Sustainability and Better Future Policy for Switchfoot Accounting

Our commitment to a better future for our clients and communities.

Change is coming. It’s time to build a business model fit for the economy of the future, one which guides our clients into this new period. It’s a chance to lead better, happier and healthier lives, powered by stronger and more resilient businesses.

We believe it’s the responsibility of all businesses to take action by forging a new path and not just following “business as usual”. We’re committed not only to reaching net zero as soon as we can (2030), but we’ll be transparent and honest about what we’re doing – so others can do the same.

As a B Corp, we are committed and actively working with others to limit global warming to as close to 1.5 °C as is still possible because every fraction of a degree matters. This means continuing to reduce our GHG emissions and supporting others in reducing theirs.

What sustainability efforts have we taken so far?

Banking and investments

We bank with Starling and Monzo. We believe these two banks offer sustainable & ethical banking services while still offering the functionality we require to run our business effectively. We’ll continue to closely monitor the credentials of the banks we work with via the Bank Green and other initiatives.

Clients

Our sustainability policy will have the most significant impact on the advice and guidance we provide to our clients. Climate change is an existential threat that requires systemic change.  We’re aware that current economic models are unsustainable and that newer ones are being created.  As ‘Capitalism’ is reformed into ‘Stakeholder – Capitalism’, the role of the accountant will change.  Businesses will face new definitions of success and will need to comply with an array of new rules, regulations and client expectations.

No one has all the answers, including us, but we work closely with small businesses to understand the changes on the horizon to prepare our clients for the economy of the future. To quote economist Kate Raworth, “Today we have economies that need to grow, whether or not they make us thrive.  What we need are economies that make us thrive, whether or not they grow.”

Our most successful clients live good lives, respect and bring balance to nature, protect their families and nurture the next generation. They meet and exceed their goals, support their communities and lead prosperous and healthy teams. They know there’s more to business than profit, and more to the role of an accountant than tax and year-end processes (important as these are!).

We’ll continue to discuss climate change to educate our clients and encourage them to act, supporting them in making the changes they deem necessary. It’s against our ethos to work with clients that actively harm the environment or their community, or treat their employees or suppliers unethically.

We do not work with clients in the following industries (either directly or indirectly):

• Fossil fuel production
• Gambling
• Pornography
• Prisons and detention centres (including prison or detention centre labour)
• Tobacco and vapes
• Weapons
• Construction

We also do not work with clients whose products we consider are addictive in nature or promote disinformation. i.e. gaming, social media, or industries that promote mindless consumption.

We review clients’ circumstances each year and, on occasion, may decide to continue to work with them to transition away from these industries.

We review all clients annually to ensure we minimise the risk of potential negative human rights impacts.

Fair Taxes

A functioning and fair tax system is a key element of a healthy economic society and vital for government funding. It also plays a major role in supporting the environment.

Switchfoot Accounting commits to paying the right amount of corporation tax and other taxes at the right time and in the right place. We will also work only with clients who share this commitment.

Payment of suppliers

We commit to paying all our suppliers within their payment terms.

In 2024, we added our supplier code of conduct to our website and expect all our suppliers to comply with it. We expect them to have a zero-tolerance approach to exploitation.

We commit to respecting the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

We promote the responsible and fair treatment of people within our sphere of influence. We will not knowingly trade or partner with any organisation which is involved in modern slavery or human trafficking.

We try to prioritise local businesses and B Corps with diverse ownership over multinational companies or chains. We will continue to monitor our purchases and make all purchases with consideration.

Our teams

All Switchfoot Companies are committed to always paying above the real living minimum wage.

We’re also committed to our team practising lifelong learning. This includes life skills such as first aid and carbon literacy.

Training and education

Rebecca has completed the carbon literacy course with Better Business Network (a B-Corp) and the ICAEW sustainability certificate.

