Why Ericom decided to become carbon neutral with Trace
Ericom’s decision to take responsibility for their carbon footprint stems from the desire to simply be “better corporate citizens and give back to the community”, says Kyle. But the reason Ericom joined Trace also comes from Kyle’s personal motivations and inclination to be as sustainable as possible as an individual.
Ten years ago Kyle built a house and was insistent that it be fitted out with sustainable materials and features. He has a worm farm at home, composts and drives an EV. So it only made sense that Kyle’s passion for sustainability would also extend to Ericom - a business that’s grown from a $2 million to a $50 million company since he and his business partner purchased it in 2013.
And joining Trace is not the first step the company has taken to be more environmentally sustainable. They’ve consciously relocated their offices to be close to transport hubs, making it easier and faster for people to commute to work via public transport. Even before the pandemic, around 50% of the Ericom team regularly worked from home, reducing commuting-related emissions.
Kyle also has a macro view of how the business sector and economy is destined to shift towards more sustainable practices as he sits on Boards of other companies and government department steering committees.
“The topic of conversation always seems to some back to carbon - it’s on everyone’s mind”, he says.
Looking to the future…
Kyle sees joining Trace as only the beginning of Ericom’s journey to becoming more sustainable, responsible corporate citizens.
“It’s not one of these things where you do something and stop. You have to re-evaluate and look at where you want to position your company.” says Kyle.
Something they’re exploring is a way to include the price of the associated carbon emissions of their services in their pricing, including notes on quotes and invoices, so their customers can be aware of the impact they’re having (and what Ericom is doing to reduce or offset those emissions!).
Kyle is conscious of the impact Ericom has as a supplier, and the impact of their emissions of the carbon footprints of their customers.
“It’s about not just bringing our employees on the journey, but bringing our customers on the journey too, with not just a couple of emails here and there but with the actual products and services that we supply. So as we grow and supply more, obviously we’re increasing our footprint, so we need to be conscious of how that impacts our customers.”, he says.
Why Ericom loves Trace
Kyle does not shy away from talking about his positive experience with Trace.
“We’re so appreciative of the effort that Trace put in to make Ericom carbon neutral. It is a very simple process. I’m not someone ‘in the detail’ of the business but I still found it really easy to get the information we needed to measure our footprint.”
“It’s easy for everybody to get on board with this because…it’s not a hard thing to do, and it’s not as expensive as you might think!”
Thanks Kyle!
