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TonySurridge.co.uk do something special on Earth Day 2009

As part of Earth Day, this year (2009) celebrated on April 22^nd, our Managing Director of Tony Surridge Online Limited (Chris Surridge) decided to take a few moments out of his busy schedule to try and do something a little special to acknowledge the growing concerns for our planet...

Our company is not blind to the issues at hand, yet nor are we environmentalists or geology experts. However, we do believe in a need for renewable resources, and feel that waste could be limited by organisations and individuals if thought about more consciously. A good proportion of the TonySurridge.co.uk services revolve around the idea of distance learning, made available to a global audience at affordable prices. Not a new concept by any means. However, we do consider ourselves as one of the main engineers able to provide this global distance learning service whilst fully utilising electronic media rather than printed materials, thus allowing us to keep our costs low to be passed onto the students and end consumers. The abolition of printed media in our electronic services reduces paper usage (we don’t need to explain to you what this means to the trees!). It also reduces physical stock required to be transported to various global locations; transport which isn’t required, and therefore reduces carbon emissions. And eventually it also reduces waste post completion – no need to throw away the printed materials when finished.

To this extent, to show our appreciation and to realise the value of our planet, and to also help promote the need to cut down on waste and unnecessary destruction of our trees, our Managing Director decided to plant a couple of new trees in the head office grounds, for which he had this to say:

“I myself have fairly strong opinions on the matters concerning the environment. However, that’s not to say I’m a Saint or pioneer on the matter, not by a long shot! I still drive my car, I still boil the kettle and watch TV, and I still read printed books. But I do take things into consideration and it can have an effect on my decisions.

For example, I’m thinking more about my car, the type of fuel it uses, and the effects on the environment. I’ve looked into alternatives such as hybrids and the new Nano from India soon to be launched, and although some outsiders have actually laughed in my face when I’ve mentioned it, it really doesn’t bother me. Similarly, I’ll almost always take public transport for my London meetings. I boil only what I need for my coffee, and I have a habit of going round the office at the end of the day unplugging various devices that obviously won’t be used overnight. My staff can find it a bit annoying the following morning when they try to print an invoice (only when we’re not using our automated electronic invoices, I hasten to add) only to find I’ve unplugged the printer. But I know deep down, they don’t mind. It all stems from a company I once consulted for who often forgot to switch off their air conditioning units at night. I noticed it once and when I brought it up, I really couldn’t believe how blasé they were about it.

At home, I have a large collection of printed books, but I’m keen to invest in a portable reader such as Sony’s E-Reader and Amazon’s Kindle so I can move onto that platform as more publications are released. And this is one topic which is very similar and core to our own company’s view surrounding our study materials service. It is true that “business is business”, and whilst we realise that our electronic materials offer our company a substantial reduction in outlay and production costs, we make a strong point of passing these dramatic savings onto the consumer. The fact that our more affordable electronic materials could eventually mean an alternative to printed materials and potentially mean less waste for the environment, is a priceless feature.

It might sound like a lot, but in truth, there’s no hindrance to my life to do these little extras. I’m not going to radically change my life to try and save the world on my own, nor am I going to stand on a soap box in London’s Hyde Park barking out instructions to others on conservation. But I do believe that a small change from each of us will help in the long run. And for the time being, I’m happy to play my small part.

As a company we wanted to celebrate Earth Day, and considered how best to do so, even if it was only a small gesture. We only discussed the matter for about 5 minutes because the choice was clear to us all. We decided to plant some new fruit trees in our Head Office gardens, to replace an old pear tree which was beyond care and recently died. We’re quite lucky that our Head Office is located at a country farm, and for me personally it was quite sad to see a void there everyday (I actually used to nip out and eat the pears from that tree!) and when the question was put forward what we would do for Earth Day, the two and two just came together. We’ve got to make more of an effort to look after our Planet. We’ve only got one!”

Chris Surridge seen here planting the new tree, dressed down for the occasion... and it wasn’t even “casual Friday”!