Environmental Policy

‍The world is facing a series of linked environmental crises. In October 2022, the UN warned that the world’s governments are not yet on track to keep global heating below 1.5 degrees, and the window for action is rapidly closing. We are already seeing the impacts of existing warming with devastating droughts, storms and floods across the world. Related crises include collapsing biodiversity, dangerous levels of air pollution, and plastic contamination in our rivers and oceans. Without urgent action from across society, these problems will rapidly escalate. 

At Zhero, our values and mission are to promote the most sustainable logistics practices available. This was the core premise on which our organisation was founded.

‍Zhero puts social and environmental concerns at the heart of its model, not as an afterthought, or in response to social or regulatory pressure.

At Zhero we actively lobby within our growing network of clients from within the art world - and beyond - to reconsider the way that items are transported, how they are packaged, and whether there are less environmentally harmful means to do so.To be true to these values we all need to take urgent environmental action. As an organisation, we know that our main direct environmental impacts include the energy we use to power our fleet, the energy and material that goes into vehicle manufacturing, and the packaging used to transport items and artefacts.

We have committed to tackling these impacts by: 
● Joining the Gallery Climate Coalition, and pledging to encourage the arts organisations we work with to do the same
● Regularly calculating the carbon footprint of our operations.
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● Setting specific targets for the major parts of our footprint, including: 
○ Maintaining our policy of zero staff flights for business operations.
○ Ensuring our cargo-bike fleet is powered by local renewable energy by 2025, and our van fleet by 2030
‍○ Ensuring all of our packing materials are reusable or curbside recyclable by 2025, as a step towards zero-waste operations by 2026.
○ Using only low or zero emissions vehicles, always.
○ Working with our partners to actively promote and encourage ‘circular’ packaging practices so as to minimise waste across our growing network of clients.
○ Encouraging the use of cargo-bikes over vans for the movement of goods - where possible.

● The actions we are taking to meet these targets include: 
○ Speaking to other shippers about alternatives to air freight and/or the use of vehicles that rely on fossil fuels.
○ Reviewing our staff travel policies and practices, and planning our attendance at international events by eliminating all air travel.
○ Carrying out an energy audit of our buildings to find opportunities for energy reduction and renewable generation.
○ Working with other GCC members - and local networks -  on projects to help develop more sustainable packaging, transport and energy saving solutions for the whole sector. 
○ Speaking to our suppliers and service providers about their carbon footprint, and looking for opportunities to encourage them to take action, or to switch to alternative suppliers who will. 
○ Maintaining a Green Team with representatives from different parts of the organisation, that meets to track progress on all of these targets and actions at least once a month. 

To take full responsibility for our emissions, we are also setting aside £50 per tonne of CO2e we emit into a Strategic Climate Fund, rather than purchasing carbon offsets. Following guidance from the Gallery Climate Coalition, this money will be spent on measures to accelerate our emissions reductions, and support frontline climate solutions around the world that are making a difference right now. We will report on how we spent this money at the end of each financial year. We aim to take action in line with the principles of climate justice, recognising the connections between the climate crisis and other global injustices. We want our environmental actions to support - rather than undermine or ignore - the needs of people on the frontlines of marginalisation and injustice. We have set these targets and are taking actions in the knowledge that we aren’t yet doing everything right. We still have a great deal to do and much to learn. We welcome feedback from our clients on this environmental statement, our targets, and on our plans for action.

Our plans will evolve as our small but quickly growing organisation does, and our active membership of the Gallery Climate Coalition, and this environmental policy statement is just one step towards publicly sharing our ambitions.

Joe Sharpe

(Zhero Co-Founder)

March 2023

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