Ethics statement

Being ethical in business is important to me....

I'm I have been really fortunate to experience the workings of an ethical business and I have tried to incorporate those learnings into my own.

In order to measure, monitor and improve the impact of my company I have published an ACTION PLAN.

Measuring date: Fiscal year end (end March)
Reporting dates: Impact Report published on Earth Day 22nd April. Giving Back mid year progress reporting part on the company's birthday (18th November)

Materialise Interiors is now B Corporation certified

Materialise Interiors is now one of the 1,000 + B Corps in the UK. The company has been B Corporation certified from April 2023, so progress will be published each April in the B Corp Impact Report.

As a B Corp in the interior design industry, Materialise Interiors is counted among businesses that are leading a global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. Read more on B Corp here

IMPACT REPORT | Materialise Interiors

It's important to continuously improve how my business is run - both its footprint - and how I work for my clients. Here I set out my objectives and targets for recording, monitoring and improving. You can access the Action Plan below.

Key target outcomes

Net zero

Company commitment: halve emissions by 2030, achieve net zero before 2050 - Scopes: 1, 2 and 3 (SME Climate Hub target - under 500 employees)

Target is in line with UN Race To Zero (and also B Corp / SME Climate Hub + Business Declares)

In progress, recorded on Action Plan

Set target
Make plan
Measure
Monitor
Assess

In progress, recorded on Action Plan

Set target
Make plan
Measure
Monitor
Assess

5% of my company's gross sales are donated to charities, community interest companies & non-profits.

Volunteering: Minimum 40 hours a year donated.

BIID Code Of Conduct
BIID Sustainability Strategy
BIID Sustainable Specifying Guide
BIID Company carbon footprint guide
BIID Reduce and offset company carbon emissions guide

All achieved by September 2021

Ongoing - articles, interviews, panel discussions, mentoring, writing book for RIBA on Sustainable Interior Design due for release early 2024.

Recorded on Action Plan

UN SDG goal commitments

The Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by 193 countries of the United Nations general assembly in 2015 to action and achieve by 2030. These 17 SDGs provide goals and 169 smaller targets for business to commit to and measure against, by starting with the goals that are most relevant and using the SDG Action Manager tool to monitor progress, set goals and communicate them.

Of the goals, while all are relevant, these selected below are the main focus of the business's operation - its Footprint and Handprint

NET ZERO by 2030

FOOTPRINT: Operation of company

FOOTPRINT: Clients' projects

FOOTPRINT: Operation of company

FOOTPRINT: Influence my industry

FOOTPRINT: Influence my industry

access ACTION PLAN

Progress, 23-24:

WINS

Software development

Work with software provider Mydoma Studio to include CO2e values on products + finishes - WENT LIVE 12/ 23 - nudging all users of the software to make more measured and conscious specification choices

Digital carbon

Website carbon reduced by 90% (from 697.19kg CO2e/yr, to 72.76kg CO2e/yr) 2/23

Water saving

Water saving kitchen tap 2/23

All watersaving devices installed now.

Energy saving

Smart plug on printer 2/23

Low impact pension

Pension switch from a general, opaque pension fund (64.01 tonnes CO2e/yr) to Mindful Wealth managed ethical pension fund (now 23 tonnes CO2e/yr) Other avoided impacts are animal agriculture/fur/leather, tobacco, gambling and weapons. Investment in plant based meat alternatives 3/23

Investment

Brighton Energy Coop 'Solar Bond offer' (£300 7/23) For local community projects Cardinal Newman School, Shoreham Port 4 buildings and a warehouse at Newhaven Port

GIVING BACK - charity projects

New Charity project for DITCH THE LABEL. 10,11,12/23

GIVING BACK - microfinance loans

Loans to women-owned businesses in Global South

GIVING BACK - volunteering

Volunteering - running of Interior Design Declares . Responded to and guided members on responses to the government FR Consultation

SHARING KNOWLEDGE

Panel discussions: FutureBuild, Grand Designs, Decorex & VegFest (2)

SHARING KNOWLEDGE

Book 'Sustainable Interior Design' for RIBA Publishing out 5/24

CHALLENGES

Carbon values

Not all elements used in projects have a CO2e value. Limited amount of suppliers providing carbon footprint calculations per item, per m2 etc.

Software support

Software needed to monitor and calculate carbon footprints of specifications. Action: contacted current providers Mydoma Studio (now live Dec 23) + Free Agent 7/12/22, 7/2/23.

Client engagement

Clients are not always engaged in reducing carbon footprint in their designs

Circular economy suppliers

How to calculate Reused items?

