Sustainable Business Practices May 25, 2006

We impact our customers, employees, investors, and community. The world, in fact; we produce software that sometimes gets packaged, and that packaging starts from trees and oil--dwindling resources. Trees for the paper or cardboard, and oil for CDs if we make CDs.

Trees are harvested, and then in some process that must be like making sausage, turned into paper. That paper gets cut and shipped to distributors, which then ship to retail distribution centers or retail outlets directly. The shipping itself requires energy, as does the manufacturing of paper. That energy comes from diesel fuel, or burning coal, or nuclear, wind, or solar energy. But mostly it's fossil fuels.

The trucks that carry the materials use oil-based tires. The waste from the manufacturing can and often does pollute streams and rivers. Rain washes tire tread waste that leaches into the soil and streams.

So when we say we're about to start using 100% post-consumer recycled paper, and will start to require that from our suppliers, you can see why. We're also likely to discontinue most CD manufacturing, and will no longer ship CDs to customers--you can download the software with minimal negative impact on the world, and 100% positive impact on your nonprofit (we hope!).

Check out New Leaf Paper to learn more, and consider how you can cost effectively minimize your negative impact on the world, and maximize your positive impact.