Environmental Sustainability

At Finders we are committed to doing our best to make our business as environmentally friendly as possible.

We operate an Environmental Management System (EMS) certified to the ISO 14001 standard and actively work towards having a positive impact on our environment while minimising environmental damage that arises from our operations.

See our Environmental Policy here.

There are four key areas where we believe we can make a positive impact.

Travel

Where possible, we use video conferencing for meetings. We encourage the use of public transportation for essential travel and only book flights when absolutely necessary. To further lower our carbon emissions on the road, we optimise our fuel use by efficiently scheduling Regional Representatives routes when visiting beneficiaries or making local enquiries.

Energy use

We monitor and measure energy consumption in our offices and only purchase 100% green electricity. To reduce consumption, we use hibernation functionality for PCs and laptops to deactivate after a period of non-use and set office heating and air conditioning on timer to limit the hours of operation.

Paper and printing

We store the majority of office files and documents digitally and monitor and measure our paper usage throughout the year.

Reducing waste

We follow the waste hierarchy model and have recycling facilities available in our offices. We comply with the legislation by ensuring that our office waste is stored correctly and that all third-party carriers and treatment facilities we use are licenced and competent.

Carbon Balanced with World Land Trust

We contribute towards a lower-carbon economy by offsetting carbon emissions with the help of the World Land Trust’s Carbon Balanced Programme.

Each year we complete a carbon footprint assessment and you can find our latest Carbon Footprint report here.

In 2024 we made a contribution of £1,364.85 to offset the equivalent of 90.990 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

2024 sustainability goals

  • Continue to offset unavoidable carbon emissions resulting from business activities with the help of World Land Trust, funding the protection of forests.
  • Increase the rate of recycling in our offices to achieve ‘Zero-to-landfill’, where all our non-recyclable business waste is sent to generate green energy. Give top priority to waste prevention, re-using and recycling.
  • Reduce unnecessary paper use in the offices and continue to minimise the need for storing information in printed format.
  • Continue to measure energy consumption in the offices and maintain energy use per square meter.

Employee environmental initiatives

In 2023, as part of our sustainability promise and our ongoing ISO14001 commitments, we launched the ‘Finders International Spring Challenge.’ This five-week campaign, from March 20 to April 23, focused on environmental themes: energy, nature, food, technology, and fashion. Staff were encouraged to complete challenges within each theme, to reduce their impact on the environment and help raise awareness.

The challenges included taking part in Earth hour, litter picks at local parks, going meat-free, turning off monitors, laptops and other devices when not in use, and donating unwanted clothes to charity. All of our efforts have contributed to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, water usage, and waste in livestock farming. 

With the success of the campaign, we look to continue and build on our efforts year after year.