At Between Natures, we talk a lot about “low-impact.” But words are easy. Numbers are harder.
So, here is the truth of our movement over the last six months.
57 Meetings, 227 km, Zero Flights
The data from November 2025 to May 2026, we held over 57 meetings.
- Total distance traveled: 227 km.
- Air travel: 0 km.
- Car travel: Only one shared journey in an electric car (177.6 km in total) to a conference.
- Walking: 12 local trips to meet partners in Gorzów.
- Digital: The rest. 77 % of our meetings required zero travel, but still have a footprint.
| Meeting Mode | Count | Total Distance (km) | % of Total Dist. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital (Teams/Phone) | 44 | 0 | 0% |
| Walking | 12 | 50.0 | 22% |
| Car Share | 1 | 177.6 | 78% |
| TOTAL (Nov ’25 – May ’26) | 57 | 227.6 | 100% |
*Note: Distances are round-trip totals. The “Car Share” represents the single long-distance trip to the KlasterGoGreen conference.*
Deep Work Doesn’t Require Long Commutes
Most people assume that “doing sustainability work” means flying to conferences, driving to sites, and burning fuel to prove you are busy.
We found something different. The deepest work—the Co-Lab with WSB, the Zielona Firma training session, the pro-bono support for KlasterGoGreen—happened when we stayed put.
When we did move, we walked. When we had to go further, we shared a car. When the work was digital, we stayed digital.
- Walking: Gave us time to think before we arrived in Gorzów.
- Sharing: Turned a conference commute into a conversation.
- Digital: Allowed us to support clients in London, Kenya, and Germany from our home office in Poland, without the carbon cost of a flight.
Data is the Only Way to Spot the Gap
We don’t have our total footprint yet as we have not completed a year of operations. But we are recording the data so we have it ready for calculations.
More importantly, it gives us a signal: Are we actually doing what we set out to do?
If we are asking businesses to rethink their operations, we have to be willing to rethink our own. And for that, we need to gather and record data. Without it, “low-impact” is just a slogan.
The Hidden Cost of “Zero Miles”
At first glance, the data looks perfect. 77% of our meetings required zero physical travel. We avoided flights. We walked. We shared a car.
But then we looked closer.
Almost all those “zero-mile” meetings happened on Microsoft Teams and Google Chat. These are the tools our clients use. They are convenient. They are familiar.
But they are not without a footprint.
The servers powering these giants still consume massive amounts of energy and water. By defaulting to the “popular” tools, we were inadvertently supporting the very ecosystem of “unchecked growth.”
This data gave us a reality check.
We realized that “low-impact” isn’t just about how far we drive. It’s about where our digital presence lives.
Practice Means Changing When the Data Says So
We don’t just talk about sustainability; we practice it. And practice means being willing to change when the data tells us we’re off track.
When we are setting up meetings, we need to stick to our communication stack to tools that align with our values:
- Jitsi: For video calls. Open-source, self-hosted options, and a commitment to privacy and lower energy overhead.
- Nextcloud Talk: For chat and collaboration. Hosted on our own green servers (Hetzner/Krystal), ensuring our data stays in the EU and powered by renewables.
These platforms aren’t as popular as Teams or Zoom. They might require a little more setup for our clients. But they are transparent, ethical, and truly low-impact.
From Performative to Practical
We believe sustainability is the continuous practice of aligning our success with the health of the planet. That starts with how we move, and how we connect.
227.6 km in six months. And a reminder about out commitment to the digital space.
If we are asking businesses to rethink their operations, we have to be willing to rethink our own—even the invisible parts.
Want to see how we apply this to your business? Let’s talk about how to make your work practical, not just performative.