How to effectively reduce your business’ Carbon Footprint in 2021

Pressures are rising on businesses of all sizes to become more eco-friendly and contribute not only to the reduction of their waste but to their carbon footprint.

The Government has now committed to a 68% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, meaning companies across all areas of the UK need to review their processes and policies to help meet the pledge. With technology making it easier to become more eco-friendly, gone are the days where filling up a green recycling bin is considered enough.

Along with this, consumers are growing more eco-conscious, wanting to support companies which align with their carbon sensitive values. Luckily, it has become easier than ever to implement new carbon neutralising initiatives, and we’ve created a guide to help your business reduce its carbon footprint in 2021.

What to consider for your business…

Before you start to implement carbon-reducing ideas, it’s important to consider what would be the most effective steps to take for your specific business.

Not all companies are going to benefit from cycle-to-work schemes, and you may not have the revenue to buy renewable energy, so it’s important to consider what resources are already at your disposal. 

Often it’s a combination of small changes which have the most significant effect in reducing carbon emissions, so look long term rather than short. Ensure your ideas and initiatives have long-term plans and how they could be affected by upcoming changes in your business. For example, cycling to work is a great idea for the summer, but you can’t expect staff to continue to do so in colder months.

Ideas start small

As stated above, all success stems from small good ideas. Consider what areas of your processes could be changed with little effort and resistance. Analysing your process streams and speaking to your staff about where they believe positive changes can be made is a good place to start when trying to reduce your carbon footprint.

To get you started, consider these areas for potential adjustments:

Technology

With the world moving deeper into the digital age, it is estimated that by 2023, the number of devices per person will exceed 3. With your staff using different technology every day, this provides an opportunity to review and edit your processes to be more eco-friendly.

For example, consider swapping your lightbulbs to be more efficient, or donate your old computers and devices once they are no longer of use to you. These may seem insignificant changes, but over time will contribute to reducing the amount of carbon needed to create assets and the energy to run them.

Buying responsibly

For businesses wanting to be eco-friendly on a budget, buying the right assets from the right sources can help save a useable device from becoming waste, and save you some money.

When it comes to purchasing new computers, monitors, or phones for your company, steer away from buying brand new. It may be tempting to dish out for the latest technology on the market, but buying refurbished allows you to give a second life to that asset. Most refurbishers still include a warranty, so you don’t have to worry about your new device not working when you receive it.

Swap your energy provider

A simple change which requires little effort for your business is swapping to a more eco-friendly energy supplier. Buying more sustainable energy makes your business more sustainable, and allows you to support the generation of renewable energy.

Always do your research before swapping providers. There are a lot of options to choose from with UK energy providers, so ensure you choose the right one for your business which meets your requirements.

These are the top providers for green energy in the UK from The Switch:

• British Gas – 43% of the generated energy is renewable.
• SSE – 21% of the generated energy is renewable.
• E.ON – Operate a renewable energy infrastructure including wind farms and biomass power stations.
• Npower – Specialises in renewable energy for businesses.

At The S2S Group, we also take our Carbon Footprint very seriously, swapping to a new energy provider, Bulb, which provides us with 100% renewable electric and carbon neutral gas.

We’re always expanding our carbon neutralising initiatives so keep an eye out for our future changes On Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

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