Create sustainability.md (#1386)

* Create sustainability.md

Initial draft for a sustainability policy.

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Co-authored-by: pre-commit-ci[bot] <66853113+pre-commit-ci[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Daniel Mundra <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: Daniel Mundra <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: Elizabeth Raley <[email protected]>

.config/mkdocs.yml

@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ nav:
       - company-policies/performance-management.md
       - company-policies/employment/leaving-civicactions.md
       - company-policies/health-safety-security.md
+      - company-policies/sustainability.md
       - New hire orientation:
           - company-policies/new-hire-orientation/README.md
           - Welcome to CivicActions: company-policies/new-hire-orientation/README.md

company-policies/sustainability.md

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+---
+title: Sustainability
+updated: June 3, 2024
+---
+
+# Sustainability
+
+## Sustainability and Impact
+
+CivicActions understands that we need to prioritize a clean and sustainable environment for all.
+
+Sustainability has been one of the consistent threads in our work over the last 20 years. Whether it is in the support of forward-thinking clients or our investment in building a distributed team to reduce the environmental impact of in-office work.
+
+### We believe
+
+-   Our ecosystem is interdependent
+-   Using science, we can understand environmental systems and effectively address issues
+-   Promoting habitat and diversity, supports ecological systems
+-   Environmental challenges have social and political impacts
+-   The impact of climate change will disproportionately affect disadvantaged groups
+
+## CivicActions' Sustainability Goals and Policies
+
+CivicActions works as a distributed team. With no office or commuting workforce, this presents a significant reduction of the CO2 output of our company.
+
+For conferences and in-person events, we encourage our team to carpool or take more sustainable modes of transportation, such as public transit. Our vendors for onsite events are chosen based on meeting environmentally responsible criteria.
+
+## Employee Responsibility
+
+We all work from our homes. This places additional responsibilities on our team. How our homes are heated and powered is something that has an impact on the planet. We may not be driving to work, but we also need to be mindful about how we manage our e-Waste. Batteries need to be disposed of carefully, and where possible older devices should be properly disposed of.
+
+If you are buying electronics, look for ones with a high Energy Star rating.
+
+We have several employees who have solar on their roofs and/or have switched to driving an electric car.
+
+## Environmental Sustainability
+
+There is a #sustainability channel in Slack for discussions about sustainability issues. A big part of the focus is digital sustainability because of the nature of our work.
+
+We often forget that our work is used by millions of people. All of whom are using devices which have an environmental footprint. Our team is working to educate ourselves and inform our clients. We have to begin measuring what matters to help provide a benchmark for our progress.
+
+## Sustainable Work Practices
+
+As a services company, our biggest expenses are also our biggest asset, our staff. We do not purchase a lot of goods and services from external suppliers. We are beginning to have conversations with our new and existing suppliers to ensure that there is an alignment on sustainability.
+
+## Reporting and Metrics
+
+We are building a Sustainability Pledge that will allow us to have regular reporting and metrics for the company.
+
+Using tools like Google Lighthouse we assess the performance of our work. Performance has a strong correlation with energy efficiency. Energy consumption is a significant aspect of digital sustainability.
+
+## Training and Education
+
+Our team is beginning to take on Earth Day activities to help raise awareness within the company. We have started the process of building a Sustainability Onboarding Workshop. This will help raise awareness of the importance of sustainability.
+
+## Communication and Feedback
+
+Please engage in the #sustainability Slack channel.
+
+## Resources
+
+-   [Comprehensive Guide: How to write an Effective Employee Sustainability Handbook](https://www.awardaroo.io/resources/comprehensive-guide-how-to-write-an-effective-employee-sustainability-handbook)
+-   [Web Sustainability Guidelines](https://w3c.github.io/sustyweb/)
+
+## Revision and Updates
+
+v.0.0.2
+
+## Conclusion
+
+We have started the journey, but have a long way to go.