What are carbon savings and why do I need them for my business? “Carbon Savings represent carbon emissions avoided by practising a green action when compared with its baseline action” (Carbon Wallet). Although their examples are for consumers, the same principle applies to your business.
Examples of carbon savings
bluepatch member Naturesave Insurance posted a blog with details of their carbon savings. They reduced their carbon emissions by more than 50% in three years from 13.72 to 5.2 tC02e.
This was mainly achieved by implementing two changes; working a four-day week and changing energy supplier.
Most of their carbon emissions were produced by staff commuting. Post lockdown, they switched to a four-day week. Plus one staff member bought an electric car.
Naturesave Insurance also lobbied for their landlord, a local housing association, to switch to renewable energy. This adds to the savings from their own solar panels.
Why should your business work on carbon reduction?
Carbon dioxide emissions are exacerbating climate change. Ice sheets are melting. Sea levels and temperatures are rising. Heatwaves are more frequent. The seasons are changing and affecting our natural world and our food production.
UK business was responsible for 18.7% of UK carbon emissions or 61.9 Mt in 2022. Although businesses are making great efforts to reduce their carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions, these are down 43.8% from 1990 figures (gov.uk).
2022 was warmer than 2021, meaning that buildings needed less heating. Another cause of the reduction in 2022 was due to high energy prices, as businesses reduced their usage.
Carbon savings can benefit the business as well as the planet. For example, installing solar panels can reduce your energy bill by as much as 50% (My Renewable Energy). And there are several Government grant schemes to help with installation costs.
Measuring and then reducing your business carbon footprint could allow it to become more efficient. Reviewing processes like waste management, staffing, water use and energy consumption could result in savings across multiple areas.
The British Business Bank suggests that knowing your carbon footprint might give you a competitive edge. They say demand for sustainability and transparency is growing. They quote a recent British Chamber of Commerce survey suggesting that only 11% of businesses measure their carbon footprint. And a YouGov survey found that consumers are willing to pay more for environmental products.
How do I calculate the carbon footprint of my business?
Blue Patch provides free net zero training to our community members. The training uses the Compare Your Footprint carbon calculator to work out the company’s current carbon emissions. This then forms the baseline against which carbon savings are compared.
“Benchmarking is a great tool to use when researching your carbon footprint, as it will allow for you to see where your carbon footprint is highest and lowest, and look to improve in areas such as the contribution of operating energy, embodied carbon and transport emissions to the overall carbon footprint of your business.” – Compare Your Footprint
Blue Patch are also running a workshop in London on March 14th for members. Alice Doyle of Positive Impacts will be giving our business community her tips for ways to make carbon savings. Join bluepatch to take advantage of these free training sessions.
