Environment Statement (draft)
ProjectBalm recognizes our responsibility to minimize our environmental impact. We are committed to protecting the environment and public health by using best-practice approaches to reduce any negative impacts from our operations. As a fully remote, digital-first business, we have a relatively small footprint – but we believe that every business, regardless of size, has a role in safeguarding the climate. This statement outlines our environmental commitments, which are realistic for our size and aligned with international best practices, such as the OECD Guidelines for responsible business conduct. We aim to remain transparent and accessible in our language and actions, fostering trust and accountability in our environmental stewardship.
Emissions Minimisation
We strive to keep our greenhouse gas emissions as low as possible through thoughtful operational choices:
Fully Remote Operations: Our team works entirely remotely with no physical office. This eliminates daily commutes and avoids the energy use of maintaining an office, significantly reducing our carbon footprint. By not requiring travel to a workplace, we cut down on transportation emissions and energy consumption for lighting, heating, and cooling an office space.
Digital Products and Delivery: We deliver our software and services online (via the Atlassian Marketplace) with no physical goods. This means no manufacturing, packaging, or shipping is needed for our products. A digital delivery model avoids the emissions that would come from producing and transporting physical media, thereby shrinking our overall environmental impact.
Low-Carbon Travel: We avoid unnecessary business travel, especially air travel, and rely on video conferencing and other virtual collaboration tools for meetings. Air travel is a major source of corporate carbon emissions, so by prioritizing virtual meetings we prevent a significant amount of pollution. In this way, we keep business travel – and its associated emissions – to a minimum.
Through these measures, ProjectBalm maintains a very low emissions profile. Our remote-work policy alone substantially cuts our CO₂ emissions by reducing commuting and office-related energy use. We will continue to seek opportunities to further shrink our carbon footprint wherever possible.
Responsible Resource Use and Waste Reduction
We are dedicated to using resources responsibly and reducing waste in our day-to-day operations. Our small size enables us to adopt a “paper-light, digital-first” strategy and other eco-conscious practices that minimize our resource consumption:
Paper-Light Workflow: We operate with a primarily paperless workflow. Nearly all documentation, record-keeping, and communication are handled digitally, which drastically cuts down on paper use. On the rare occasions when printing is necessary, we print double-sided and only what is essential. This not only saves trees but also reduces waste and ink usage.
Efficient Technology Use: We use modern, energy-efficient hardware and cloud-based services to run our business. Our computers and home-office equipment are set to energy-saving modes, and we power them down when not in use. By leveraging cloud infrastructure (for example, for data storage and development), we optimize resource use – shared data centers tend to be more energy-efficient than individual local servers. We also prefer service providers who have strong sustainability credentials (such as data centers powered by renewable energy), aligning our procurement with our environmental values. Using energy-efficient practices and technologies helps us minimize electricity consumption and waste in our operations.
Waste Reduction and Recycling: We generate very little physical waste due to our digital focus, but we diligently manage whatever waste we do produce. We participate in local council recycling programs for household business waste – all paper, cardboard, glass, metals, and plastics from our home offices are sorted and recycled. We responsibly dispose of e-waste (like old electronics or peripherals) through designated recycling or take-back programs to ensure toxic materials are kept out of landfills. By following these practices, we prevent pollution and reduce the resources sent to landfill, in line with the waste reduction and resource optimization principles of sustainability.
In addition to the above, we comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations regarding waste disposal, electronic waste, and emissions. Being a software company, our compliance obligations are straightforward (e.g. proper disposal of electronics and batteries, following local waste-sorting rules), and we meet them fully. We also stay aware of any changes in environmental regulations to ensure ongoing compliance. Our goal is not only to meet legal requirements but to exceed them where we can – for instance, by voluntarily adopting best practices like those described above, even when not mandated by law. Through conscientious resource use and waste management, ProjectBalm demonstrates that even a small digital business can operate in an eco-friendly manner.
Support for Climate Goals and Collaboration
ProjectBalm is committed to being part of the broader solution to climate change. We strongly support international and national climate goals, including the Paris Agreement’s objective of limiting global temperature rise. As an Australian company, we also back Australia’s efforts and targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We recognize that businesses have a key role to play in the transition to a low-carbon economy, whether large or small. In our own capacity, we contribute by keeping our emissions low and continually finding ways to make them even lower. This support is not just in words – it’s reflected in our everyday choices to operate sustainably and minimize our carbon footprint.
Collaboration and collective action are crucial to tackling environmental challenges. We believe in the power of working with others to achieve greater impact. We engage with the tech community and our partners to share knowledge and encourage sustainable practices. Whenever appropriate, we are open about our environmental approach and invite conversation around it. For example, we might share our experiences of remote-work sustainability benefits or learn from others about new green tools and methods. We also prefer to work with suppliers and contractors who demonstrate environmental responsibility, reinforcing positive climate action through our business relationships. By fostering an open dialogue on sustainability, we hope to influence and support others in our industry to pursue climate-friendly practices as well.
Furthermore, we remain aware of global sustainability initiatives and are willing to participate in collaborative efforts that align with our scale and expertise. This could include joining industry pledges (such as small business climate coalitions), contributing to open-source projects that aid climate monitoring, or simply amplifying climate awareness within our professional network. In essence, we stand in solidarity with the worldwide community working toward a healthier planet. Our climate commitment extends beyond our own operations – we see ourselves as part of a larger movement toward environmental responsibility and we’re eager to do our part, no matter how modest, in support of that movement.
Continual Improvement and Transparency
Environmental stewardship is an ongoing journey, and we are committed to continually improving our performance over time. Each year (and on an as-needed basis) we will review our environmental practices, measure our progress, and look for new opportunities to enhance our sustainability. This regular review will cover everything from our energy usage and travel practices to emerging tools that could further reduce our footprint. By embracing a cycle of continuous improvement, we ensure that our environmental performance gets better year by year. For example, if we find a new software tool that can reduce the energy consumption of our development processes, or if a new recycling program becomes available for a type of waste we produce, we will integrate those improvements into our operations.
We also commit to keeping our Environmental Statement and policies up to date. As guidelines and best practices evolve (for instance, new recommendations from climate science or sustainability standards), or if our business grows and changes, we will update our commitments accordingly. This might include setting new targets, adopting more rigorous measures, or expanding the scope of our policy. Our aim is to ensure that our environmental actions remain in line with the latest best-practice standards and our own capacity for impact. In doing so, we echo the principle that sound environmental management requires a systematic approach and ongoing effort, not a one-time setup.
Transparency is another cornerstone of our approach. We will communicate our environmental efforts and progress openly to our stakeholders – including customers, partners, and the general public. This Environmental Statement is published on our website as part of that transparency. We are honest about the fact that we are a small operation with a relatively small impact; however, we remain accountable for continuously reducing that impact. We welcome questions, feedback, or ideas from anyone interested in our environmental practices. By maintaining openness and dialogue about our sustainability journey, we invite trust and collaboration in achieving our goals. If we stumble or identify areas for improvement, we will be forthright about those challenges and address them proactively.
Through these ongoing commitments, ProjectBalm aims to remain a climate-conscious, responsible business and to inspire confidence that we can make a meaningful contribution to a safer, cleaner world for everyone. Our journey is one of learning and improvement, and we look forward to updating our community on our progress as we uphold these environmental values in all aspects of our operation.