Download the little book that’s a big help in cutting your carbon emissions

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green vehicles and chargerThere’s no doubt that small businesses are coping with some testing times. COVID-19 and Brexit have brought significant disruption and challenges.

Many business owners might ask whether now is the time to add further change into the mix.

The truth is that action on climate change cannot be put off any longer if we are to hit the UK’s 2050 net zero target.

Small and medium-sized businesses have a crucial role to play. After all, smaller firms make up over 99% of all the UK’s 5.9 million enterprises – and they produce half of business-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

But like eight in ten businesses in our recent surveyof 1,000 UK businesses, you might appreciate more guidance on how to go about reducing carbon emissions.

Well, look no further. The Little Book of Net Zero for Small Businesses provides a practical guide to cutting your carbon, whatever the size of your organisation. It’s free to download here.

Top tips and tools to reduce your carbon output

The Little Book of Net Zero provides lots of ideas of how you can begin to reduce your emissions.

Our new book explains that the first decisive step, if you haven’t yet taken it, is to make a firm pledge to achieve net zero in your business. It goes on to help you identify barriers – from lack of guidance to increased costs – and provide advice on how to overcome them.

The book explains that the key to success is to collaborate, adopt the approach that works for you, and use all the support available. It provides useful information and describes effective tools, including recognized business standards, to help you manage and minimize GHG emissions.

Some measures can bring significant cost-efficiencies. Others represent worthwhile investment in less tangible ways, such as strengthening your green credentials, your competitive edge, and employee motivation.

The book also gives practical, real-life examples, such as the company that has significantly cut its emissions (and energy costs!) by applying the energy management standard ISO 50001, while also winning new business by demonstrating its commitment to sustainability.

Here are some highlights from the Little Book of Net Zero:

1. Collaborate
You don’t need to do everything alone. Learning from others can be valuable, and you will be surprised how willing other business owners are to share their knowledge and experiences. Even attending a few conferences or networking events can give you inspiration.

2. Energy reduction is not everything
The first thing that springs to mind when talking about net zero is reducing energy consumption at site level. This is important, but it’s not everything. Other measures targeting areas such as poor waste management (the environmental consequences of inefficient production processes can be significant) and emissions from transport also matter.

3. Embrace innovation
Net zero is about finding new ways to do things. This might mean you need to be creative and question some of the basic assumptions in your business model. Innovative thinking can shake things up and result in operational improvements as well as environmental ones.

4. Invest in skills
Innovation has to be accompanied by an investment in your people to ensure they keep pace with change. This might involve training in new processes or equipment, sessions to improve awareness of why carbon reduction matters, or bringing in external expertise.

5. Use standards for guidance
You do not need to reinvent the wheel when embarking on carbon reduction initiatives. As well as learning from others, you can also use standards to help guide you through the processes and actions that need to be taken. BSI research for the Net Zero Barometer Report found that 93% of businesses that have put net zero measures in place did so using international standards or guidelines.

Which standards could be helpful?

Among SMEs, only 37% currently use standards to help with carbon reduction. Many more could benefit from guidance on best practice offered by standards.

Standards you might wish to use include:

The benefits of standards are proven. For example, of businesses certified to the environmental standard ISO 14001, 74% report reputational benefit, 63% have found cost savings that can be directly attributed to it and 61% have experienced improved staff morale.

Why not download The Little Book of Net Zero today. It’s free and packed with practical steps to help you on your sustainability journey.

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