There are multiple benefits when reducing your businesses environmental impacts – from ‘doing your-bit’ for the planet, to saving you money, improving performance, building your reputation and credentials amongst customers, and boosting staff moral and wellbeing…
But where should you start and what investments will add real value to your business? What advice, support and funding is available to your business to improve sustainability whilst also concentrating on your day to-day business activities?
What are my Impacts? – Introducing the Three Scopes…
A helpful way to consider your impacts is in three scopes; these are widely used terms in environmental management, and categorise emissions and environmental impacts of your business operations, in terms of the level of influence you have over these emissions.
Scope 1: Your Direct Emissions.
These include direct emissions and impacts from equipment, and premises owned and controlled by your business like;
-stationary combustion sources (fuel consumption and heating sources)
-mobile combustion emissions (operation of company owned vehicles)
-process emissions (from onsite manufacturing or industrial processes)
-fugitive emissions (occurring as a result of leaks from equipment such as refrigeration and air conditioning units).
Scope 2: Indirect Emission from Power Use.
These are emissions from purchased electricity, heat, steam, and cooling used by your business. For most businesses, electricity use is a key emissions source in their Scope 2 emissions.
Scope 3: Other Indirect Emissions.
These includes emissions that are linked to your businesses operations, perhaps upstream of your premises or operations, or downstream of them after your goods and/or services have left your doors. This can include; purchased goods and services, business travel, employees commuting to work, waste disposal, use of products after their sale, transportation and distribution (of materials before they reach you and products or wastes after they leave your doors), investments, leased assets and franchises, and many more areas…
Your activity should start with your scope 1 and 2 emissions. These are mandatory in many carbon emissions reporting schemes or frameworks.
Scope 3 emissions are complex to identify, measure, monitor and manage. However, for many businesses, the majority of their carbon emissions and cost reduction opportunities can in fact lie outside their own operations so it is a valuable exercise to consider these too.
There are a huge number of resources freely available online to help you identify and quantify your emissions, including carbon calculators and guidance documents.
A valuable exercise is to consider and list your impacts in each scope category, and where possible quantify them – the number of miles, fuel used, product / material purchased, waste generated, etc. This will inform you where your biggest impacts are occurring, what changes and improvements are possible, and how you should prioritise your efforts to make improvements.
Continuous Measurement & Monitoring my Impacts…
When you understand your business’ environmental impacts and identify opportunities to reduce these, it is important to continue to monitor your impacts as time goes on. This will allow you to identify whether the changes you have brought in are making an improvement in your emissions and increasing your business’ sustainability.
It will also help you to monitor the cost saving being achieved. You should monitor your impacts as they change, reporting on these on a regular basis and re-assessing what aspects of your operations now produce the biggest impacts and where your next initiatives should target.
It is a great practice to set targets for reduced emissions, or to set a date for your business to become net zero! Monitoring can help you set practical and achievable targets tailored to your own business operations. And don’t forget, any efforts will be much more powerful with the buy-in and participation from
staff at all levels of your operations.
For further information on Clean Growth South East, our upcoming events, relevant news and insights visit www.cleangrowthsoutheast.co.uk or contact the project team at cleangrowthse@opergy.co.uk.
This programme is led by Kent County Council, with funding secured from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership’s Sector Support Fund.