Office operations

We had an office energy audit, which highlighted some key areas of focus, which we addressed by using LoCASE grants to part-fund the following projects:

• Replacing our gas boiler with an electric boiler (the gas has been disconnected)
• Installing solar panels on the flat roof, which are now able to generate a significant amount of our electricity
• Replacing our existing lighting with energy-efficient LEDs
• Replacing our air conditioning units (illegal F gases) with much more efficient heat pumps
• Recycling as much waste as possible from the building works

Because we moved to an office in May 2022, this caused a significant one-off carbon impact for the year 2022-23.

We use 100% renewable energy from Octopus Energy (a B Corp) and have no gas on the premises. We are also a registered solar energy exporter with Octopus Energy, meaning we export our excess solar energy.

We generated 7,001 kWh (2024 –  6,265 kWh 2023 – 6,805 kWh) from the office solar panels in 2025.

Office supplies

We use unbleached printer paper and avoid printing where possible. We’re almost 100% digital and don’t send any paper to clients. Most of our meetings are via Zoom.

We use refillable cleaning and bathroom products. We use recycled, unbleached paper hand towels (less recently), washable towels and Naked Sprout toilet paper.

We use Roupcycle to collect waste, and they sort the waste that can be recycled. More work is needed to eliminate single-use plastics across the wider team. We use refillable water filters, loose coffee, tea and powdered Oat milk.

We offer only vegetarian food to our office guests, and we encourage the wider team to make vegetarian choices when submitting subsistence claims on business trips.

The wider team is expected to consider their sustainability choices when away from the office, including when working from home.

Travel and transport

Our office is within walking distance of both a bus stop and the train station. As these services improve and the wider team grows, we hope the team will use them.

We have installed an electric vehicle charger at the office, and over time, we’ll ensure all parking spaces have access to one.

We have a travel policy of walking/cycling wherever possible, with the next option being public transport, followed by driving. Flying is prohibited.

We have added two cycle hoops to the office so the team can lock their bikes securely, and our director has converted her bike to an e-bike using a conversion kit. We plan to purchase a second-hand bike for office use. This will make trips to the local area cleaner and healthier for the team and encourage purchases from local businesses.

Charities and donations

In the past, we have donated to charities throughout the year, and we use these donations to advance SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) that wouldn’t otherwise be possible through our operations alone.

We select our charitable partners annually, with a preference for organisations that work to address climate breakdown, reverse biodiversity loss, support economic development, and reduce inequalities globally.

We also purchase trees and carbon credits from Ecologi. We do this to more than offset our unavoidable carbon footprint and will continue to look for ways to reduce our negative climate effects and increase our positive impact on the planet.

We very occasionally get offered a small amount of introducer fees for referrals, and we will often ask for trees to be planted on our behalf instead.

We have deliberately reduced our charitable donations and instead focused on our system change projects, as we believe this will have a greater positive impact, and cash donations feel almost too easy.

We do not make donations to any political party, and we do not engage in lobbying on their behalf. Switchfoot remains politically agnostic.

Pro bono and donated time

It is important that we support the next generation of accountants and the next generation of business owners.

Our director often donates time to mentor ICAEW trainees and, in the past, has mentored business owners through the Help to Grow scheme.

We also participate in careers and sustainability events on behalf of the ICAEW and have been asked to provide thought leadership.

Our team often volunteers time on projects that advance our mission to transform professional services and support our local businesses in building resilience through sustainable practices.

See our latest impact report for more information on influencing professional bodies and our volunteer work on the board & committees.

Certified B Corporation

Switchfoot Accounting is a certified B corporation.

• In the Governance section, we scored 21.2 compared to an industry/sector average of 8.7.
• In the Workers section, we scored 30 compared to an industry/sector average of 22.4.
• In the Environment Section, we scored 13.4 compared to an industry/sector average of 4.4.
• In the Customers Section, we scored 2.2 compared to an industry/sector average of 2.7.
• In the Community Section, we scored 28.5 compared to an industry/sector average of 14.7

Giving a score of 95.6

Plans for the future, we are currently reviewing the B Corp standards to work toward recertification and considering how we can continue to expand our positive impacts.

