Sustainability
For Manoverboard, sustainability is baked into our practice, our work habits and spaces, our designs, and our aspirations for ourselves, our clients, and our planet. While far from perfect, we aspire to do what’s right for the place we call home.
Work
While the pace of work has dramatically increased over the past 20 years, we seek to work in a sane and productive environment. We don't pull all-nighters, we do not interrupt each other, and we typically do not respond to 24-hour deadlines. We believe in thoughtful, careful planning and strategic thinking and we respect our clients, colleagues, and partners; this is the only way that humans will live sustainably and healthfully. At the same time, we demand excellence of ourselves in everything we do, including timing, delivery and quality.
Office
The office in which we work was originally a large garage built to repair vehicles in the early 1900s. Sitting in disrepair for many years, our developer took a one-story structure and built a second story office building that houses five office spaces of various sizes. The office structure is built with the world's most recyclable natural resource—wood. It offers an on-demand hot water system, a high-efficiency electric boiler (rated near 100%) and the building is warmed by radiant heat supplemented by a heated thermal mass at the building’s core. The timber-framed building is warm, comfortable and giving.
Commute
It took nearly two years to develop our office space and the wait was worth every minute. Living within walking distance of the office, our commute is less than ten minutes. When we do drive—it is, after all, a bit cold in Canada—the amount of carbon expended is minimal.
Access
Since the founding of Manoverboard, nearly every website we’ve designed is fundamentally accessible to those with disabilities. While accessibility is not a direct correlative of sustainability, it is a critical component of creating a more inclusive, equal, and transparent world.
Paper
Whenever possible, we will source all of our paper products from companies that provide FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification. This helps ensure that we are printing on paper that comes from sustainable forests and strong, healthy communities. We also prefer soy-based inks (for printing).
Giving Back
Wherever possible, we try to take on smaller, nonprofit projects at a discounted rate or on a pro bono basis. For small nonprofits, we will try to provide cost-free design services, inexpensive or free website hosting, and website updates gratis.
We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future.
–John F. Kennedy
You should focus on being more interested than interesting.
–Jacqueline Novogratz