Carbon emissions are an increasing concern for businesses and individuals alike. From a legal standpoint, carbon compliance has undergone significant changes in recent years and the mandatory requirements now apply to many more companies. The UK has also committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
However, it is no longer simply a legal issue. For many, environmental responsibility is now an ethical consideration. This means buyers and investors often seek greener companies with which to spend their money.
This leaves businesses with a problem. How can they effectively measure and reduce their carbon footprint? Traditionally, this has been a time-consuming process, with businesses spending more time on calculating their emissions than reducing them.
At Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce, we are committed to supporting local businesses in meeting the latest regulations. In addition, we also strive to help our businesses maximise these opportunities so they can attract buyers and investors and remain competitive. We recognise that providing simple and effective solutions to carbon reduction is an effective way to do this.
For that reason, 2022 sees us entering a new partnership with Compare Your Footprint and Green Element. This will provide local companies with two levels of support that will enable them to measure and reduce their carbon use. The first is an online carbon footprint calculator, and the second is an academy which supports them in implementing an environmental management system (EMS).
Calculating your carbon footprint
The online carbon footprint calculator allows businesses to enter relevant data such as gas, electricity, water, waste, travel, freight and material used. Anyone in the business with access to the relevant data can do this.
When businesses have input the data, they can produce a report with a simple click of a button. This report contains a range of information that supports businesses in carbon reduction. For example, it calculates the baseline emissions and produces a year-on-year comparison. The report allows businesses to identify their carbon hotspots, meaning they can reduce their impact where it makes the greatest difference.
Plus, the calculator also includes benchmarking software which shows how a business compares against others in the same industry. With the valuable data provided by the calculator and software, businesses can set science-based targets and implement a carbon reduction strategy that works.
Providing members of the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce with access to this tool means they have a simple way to reduce their carbon impact.
What is an environmental management system?
The other area of support available relates to implementing an EMS. An EMS is a framework through which businesses can monitor, improve and control their environmental impact. The best practice builds a framework that meets the ISO 14001:2015 standard. This is the world’s most successful environmental standard.
An EMS manages and controls aspects such as a company’s environmental policies, their data gathering, corporate responsibility, auditing and more. It is a cost-effective and methodical way to measure and evaluate performance as a business works towards its carbon reduction targets. But how does a business create and implement an EMS?
We have made it easy for our local businesses to adopt these best practices. Members now have access to the Green Element Academy. This includes access to the Environmental Management System (EMS) Implementation online course. The course walks a business through creating and implementing an EMS.
However, that is not the only support available. We know that businesses often have unique situations or questions regarding how something might apply to their situation. Therefore, the academy also offers four coaching calls each week where companies can get answers to their questions. They can attend as few or as many of these calls as they like, with no additional cost involved.
In addition, the academy also provides a useful guide that shares best practices on achieving your carbon reduction targets and approaching net-zero.
How to get started
If you’re a Bedfordshire business, that’s determined to take your environmental impact seriously, then understanding your carbon footprint and having an EMS are both vital to the process. It is only with these that you can make genuine change and effective reductions in your carbon emissions.
By providing our members with these tools and resources, Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce is confident that local businesses can start making a real impact. Not only will they be able to meet tighter regulations, but they will also be able to make the carbon reductions necessary to make them more attractive and competitive to buyers and investors.
If you’re interested in becoming a member and getting access to these resources, then you can find more details at our website.
Rightly, environmental issues and carbon emission figures are hot global issues. But Bedfordshire businesses can now be the change most of us want to see, and we know local companies can rise to the challenge.
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