Business insurances

Currently through BIID professional body provider. Action: ask BIID to investigate more responsible insurance - impacting all members rather than me just moving insurer 6/23

Business banking

Need clarity on banking (2.13 tonnes of CO2e/yr) and pension (23 tonnes of CO2e/yr) 11/23

Less obvious carbon use

Scope 3 - Part 3: Find more responsible providers for insurances, broadband and anything else missed

Home office limitations

Suggestions; Timer on heating, solar panels and insulation (Small 99 calculator + energy survey)

1. Net Zero

MEASURING to Feb '23

Scope 1: 0
Scope 2: Heat, power and light - 1.3 tonnes CO2e/yr. Website 72.8kg of CO2e/yr Nov 23 (previously 697.19kg of CO2/yr)
Scope 3 part 1: Travel and accommodation - 700kg CO2e/yr, Waste disposal - 0.25kg CO2e/yr, Water usage - 4.4kg. Purchased goods & services - 473.62kg CO2e/yr
Scope 3 part 2: 0
Scope 3 part 3: Purchased goods and services (for the business) 473.62kg/yr. Offsets: cookstoves 4 tonnes + 515 trees = 9 tonnes CO2e

SUB TOTAL: carbon emissions tCO2e 2.59 tonnes
TOTAL: Emissions less offsets = minus 6.41 tonnes

Note:

Target previously referred in error was the SBT Net Zero 2030 target (500+ employee companies). Officially adjusted, but still aiming for this ambitious target.
Pension was a personal pension previously, so not included in business expediture - from 2023 it is a company pension, so is now included in the company's measuring
Measuring impact of clients' projects?? Calculation not yet included. Much work to do here. See CHALLENGES

Measuring tools used:

Clean Growth UK scope measuring
Website Carbon
MotherTree business calculator
Small 99 reduction plan

2. FOOTPRINT: Operation of the company

Commitments:

Click on this text to start editing, and enter your own text with some basic formatting. To create a link to another page or website within this section, select the text you want to make into a link and click on the Link icon on the formatting toolbar. Click anywhere outside the text box when you're done to continue working on the rest of your page.

Starling Bank, previously The Co-operative Bank

I currently have the pleasure of mentoring two brilliant women .

Circular Brighton and Hove, Sustainable Business Network, Clean Growth Platform

https://www.techtakeback.com/

3. FOOTPRINT: Clients' projects

FOOTPRINT Scope 3 - Clients' projects IN PROGRESS. This is the largest part of company's footprint and the hardest to influence and improve.

Need: Software support, more suppliers to calculated products

4. HANDPRINT: GIVING BACK

Running totals shown, from 2005 to date:

Homeless and refugee charities, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA Business Friend), WaterAid, Marine Conservation Society, Kit Tarka Foundation, League Agains Cruel Sports, Friends Of The Earth, Surfers Against Sewage, Rowdy Girl Animal Sanctuary, The Green Centre, the RNLI. See list at foot of page. All overseen by ethical acccountants Ozkan .

Using the Lend With Care scheme, supporting green energy, community banking, women owned and food production small businesses

Verified carbon avoidance projects: (up to end 22) Wind Energy in Andhra Pradesh, India: 9.10 tonnes, Solar power generation in Tamil Nadu and Telangana, India: 7.20 tonnes, Preserving Amazonian rainforest in Brazil: 3.70 tonnes

Cookstoves projects: 11 tonnes to date (23-24 = 5 tonnes | 22-23 = 4 tonnes | 21-22 = 2 tonnes) Gold Standard - Fairtrade Project: Improved cookstoves for women, India

Verified schemes used :

OneTree Planted (now mangroves planting * and previously trees) ,
Ecologi (https://ecologi.com/glowinnovationlimited/chloebullock) part of Million Tree Pledge,
previously trees were donated through the Green Earth Appeal

*MANGROVE PLANTING protects coastlines and river banks, restoring biodiversity in ecosystems - and stores 5 to 10 times more carbon than land ecosystems. Total: 125

Non-verified planting (by me):

One oak planted at Broughton Hall - thanks to Jarvis Smith of My Green Pod!

Trees (5) planted at Spanglewood, Sussex - thanks to Emma Payne and Paul Spendley

23-24: trees and mangroves planted = 550 | 22-23: trees and mangroves planted = 515

Click on this text to start editing, and enter your own text with some basic formatting. To create a link to another page or website within this section, select the text you want to make into a link and click on the Link icon on the formatting toolbar. Click anywhere outside the text box when you're done to continue working on the rest of your page.

