Alignment: An Earth Day Reflection

Let me start by saying, I'm not much of an environmental advocate. I don't REALLY care enough to alter my action, I'll be frank. Carbon footprint, meh?

I'm a biochemist, after all, so my love of science is profound. I don't think the science is settled, when it comes to anthropogenic global warming. But don't take my word for it, I suggest you watch the second best-known, and first best, global climate change documentary. I personally am paranoid enough to consider that Goldman Sachs engineered the whole scheme in order to produce a new market to exploit.

But that's not what this is about. What I am interested in, is what other people are interested in. As a fledgling entrepreneur, this is an important characteristic I must embrace and nurture, if I wish to effectively serve others. And this, is why I have an interest in the environment. Because other people are interested. With all the Earth Day hoopla blowing up my Twitter feed today, I got to thinking about my actions and how they might impact the environment.

ASIDE: I guess that's why things like Earth Day ARE important, to spread awareness and make you think.

Coming from a liberal Canadian university campus just a short year ago, I still have many close friends who harbor environmental sustainability amongst their highest priorities. At this point I want to make it clear that, global warming or no global warming, I think it's incredibly important to develop renewable energy sources. I think it's in our best interest to treat our environment carefully, just not necessarily because the Earth is [allegedly] heating up a little. All that being said, I eventually got to thinking about my own business.

I found a carbon offset calculator and did some quick math. If we had hosted live events in London, instead of webinars, we would have produced an additional 50 tons of carbon dioxide. And we're just getting started! The amount of revenue we drive is literally directly and positively proportional to a decrease in carbon dioxide, in terms of travel, - commercial flights, specifically.

I'm stoked that by running an almost completely cloud based business, we've virtually eliminated all of the significant sources of adverse environmental impact; we've managed to align ourselves with an incredibly important trend, that I believe will continue to gain strength. We need to leverage it more actively, it's literally in the best interest of the Earth, and conveniently my pocket.

UPDATE: I did some research, the average person in the UK has a carbon footprint 10 tons of carbon dioxide a year. So far we have offset five of those tea sippers.