Why empowering change matters: The start of my Journey as Lead Positive Impact for Fairbanks and 42on

Why empowering change matters: The start of my Journey as Lead Positive Impact for Fairbanks and 42on

Welcome to a new series of content. My name is Mathijs Harmsen and I started working as Lead Positive Impact at Fairbanks and 42on. Why? I will take a moment to explain.  

It is no secret that we are facing worldwide problems concerning a way of living that is becoming less and less sustainable. One of the contributors to those problems is the fact that we live our lives partly digitally. To be able to adjust to a digital world, companies increasingly digitize their environment and in turn, increase their carbon footprint. Fairbanks and 42on feel responsible to make a positive impact. Consequently, they felt the need to invest in the capacity to learn and stimulate action for good.

For instance, for companies working in this industry, it can be quite a challenge to find solutions for their contribution to climate change. Time and effort are needed to dive deep into the complexity of these problems and where they stem from, even before organizations can create sustainable solutions. And that is where I come in. 

What I realized early on is that at Fairbanks & 42on, we do not think that there is just one way to a more sustainable way of preserving nature and our way of living, that not every step we take is the right step, and that it is not a competition in who does these things best. We believe that we are in this together, as a species, as an industry and as a company. Furthermore, the steps each of us take, big or small, will help to increase the focus on a more sustainable future and only together, can we make a positive impact on the planet that is so valuable to us.  

Although sustainability and positive impact are related concepts, they have distinct focus and implication. Sustainability refers to the capacity to maintain or endure something over the long term without depleting resources or causing significant harm to the environment, society, or economy. Positive impact refers to the beneficial or constructive effect that an action, event, or initiative has on individuals, communities, society, or the environment. It implies creating favorable outcomes, improvements, or advancements in various aspects of life. A positive impact can manifest in different forms, such as social, economic, environmental, or cultural forms, and they contribute to the overall well-being and progress of individuals and communities. Being a company in the IT industry, we take both concepts seriously.  

This means that to make a positive impact, we need to learn from each other while at the same time feeling free to correct each other or being able to discuss the matter. When it comes to Fairbanks, not only do we want to compensate for our carbon footprint, but we also want to research the problems the industry is facing, and find suitable solutions for our colleagues, clients, amongst others that can profit or learn from our findings.  

That is the main reason we decided to start this positive impact journey, together and in the open.  

In conclusion, we want to create insights that we gain from the steps and actions we take and share the knowledge we obtain, all to start a dialogue. A dialogue we can learn from and use in our strategies to make a positive impact. In the following blog posts and in our positive impact actions, we will dive into relevant topics such as green coding, energy efficiency, server lifecycle length and Life Cycle Analysis, and how we intend to work towards a future we can rely on again.  

Together with our team and the significant help of Sprints & Sneakers, I will take a lead in achieving a more sustainable future. What else to expect? You can expect me to share insights I gained in ongoing trends and regulatory changes, research output, summaries of (upcoming) events and summits, and our reasoning behind certain decisions. We will be transparent as a company in this journey and hope to receive a lot of feedback and knowledge from the community as well!  

I am curious about your thoughts on this topic. What actions do you take when it comes to positive impact, or do you have any questions that come to mind? Let me know in the comment section and I will for sure get back to you! 

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