When it comes to the environment and ethics we want to practice what we preach. Mysterious Beans is just a blog, it doesn’t employ people, buy, sell, or manufacture anything, but it does consume energy for web hosting, etc.
MB is also part of our bigger project Platforma EKO and so we actually use the same environmental and ethical policy for this site as we do for everything else we are doing.
It’s a constant work in progress, and we are always looking to improve. If you feel that there is something we could and should be doing better then please do get in touch and let us know!
Last updated: 28th February 2021
Environmental Policy (because the planet matters)
We will always:
- Comply with all relevant environmental legislation and regulations of any countries we work in.
- Use renewable energy (either generated by local solar/wind or bought from green providers) in our offices and any other areas we frequently use for work, i.e. home.
- Host all of our websites, email, and any other apps or services we provide sustainably (via our ethical hosting company S4).
- Reuse, repair, and recycle whenever it is possible, and make sure that things are disposed of in the least damaging way possible when not.
- Carefully choose the companies that we work together with. Employing or partnering with those who hold the same environmental and ethical values that we do.
- Avoid unnecessary printing, and dispose of printed documents sustainably. Non-confidential paperwork is recycled while confidential documents are shredded and composted.
- For every new S4 hosting client, Towards Sustainability magazine subscriber, and guest article published on EKO Diena, we plant a tree.
Ethical Policies (because people matter too)
Giving something back
- We support local non-profit organisations and charities by offering subsidised or free web hosting via S4.
- We donate a minimum of 10% of annual profits to social, ethical and environmental good causes.
Creating an ethical internet
- We’ve signed the Contract for the Web and the Sustainable Web Manifesto and follow the commitments that they both contain.
- We never share any kind of personal data with any third parties without explicit consent.
Taking care of people
We are a small company and don’t employ thousands of people across the globe or manufacture anything in areas where modern slavery might be a concern but we are still acutely aware of these kind of issues, both for ourselves and any company we work with.
- We believe in equal opportunities and we will not discriminate against anyone; employees, partners, or suppliers, based on their gender, sexuality, race, religion, or age.
- We aim to treat everyone we work with respect, tolerance, and fairness. We will never do anything to infringe on their fundamental human rights.
- We won’t do anything that risks the health of our employees or the local community.
Choosing carefully
We do not and will not knowingly work with companies or individuals who participate in any of what we think are bad practices or industries. These include:
- Exploiting, or denying basic human rights to, their workers
- Engaging in practices of bribery or corruption
- Extracting or refining fossil fuels
- Harvesting unmanaged natural resources (for example timber)
- Manufacturing or selling weapons
We don’t currently have any advertising or sponsorship on any of the websites or publications that we produce. In the case that we do in the future then all of the above criteria will apply for accepting advertisers.
In the next few weeks we will be working on setting out our ethical policy as well and we will update this page with it as soon as we have!