3 Benefits of Carbon Management that Every Business Should Know

A piece by Lucy Coomes of Climax Community.

Businesses are crucial in the global fight against climate change. In the UK, the commercial sector is responsible for a significant proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Financial Times [1], so net-zero targets set by the Government can only be achieved if businesses take action to reduce their carbon footprints. Some businesses have a legal obligation to report their emissions, but that doesn’t extend to everyone. We are calling on small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to measure their emissions and set achievable net-zero pledges.

Your business might not be directly legally required to report its emissions yet, but it is important to keep in mind the advantages that managing your emissions can deliver. These include:

Cost savings

Understanding and increasing your organisational awareness of direct emissions (Scope 1 and 2), and indirect emissions (Scope 3) can help identify opportunities for improvements that lead to operational cost savings. The average SME in the UK could reduce its energy bill by 18-25% through energy efficiency measures, with an average payback of less than 1.5 years. There’s some really low hanging fruit, as around 40% of these savings would require zero capital cost, according to the Department of Energy & Climate Change [2].

Reputation

Stakeholders are increasingly putting pressure on businesses to be transparent about their environmental impact and the steps that they are taking to become more sustainable. As the expectations of customers, employees, investors, and regulators continue to grow, your performance can set you apart from your competitors. It’s important to note that businesses can be vulnerable to accusations of greenwashing when marketing themselves as environmentally-friendly. SMEs can combat greenwashing with tools like our carbon management platform, Climate Essentials, which transforms generic and unaccountable claims of “sustainability” and “greenness” into something tangible – carbon emission figures, actionable reduction strategies, and clear pathways to net zero.

Risk management

By reporting your carbon emissions as well as analysing your environmental impacts, you can identify and better understand your exposure to climate change risks and how they can be mitigated against. For example, knowing ahead of time about potential impacts to materials in your supply chain could help you to cost in and source more sustainable alternatives. Setting your business on a pathway to net zero can also help to reduce your exposure to future rises in the cost of energy.

Taking action to reduce your business’ carbon emissions has never been more important, both to prevent environmental catastrophe and to encourage your business to thrive. But we know that small businesses often lack the time, money, and sustainability expertise to build an effective climate strategy. That’s why we developed Climate Essentials. Through this highly affordable platform, SMEs can measure, track, and reduce their carbon emissions in an easy and engaging way. To unlock the benefits of net zero now, please book a chat with a member of our team today through our website: https://climax.community/ .

Sources:

1 https://www.ft.com/content/7ab0bfb0-b37c-463d-b132-0944b6fe8e8b
2 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_da
ta/file/417410/DECC_advice_guide.pdf