Managing Your Business’ Carbon Footprint

Did you know that 100 companies are responsible for approximately 71 per cent of global emissions? Yes, as shocking as this is, it should come as no surprise that due to this statistic there is increasing pressure on the business world to become greener and drive down their carbon footprint.

Back in the summer of 2019, the UK became the first major world economy to implement regulations in regard to greenhouse gas emissions. The commitment by the government is to reach a net zero emissions output by the year 2050. If this ambitious goal is going to be achieved, CEOs and boards across the country, need to consider how they are managing their business’ carbon footprint.

Of course, for a business, the main focus is turning a profit through increased sales or service but 81 per cent of people believe that businesses need to be doing more to benefit the environment. The benefits of doing this are two-fold — attracting a new customer base, those who have a developed environmental conscience, and saving money.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the different ways you can manage your business’ carbon footprint.

Analyse emissions and employ achievable goals

The perfect place to start is an audit of your emissions — you can’t expect to be able to reduce your carbon emissions if you don’t know where they’re coming from. In order to discover the source of your emissions, draft in a third-party auditor. Once you know what you’re outputting and from where, you can set realistic, achievable targets — these can range from a reduction in the energy consumption within your supply chain to a more efficient use of your transport and logistics department.

Cut paper

According to a report by the World Counts, 50 per cent of all commercial waste is associated with paper. When considering the mass of technology available to us in 2020, it begs the question: ‘Why can we not significantly reduce this figure?’.

Not only will moving your documents online, into software such as The Cloud, limit the use of paper, it will also help save you time and, ultimately, money — no more siphoning through filing cabinets, simply search and select or drag and drop!

Unless essential, send e-receipts and emails as opposed to invoices and letters.

The only thing to remember when moving your details online, is to back it all up!

Time for electric vehicles

Electric vehicles are rapidly commanding the attention of business owners all across the world but more specifically here in Britain. Why? Because over the last few years, we have seen significant investment ploughed into the infrastructure required for their success. Over the course of 2019, the number of charging points across the UK has risen from 16,000 to 24,000. Furthermore, these plug-in systems can provide 80 per cent of a vehicle’s charge in as little as 30 minutes. Range anxiety is a genuine fear experienced by a number of motorists, but with most electric vehicles now capable of delivering more than 200 miles on a full charge, it should no longer be a concern.

In order to help reach net zero by 2050, the UK government plans to ban traditional fuel by the year 2040. With this in mind, alongside the fact that electric vehicle fuel works out at around a seventh of the price of petrol per mile, why not get ahead of the game and move to EVs now?

Managing your technology

Upon every release of new technology, as a business you are obliged to assess whether or not it will benefit your processes — more often than not we jump at the chance of implementing a new piece of tech as it makes operations more savvy and, frankly, up to date. However, they aren’t always essential, and sometimes the current equipment that is in place is more than sufficient. Similarly, if you are in need of new equipment, take into consideration how you will be disposing of the older alternative. Often, electric equipment is burned, releasing harmful emissions into the environment — remember to recycle responsibly!

Reviewing your business processes in regard to their impact on the environment is essential. Contact Kwik Fit today for more information on how you can successfully manage your business’ carbon footprint.

Sources

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/10/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-global-emissions-cdp-study-climate-change
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2019/nov/09/coca-cola-world-biggest-plastics-polluter-again-datablog
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/fleet-industry-news/2019/04/29/average-ev-range-exceeds-200-miles