Inspired by the Clean Up for Sarah campaign

BE MY DEDICATED CHARITY: Two days (14 hours) a month are on offer to one charity. So if you are a charity in need of design help, please contact me.

Terms: Maximum of 6 days spread over 3 months per charity is offered as a donation from Materialise Interiors. Time is logged on a weekly timesheet and covers all input. Any additional help needed during that time is charged at the regular hourly rate.

To date: School Bus Project, Mile Oak School Science Bus project, Cycling UK, Changing Streams CIC, volunteering on the Professional Practice Commitee of professional body the British Institute of Interior Design , Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival

5. HANDPRINT: Influence my industry

SHARING KNOWLEDGE: MY INDUSTRY

INTERIOR DESIGN DECLARES

I am a Co-Founder, Founding Signatory and active Steering Group member of INTERIOR DESIGN DECLARES. Set up in March '21, this is part of the BUILT ENVIRONMENT DECLARES movement (previously known as Construction Declares). The initiative encourages change in our industry with the two main objectives being Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss.

Our objective: COLABORATE - INSPIRE - EDUCATE - CAMPAIGN

My company and eight others joined together to get the interior design's declaration set and publised. Read our pledges HERE

IN THE UK Fellow UK designers and suppliers of goods and services to the interior design industry, please join us at: www.interiordesigndeclares.co.uk

DECLARATIONS IN OTHER COUNTRIES We are also helping other countries to join our Declaration. To date we have been joined by Finland, who will hopefully be closely followed by Egypt, Australia and the United States.

If fellow designers would like to set up a Declaration for their country, please join us at: www.interiordesigndeclares.com

IDD ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE:

Panel discussion participation for industry events (regular)
Sharing learning through our quarterly newsletter
Developed a SUPPLIER QUESTIONNAIRE for designers to use
Partnered the UK scientist fire retardant chemicals campaign and UK government FR chemical consultation
Partnership with Decorex to make the event more sustainably focused and run, along with a series of Decorex X IDD panel discussions

BRITISH INSTITUTE OF INTERIOR DESIGN

I feel strongly that our industry needs to open up and share knowledge. We are a highly poluting, resource using, carbon emitting industry.

We are slowly waking up to our responsibilities to people, planet and animals. We need to share knowledge and improve our learnings to carry out out work with a far lower impact.

As well as collaborating with my industry through Interior Design Declares, I am involved with the professional body the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID).

Co-writer of the Sustainable Specification Guide, launched September 2021
Judge for BIID Student Challenge 2021
Part of the new Sustainability Committee to encourage Sustainability throughout the organisation and our members.
Professional Practice Committee member
Mentoring 2 members
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Panel member
Sustainability Showcase 2022 - delivered talk on Next Generation Materials with Masters student mentee Sadie Millermaggs
Talking part in panel discussions on behalf of the BIID - ongoing

Decorex panel discussion - November 2022

BIID SUSTAINABILITY SHOWCASE BIID 2022 — BIID Sustainability Showcase - 2022

Decorex panel discussion - November 2021

New Designers X BIID panel discussion - June 2022

BIID Sustainable Specifying Guide - September 2021

SHARING KNOWLEDGE: GENERAL PUBLIC

UK Health Radio - Lean Into Clean interview - November 2023

VegFest panel discussions - November 2023

i-build magazine article - November 2023

The Vegan Issue 3 cover — The Vegan Society magazine article - September 2023

The Vegan Issue 3 1 — The Vegan Society magazine article - September 2023

Vegan Busienss Tribe interview - October 2023

Winner PETA compassionate designer 23 — Winner: PETA Compassionate Designer 2023

Grand Designs Live ufurnish stage - May 23

'The Vegan Home - Next Generation Materials' with Sadie MillerMaggs Vegan Food & Living magazine - April 2022

CONNECTING TO OTHER BUSINESSES

BUSINESS DECLARES MEMBER

Business Declares is a not-for-profit organisation formed by senior leaders with a range of experience from the SME, B Corp and FTSE100 sectors. We are official members of the UN Race to Zero team for COP26. We believe that business has a major part to play in tackling the climate, ecological and social emergency. Better Business Act signatory

With Interior Design Declares steering group colleagues at the Business Declares picket for The Big One Apr 23

DESIGN DECLARES MEMBER

Group of designers, design studios, agencies and institutions declare a climate and ecological emergency.

With 8 acts of emergency- read more HERE

ADDRESSING INEQUITY IN MY INDUSTRY

My industry is not at all diverse and I support the initiatives that are in place to encourage BAME designers and suppliers.
Through United In Design and the British Institute of Interior Design, I offer mentoring help to designers - new and students.