16th Apr 2020
We joined the #EthicalHour community* back in 2017 and in our sixteen years of being in business it is one of the best things we ever did.
In 2004 when we first started out, running a business with a purpose was kind of lonely. There were some amazing colleagues and organisations that we looked up to and connected with but the world was a very different place back then and not everyone ‘got it’ and not everyone was supportive. Back then, belonging to a network of entrepreneurs who shared a vision of a kinder, greener world and having access to relevant marketing support and business expertise would have been amazing. Thankfully, now we do.
#EthicalHour isn’t just for start-ups. As an established business we have gained such a lot from being members. Here are some of the ways that #EthicalHour has benefitted our business:
Simply by being part of a community who want to tread as lightly on the planet as possible we meet new clients who need our website hosting services. Often those clients recommend us to others too. Together we are making a move towards a more environmentally friendly internet.
I’m not aware of another single online space where you can meet as many ethical business owners and industry experts from all over the world. It is a genuinely friendly, no-judgement place where it’s OK to ask questions and seek help no matter where you are in your business journey.
If one thing is true about being an entrepreneur it’s that you never stop learning. #EthicalHour’s online resources cover a huge range of topics including productivity, getting the most out of social media platforms, embedding values in your business, self care, making an impact and lots more.
For £20 per month, you will get:
#EthicalHour provides amazing mutual support and information but its big aim is to help ethical brands break out into the mainstream and have a real impact on the way all business is done. It’s so exciting to be a part of this!
Find out more about #EthicalHour membership here.
*Disclosure - The links to Ethical Hour in this article are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you we may earn commission if you purchase Ethical Hour membership as a result of following one of these links. We are indeed fully paid members of the #EthicalHour community and all of the above is true and genuine.
20th Mar 2020
In light of the Covid-19 outbreak we just want to let our clients know that we are providing our services and support as usual. If any of our clients need us, please continue to get in touch in the usual way, by e-mail or our helpdesk.
As you know, we love to give shout-outs to the amazing things you are doing and we want to help with that more now than ever to support your businesses and organisations. So, if you have any news you would like us to share then do let us know.
We'll continue to post about our clients on our social media channels but please don't think we're being frivolous in these difficult times, we just like to help shine the spotlight on all their good work.
Stay safe and well everyone.
Much love, from Jez & Vic
10th Oct 2019
We are very happy to announce our partnership with Ethical Influencers, the network for bloggers and influencers who promote a kinder, more sustainable world.
Ethical Influencers supports creators to get their voices heard, whilst making connections with likeminded brands. It’s such a clever solution, providing members with the help they need to champion brands and businesses whose products and services promote ethical ways of living.
For businesses Ethical Influencers is a genuine means of getting your brand in front of your ideal audience of conscious consumers, through various online channels and with great quality content. It truly is a digital community doing good!
Ethical Influencers members can receive a 20% discount on any of our yearly Green Hosting plans. Take a look at the Ethical Influencers shop to find out how to claim your discount.
If you’re not already a member visit ethicalinfluencers.co.uk to learn more.
28th Feb 2019
Of course, we spend most of our time talking about Green Hosting here, which makes sense I guess. But I thought it would be good to share the other ways we aim to help make a positive difference with our Green Hosting business too. Here are some of the things we do...
In our early days when we first set up back in 2004, the ethical business world was much smaller than it is now. However, we always knew that we only wanted to make money from clients who are doing positive things. Our ethical policy guides us and communicates the kinds of activities we do and do not support via our web services. The ethical policy still stands more than 14 years later and is still fundamental to our way of working. We just don’t want to make money from exploitative, cruel or careless companies and we’re sure our clients don’t want us to either.
We are extremely fortunate now to have many like-minded colleagues and a community of conscious brands around us, sharing good practice, supporting each other and working to make ethical business stronger and more mainstream.
Choosing responsible suppliers is important to us too. We bank with the Cooperative, use Ecotricity to power our office and the Green Stationery Company for any supplies we need. More recently we took out business insurance with Evergreen Insurance and this was new to us last year, which shows we're on a constant learning curve. For our IT equipment we choose energy efficient products and purchase from companies with ethical credentials when we can. All electrical equipment and lights are switched off when we aren't using them. Even though our electricity is from renewable sources, there's no need to waste it.
In the day-to-day running of our business travel is kept to a minimum and so is paper use, we just don't really need either of those things to provide our service. Sometimes its handy to write things down and so if we have notepads or notebooks they are made from scrap or recycled paper. The pens we buy are made from recycled materials too.
Most of our marketing is done online but if we need printed materials we choose a printer with environmentally friendly practices and products. We haven't had anything printed in a while but we recently discovered Hatch and so we might try them next time we do.
We have an environmental policy which goes into lots more detail if you'd like to read more.
We know that the technicalities of websites and web hosting can be daunting, especially when a business relies so heavily on their online presence and e-mails. So we aim to be kind in our approach and communication. Our clients reciprocate that kindness in lovely feedback, messages of support and spreading the word about us. It makes us feel really good!
With a view to hopefully making a difference in a more direct way, we work with community groups and positive projects that make us smile, providing services for free. Most recently we built the new Greens Windmill website, update it as volunteers and we power it with our wind powered hosting too. It gives us a real buzz to be able to do this and to get to know some really fantastic people and organisations.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Everything we do in our business reflects how we live our lives outside work. Like lots of other people we're increasingly more conscious and careful about what we eat, what we wear wear and what we buy (or rather don't buy). We're cutting down our plastic use, composting kitchen waste, planting flowers for pollinators and growing veggies, supporting charities, shopping locally, buying second hand, raising our awareness. We're a small business trying to do our best, we're know we're not perfect but we're always learning and working to do more.
Since we started out in 2004 our values of wanting to make a difference haven’t changed, but thankfully the business world around us has. It’s so wonderful to now be part of a much bigger movement of brands driven by the triple bottom line - people, planet and profit – and we’re excited by how much of a difference we can all make in the future.
4th Oct 2017
Great news! Green Hosting is now listed in the Green Web Foundation's international directory of hosting companies using renewable energy AND we are a Green Web Foundation Partner too. We have gained partner status due to our ethical and environmental policies published on our website.
The Green Web Foundation is a non-profit organisation working hard towards an internet powered entirely by renewable energy and checks every members' green credentials before listing them on their website. They provide an online tool to check whether websites measure up as Green (powered by renewable energy) or Grey (powered by fossil fuels or status unknown). If your website checks out as being green you can show one of their badges on your website.*
*NOTE: We have found that websites using Cloudflare may check out as not being green when in fact they are. This is because Cloudflare obscures the website's actual IP for added security.
Green Hosting works handsomely with:
Auto-installer now available on all accounts
