Susan Hurrell
Director, Lead Management, Neovation Learning Solutions
Bit Space Development Ltd.
Bit Space Development Ltd. (BSD) is an innovation company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, specializing in creating learning experiences for the classroom and workplace using advanced technologies. BSD focuses on innovative technologies, such as AR, VR, AI, computer vision and machine learning.
BSD’s solutions are used by medium and large companies in the construction trades, manufacturing, aerospace, mining, medical industries, and military projects. BSD projects have won multiple awards, and the company was named a Top AR/VR Developer and Top B2B Solution Provider in 2020 and 2021.
For more information about BSD, visit www.bitspacedevelopment.com
Why did your company sign the Climate Action Pledge?
BSD signed the climate action pledge because our mission is to build a safer world for the future. Usually, we do that by developing simulations of technology aligned with that. Still, we believe in making commitments and a strategy internally to reduce our footprint from the start at a more philosophical level.
As BSD grows and branches into new areas of business focused on physically building hardware, we are focused on the waste we produce, the types of materials we work with, and the impact they have on the planet. Signing the pledge came hand in hand with an internal climate action committee built out of management and staff to strategize and implement green work practices.
Why is it important for business owners to speak up and show leadership on climate change?
Businesses have the most significant impact on climate change. Business owners need to speak up because they will inspire and drive their teams to a positive impact and set an example for the people working with and for them. It can be a huge task to build a strategy for your company to reduce emissions and lower its impact on the climate. Still, we won’t have a habitable environment left to do business without doing so.
What is something you hope BizforClimate can change through our collective efforts?
I hope that BizforClimate will help raise awareness, bring people together, and inspire people to move towards solutions. With momentum, we can make positive changes for the environment that simply can’t be ignored.
When small businesses work together to reduce their carbon footprint it might not make as big of a difference compared to those with larger-scale opportunities, but it’s a step in the right direction. We can make a change now and as our businesses grow. We become large companies with green initiatives baked in from the start; we won’t fall into the same cycles and bureaucratic issues surrounding implementing change at scale.
Also hope that by banding together, we can get the attention of large businesses and bring them into these initiatives and gain the attention of policymakers and our government to listen and work with BizforClimate. And for the business community to make long-term changes so our children and grandchildren can enjoy our planet as well.
What’s a simple change you’ve made for the environment that other businesses could do?
We have made several changes at BSD to try to make a difference. One is the formation of our climate action committee, a voluntary group within BSD focused on looking at the actions of the business, similar to our health and safety committee.
On the business’s hardware side, we have been looking at biodegradable packing materials for when we ship orders to our clients. We manufacture hardware to order as much as possible to reduce the need to stockpile materials and chemicals we don’t need at the time. We use materials made from recycled or recyclable materials as much as possible, and the components we choose, if possible, come from sources that can be considered greener.
We reduce air conditioning and heat at our offices when people are not using the physical space and have moved towards low power consumption servers for some of our non-critical services. We avoid using data centers when we don’t have to because they can create huge waste. That gives us more control over the amount of time we run our services and the energy we use.
These might be small things now, but in the future, these policies today may add up and make a big difference.
Daniel Blair
Founder and CEO
Bit Space Development