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Businesses are critical in the fight against climate change as they are the source of the majority of global emissions. Targets set by Government will never be achieved if businesses do not move towards them. That is why we are calling on small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to do what they can to help, by measuring their emissions and aligning net-zero pledges with carbon action.
Some businesses have a legal obligation to report their emissions, but that doesn't extend to everyone. And while your business may not have to do it, it is important to keep in mind the advantages that managing your emissions can deliver, this includes:
Cost savings: Understanding and increasing your organisational awareness of carbon consumption (Scope 1 and 2), and supply chain emissions (Scope 3) can help identify opportunities for improvements that lead to operational cost savings. A taxi company with a 20-car fleet, for example, could expect to gain around £48,000 per year by switching to electric vehicles - following an incremental capital outlay of £68,000 [1].
Reputation: Stakeholders are increasingly putting pressure on businesses to be transparent with their climate action and environmental impact. As expectation continues to grow, your performance can set you apart from competitors. Additionally, if you start now you’ll have the opportunity to show year-on-year improvements.
Risk management: By reporting your carbon emissions as well as analysing your environmental impacts, you will identify and better understand your exposure to climate change risks and how they can be mitigated against. Whether this impact is on materials in your supply chain or your employee's mental wellbeing, it’s beneficial to you to know ahead of time how you can prepare and deliver.
We appreciate that this can be a daunting task, but knowing your emissions is critical to help you understand where you stand as an organisation in the current climate crisis. Half the UK’s carbon reduction ambition can be delivered by the country’s SME sector, this gives SMEs the opportunity to be national change-makers (ibid.).
This is all made easy using our interactive platform, Climate Essentials, a data-driven software that enables organisations (specifically SMEs) to quickly, intuitively, and affordably track their carbon emissions. Better measurement means better management! Find out more and book a demo on our website.
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[1] National Westminster Bank plc. (October 2021) https://media.natwestbusinesshub.com/MPgGSYnzTaWnH8iAydhZhttps
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