Pensions

Rebecca has used her pension fund to purchase a portion of the Switchfoot office.  Greening the pension is therefore a matter of managing the environmental performance of the underlying asset, which this sustainability policy supports.  A B Corp investment manager will manage any future invested contributions and must be aligned with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

Our wider Team’s pension funds are defaulted to a sustainable fund with People’s Pension. The team have access to financial advisers who can support them in selecting the funds they wish to invest in and can discuss the impact of the money they invest.

Training and education

All new team members must complete the carbon literacy course within the probationary period. All team members are encouraged to set annual carbon-reduction and positive climate-action goals.

They are expected to continue building on their sustainability knowledge so they can help clients on their sustainability journeys.

Truth

We pledge to always tell the truth about the climate and nature crisis, and we will never get involved in projects where we can only speak about the positives of climate change.

We must live by our professional ethics codes and tell the truth about the climate and nature crisis, even when it isn’t convenient. We must challenge disinformation when we see it.

Reviewing our progress

This plan is being reviewed quarterly as part of our board meetings, and we will challenge ourselves to do more and take action more quickly to change the world.

What is Switchfoot Accounting currently working on?

Influence

We believe one of our biggest impacts on the world is the influence we have on clients, suppliers, the community, and our industry.

A joint project with Switchfoot Wealth, we set up the Surrey Sustainable Professionals’ Group in 2023, which is a small group of accountants, tax advisers, solicitors, financial advisers and discretionary fund managers supported by academics and PhD students from the University of Surrey Centre for Environment and Sustainability. Where we spent 12 months exploring the question, “What is sustainable professional advice?”  We released our whitepaper in January 2025 and formally launched the whitepaper in October 2025.

We are now working on several working groups and collaborations to launch in 2026 to continue the work of the Sustainable Professionals Group.

We produced a guide for small businesses, “Be Climate Confident”, in 2021 and republished it in 2023, which we share on our website and in our newsletters to help any small business with their sustainability journey.

Our director supports Switchfoot Wealth’s work via the Surrey B local and helps at the events when extra hands are required.

Rebecca is an ICAEW Climate Champion, recognised by her professional body as a thought leader. She has given presentations and webinars for the ICAEW on sustainability.

Rebecca is a member of the ICAEW small practitioners community advisory group.

We are an active member of several local groups, including the Surrey Sustainable Business Network. We often attend and contribute to local events, especially on the topic of sustainability.

We are deliberately transparent about our work & enquiries on LinkedIn to ensure all professionals know others are working on these topics and are not alone. It is essential to normalise conversations, even when they are uncomfortable or challenging. We believe peer-to-peer influence has a significant impact.

We will continue to seek ways to influence and positively challenge the professional services industry and its practitioners.

For more information, please see our Lobbying policy. This policy sits alongside our anti-corruption policy, anti-bribery policy, whistleblowing policy, supplier conduct policy and the members’ ethics code of the ICAEW.

System change

We are exploring new advice models for the accountancy profession, and we commit to sharing our findings in a timely manner in order to contribute to system change.

This includes advised emissions and carbon reduction services.

Rebecca participated in the School of System Change in Finance in 2025 and plans to continue building her knowledge and addressing her enquiries.

See our latest impact report for more information.

Advised emissions

We are continuing to explore how we can measure and report on this area and are testing our “know your client’s carbon” process internally. We hope to share the process with the wider community in 2026.

We are reviewing our client and supplier processes to reduce our impacts and see what influence we can have on the organisations we come across.

Carbon reduction services

We are considering launching a suite of carbon-reduction and sustainability services in 2026.

Activism

The director attends several peaceful protests each year with her family to raise awareness of the issues and to show her young family that adults are trying to make a positive difference and to give them hope.

We often complete surveys, write open letters and write to MPs to request action on climate and nature issues.

We regularly discuss financial activism with clients, i.e. who you spend or invest your money with as a tool for change. Our purchases should always be considered.

