Research from the Carbon Trust, published this Spring, indicates that 46 per cent of FTSE companies have measured their carbon footprints, compared to 15 percent of large companies and 12 per cent of medium sized companies. Overall, only 1 per cent of the general business community knows their carbon footprint. The research concludes that whilst overall carbon awareness is increasing, there is “an enormous gap between the ways in which larger and smaller companies are responding to the issues”.
Measuring and reducing carbon emissions are gradually becoming strategic objectives for large and medium-sized business, motivated not just by environmental concerns, but by the significant cost-savings associated with minimising carbon usage. Meanwhile, the majority of smaller businesses are lagging behind.
The Carbon Trust explains that smaller businesses struggle with “a lack of time and expertise” to measure and reduce carbon emissions. In addition, they claim that many SMEs underestimate their “collective role” in cutting carbon emissions; according to their research, over a third of SMEs underestimate their contribution to carbon emissions by 50 per cent.
Unfortunately, these two dynamics don’t play nicely together. After all, it’s easier to dismiss the task as time consuming and difficult if you believe the net result of your efforts won’t make much of a difference.
It’s true that the process of reducing carbon emissions can demand time and expertise. But that doesn’t explain why so many businesses haven’t yet measured their carbon footprint. Working out a rough estimate of your carbon usage takes ten seconds using the Carbon Trust’s online indicator. And with a bit more information to hand - such as fuel, electricity and travel usage data - you can immediately build a more accurate picture of your carbon footprint using the Carbon Trust’s online calculator. These tools are a quick and easy, and crucially - they are designed to guide you towards making your next steps and finding the expertise you may need.
Only when you know your carbon footprint can you objectively determine how much time and expertise is needed to reduce it. So finding out is a good start.
It’s also important to remember that measuring and reducing your carbon footprint is not simply a philanthropic pastime. There are very real opportunities to save money by saving energy. These cost-savings could more than offset the initial cost and effort of reducing your carbon footprint. And again: you won’t know where those potential cost saving are until you make a start.
Now to the question: how is cutting the carbon emissions of one small business going to make a difference to a global issue?
July ‘08 figures from The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform indicate that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) together accounted for 99.9 per cent of all enterprises. That equates to over four and a half million businesses.
And as we’ve already learnt, it’s this group that are the least responsive to measuring or reducing their carbon footprint. In addition, it’s this group that tends to underestimate the level of its contribution to carbon emissions. In other words, the large majority of UK businesses are doing little to act on carbon emissions, and many are producing more carbon emissions then they realise.
All of these businesses can take steps to reduce their carbon footprint. And the sum total of those individually small reductions does - collectively - add up to a significant difference.
At the moment, there’s a distinct lack of action amongst SMEs in the fight to reduce carbon emissions. Many see the process as important, but challenging. And many underestimate the extent of their “collective role” in reducing emissions. The good news: these many, the four million or so, can make start on the task… Today.
Start today by measuring your carbon footprint on the Carbon Trust Website
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