprint and realized that we were so darn close to being carbon-balanced that we might as well go the rest of the way. And so, as of today, all of the electricity that we buy is Green-e certified renewable and we are TerraPass certified carbon-balanced.
Take a look at our new environmental impact page for the details. We're really proud of what we've done with this and would love to hear your thoughts.
Reader Comments (12)
impressive! Keep it up guys!
With the small footprint our industry has by nature, it's nice seeing companies make an effort to decrease it even further. Nice work!
This is really awesome. I love that you're leading the way for environmentally responsible business - not only through your choice to become carbon-balanced, but also by choosing to share your achievements with the world through such a well-written, artfully designed, snappy, and succinct webpage. Congrats!
I'm pleased you are now 'carbon balanced', but using a sentence like "Squarespace has always had a positive relationship with the environment." is pretty misleading. You probably haven't always had a positive relationship with the environment, and even whether you have now depends on how much of your true carbon output you are including in the calculations.
Interesting post. I was going to comment that server farms aren't really environmentally sensitive but, in reading your Green page, it's nice to see you're running your servers very efficiently compared to others.
All said and done, my wife and I have found out it is all the little things that add up to a big difference. As you guys and gals have found out, doing things like recycling in the office, driving to work, and so on, all add up. Hell, even being vegetarian, even for one day a week, can make a dramatic impact to the planet. As for composting, ya that's the one thing that's difficult to do.
Oh one other thing. I noticed in one of the previous pics that Squarespace has a lot of windows in the office. If you get a lot of sunlight, there are simple little solar lamps that you can buy that, if placed near a window, can be charged during the day and at night can be used for basic lighting. I'm assuming you guys are looking at your computer screens most of the time rather than reading out of books, so these little simple solar lamps are great for ambient lighting.
Wow, that is very cool. Kudos from Portland, Oregon.
E-waste is totally outta control (I've seen too many photos of e-waste from China) and now I'm curious how are servers "recycled appropriately"?
@hjb The Terrapass certification and "carbon-balanced" moniker is for 100% of our emissions. That includes employee travel, datacenter, and office space-related carbon.
@nollind Thanks for the input :) You're right--we do have a lot of windows in our office. Your solar light idea is a good one, although probably the biggest problem we face with these windows is the heat and associated AC electricity usage in the summer. We actually purchased black shades for these windows and lower them during the day and it dramatically cuts down on this problem. Fortunately, black works pretty well with our design aesthetic ;)
@deb Most major hardware providers (Dell, HP, etc) provide free or low-cost "takeback" programs. We were surprised, and quite happy to learn, that recycling servers isn't that hard to do!
I have been using Squarespace since the beginning of this year to host my site that focuses on "green" news, tips, and resources to help busy families lighten their impact on the environment. I was absolutely thrilled to read about the steps you have taken! Every action we take to lighten our footprint is a step in the right direction. Thank you for your commitment to helping protect our planet and also for providing an excellent product!
I am impressed with the company. After watching the video tour available at your website, I instantly fell in love with the idea.
Additionally, as I become aware of the efforts made by smart people in order to create a sustainable world, I am starting to feel the need to make a sustainable effort myself. Congrats for a job well done!
Great idea! Great company! Great team! Great office! Great mario kart meetings! Beautiful dog!
Wish you all the best!
Question: I posted on my blog that I suspect that the logo is two S's, one overlapping the other. Is this correct? Thanks in advance!
Thank you! Just another reason I love squarespace!
Fantastic!! We need more organizations to undertake these initiatives!!
Way to go! And don't forget Squarespace is also hosting a real Local Recyclers Search Engine.