Carbon footprint and Net Zero alignment

Our scope 1 and 2 emissions are very low ( < 1T), and scope 3 is where we have a significant carbon footprint for the year ending 31/03/2025. We estimate the carbon emissions using Sumday were approximately 9T, of which 95% is scope 3, and the 0.46T relates to electricity purchased on a 100% renewable tariff. These numbers have not been externally audited.

For the calendar years 2021 -2023, we used Zero Ecologi to monitor our Carbon footprint (2023 – 13T, 2022- 30T, 2021 – 4T). Due to the change in tool, the numbers may not be completely comparable to 2025. Our carbon footprint was much lower in 2023 because much of the building work had been completed in 2022.

We are actively working towards net zero and aim to further reduce our carbon footprint in 2026.

We would like to have a certified carbon audit (or equivalent) and build a formal carbon transition plan during 2026. That said, we have probably done everything practical we can in operations.

We understand that the carbon emissions of our operations are a drop in the ocean compared to the impact of the advice we deliver to clients.

We are exploring if and how we can measure and report our advised emissions.

Supplier reviews

In 2026, we will write to all our suppliers and conduct a review of their sustainability plans.

What aren’t we able to do straight away?

Website

Our website is hosted by Krystal (a B Corp). We will continue to monitor our digital footprint.

Given the limited number of website visits, we don’t consider our website footprint a priority for action. When the website is redesigned, we will look to reduce the footprint.

IT

We will use our IT equipment until it can’t be repaired or upgraded. We will purchase phones and laptops only when our IT team is unable to repair them. In other words, saying goodbye to technology when it dies. IT performance must be considered when purchasing laptops & phones, so refurbished laptops are not currently our preferred solution. Phones are currently on SIM-only contracts and won’t be replaced until it is a business necessity. Fair phones and Dell laptops are likely the preferred choice for new team members as they are easy to use, upgrade & repair.

Data

We need to retain data for AML, HMRC, and regulatory purposes. Therefore, the Scope 3 carbon footprint of the data we generate is significant and unavoidable. We conduct a digital audit every December to remove any unnecessary data.

Approved AI software is permitted for research purposes and within approved apps. Only the director can authorise the software before use. The team must constantly review the outputs of any AI process and assess whether using AI in this context is appropriate. The sustainability and impact of AI must be considered by users in their decision-making. Transparency and security are key considerations when using AI, and the data must be reviewed for bias.

Water

Water harvesting is prohibitively expensive, and our water usage is very small. We will continue to monitor developments and will consider water conservation when we replace the very dated and degenerating kitchens and bathrooms.

We are also aware that the area’s drains can be slow to clear when there is very heavy rainfall, and we will consider drainage options if the paving outside the office requires replacement.

Company cars

The director wants to move to an electric company car as soon as possible, but the carbon footprint of a new vehicle would exceed that of her 1-litre petrol Ford Fiesta (personally owned), which does less than 3,000 miles a year. She therefore plans to replace this car when it reaches the end of its life to minimise the carbon footprint.

When we refurbish the kitchen and bathrooms in the future, we plan to install energy-efficient hand dryers to reduce hand towel waste. We are also considering a shower for cyclists, but we need to consider the water usage.

Environment and biodiversity

We have added planters at the front of the office and will attempt to plant wildflowers in the grass area. We will see how wild this goes and will try to limit any mowing. This is a small step, but all small impacts add up.

In 2023, we enjoyed watching birds nesting in the tree next to the office window and had mixed feelings when they fledged. In 2024, we observed smaller birds feeding on our alder trees and numerous blue beetles on the planters.

The office potted Christmas tree celebrated its 4th Christmas and will be returned to the front of the office in January.

The director has also volunteered several Saturday mornings at PierrePont Farm near Frensham, Surrey, with her youngest daughter, who is currently working towards her Silver DofE, where they have completed lots of coppicing, Hazel & built many dead hedges during the winter months.

We will consider what else we can do directly during 2026 and will consider adding more nature-friendly plants in the spring.

Conclusion

We have started our rebellion, and there is more to do. We commit to accountability, continuous learning and development, and transparency throughout our journey.