Sustainable Practices and Business Operations

I calculate and monitor my carbon emissions using the Photographers For People & Planet Carbon Emissions Calculator. - My calculated 2023/24 Tax Year business emissions were 5.39t tCO₂e, with the largest two emissions areas being my digital impact and travel emissions. 

I aim to reduce my carbon emissions as an ongoing priority, and contribute to tree planting and carbon offsetting through Ecologi in order to further reduce unavoidable emissions on a monthly basis.  I currently fund 4 trees planted, and 0.6667 tonnes of carbon avoidance per month.
Alongside this, I also fund 25 trees planted for every new wedding booking taken.
My Ecologi profile and 'forest' is available to see here - https://ecologi.com/sarahhortonphotography

I've also been vegan for 7 years, which leads to up to 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than meat-rich diets.

Carbon Emissions

I drive a Pure Drive Qashqai, Tax Band A with a ‘Closer to Zero Emissions’ Engine. The car has no issues currently, however when the need for a new car arises I will look into an Electric Vehicle as a more sustainable option. 

I track my business mileage to accurately monitor my travel emissions impact.
I encourage lift sharing whenever myself and a second shooter are travelling to the same venue, or when another supplier and I are moving between venues or shoot locations, and travel to weddings by public transport where the venue allows.

I avoid unnecessary travel by conducting client meetings over telephone/video calls where possible, and scope out venues and locations online or by arriving at weddings early to allow for a walk through to avoid additional travel to venues or church rehearsals.

Transport

I rarely send or receive shipped items for my business, meaning my packaging waste is minimal. All, if any, physical waste such as paper, cardboard or packaging is recycled,  home composted or re-used as packaging or packing for onwards delivery to clients

I sell or send unused or unwanted photographic equipment to others within the photography community, or pass to MPB for resale or reuse. MPB apply circular economy principles to their business (https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/impact) 

In 2025 I aim to home compost our green waste. 

Waste

I have switched energy providers from EDF to Octopus Energy in order to use 100% renewable energy at my home & business address. 
This means I use renewable energy to charge all kit & for my laptop use.

I am replacing any remaining non-LED lightbulbs with LED as they expire throughout the house and in 2025 I am looking to utilise smart plugs with energy monitoring for the most efficiency when charging kit, laptop use and home workspace heating. 

Although my business does not use water, I do use my home as a workspace and have checked for leaks, and installed a toilet dual flush to use less water, and I use a water butt to collect rainwater for vegetable growing & garden use. 

As a household we use SMOL for delivered, water- free & chemical-free cleaning products. 

Energy & Water

I contact, check and record the sustainability policy of each of my suppliers, and am committed to finding more sustainable alternatives where possible. 

I currently use an album supplier based in Poland, however in 2025 I will be sourcing a UK supplier who can match their vegan textiles and glues. I use a UK printer for prints who are part of the Carbon Capture Scheme through the Woodland Trust. 

I no longer send USB sticks for gallery delivery, reducing plastic use, packaging and shipping. 

I have identified that the largest contributor to my carbon emissions is online backups. The nature of my business means I rely on multi backups, however I am currently in the process of auditing all backups in order to slim them down to absolute essentials, and to ensure copies are removed once galleries have been delivered. 

I use Starling Bank for sustainable banking, and Nutmeg for my pension, my portfolio has a 7/10 social responsibility score.

My website hosting uses green energy as confirmed by The Green Web Foundation. 

Supply Chain & Digital Footprint 

I am committed to encouraging those working with or for me, my peers, clients and community to become aware of their own impact through sharing information and encouraging change. 

At the end of 2024 following inspiration from B Corp businesses, I committed to a minimum of 4 days volunteering per year in the community. I currently volunteer 1.5 - 3 hours per week as a Youth Worker at Nantwich Youth Club, working with 8-12 year olds.

I offer work experience opportunities to local schools. I have had two Year 10 students with me previously and am currently working out dates to take on a student in 2025.

I am working on a sustainable supplier list in order to be able to promote local wedding suppliers with similar ethics.

Team & Community

Last year we allowed a portion of our garden to grow wild, this year, we will extend that portion, and encourage wild flower growth as my Biodiversity Pledge at the SWA Summit. 

In 2025 I will look at Ecologi’s options to support wildflowers, wetlands and wildlife through funding, as an alternative or addition to tree planting. I want to look at the benefits of both programmes before making a decision. 

Biodiversity