The importance of reducing a company’s carbon footprint has increased as environmental sustainability has gained popularity. The total emissions, expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) units, produced by a company’s operations, directly and indirectly, are referred to as the carbon footprint. More information about this topic is provided below. It has been demonstrated that carbon pricing does not impede economic growth but instead sends a loud and clear message to firms, industries, and consumers to switch to greener energy sources. This conclusion is based on data from 70 national and subnational governments that have previously implemented carbon pricing.
Establish Carbon Reduction Goals
A crucial first step in reducing your company’s carbon footprint is to set carbon reduction targets. The appropriate approach may be used to achieve net zero carbon emissions, despite it seeming like a high objective. Carbon targets are measurable objectives that focus an organisation’s efforts on going green. Understanding the procedures for creating and achieving these goals is the first step in developing any long-term plan to reduce carbon emissions. To do this, you must gather a lot of information on the sources of your CO2 emissions and how they affect internal and external operations.
Companies may position themselves for success with an open strategy by dividing their intended goals into more manageable, attainable objectives. More information may be found in our next blog post, “How to Reduce Your Environmental Footprint One Carbon Target at a Time.”
Less energy consumption, please
According to research, energy usage frequently accounts for a significant portion of a company’s carbon footprint during commercial activities. Therefore, cutting back on energy use is a great way to decrease the environmental effect of your business.
Purchasing ENERGY STAR-certified energy-efficient equipment, programming thermostats to run only during business hours, unplugging electronics at the end of each day, and relying on natural lighting are a few ways to decrease energy consumption. These simple yet effective actions might drastically reduce carbon emissions while saving you money. Increasing energy efficiency doesn’t have to be a difficult task. Energy efficiency identification, monitoring, and optimisation across large-scale operations may be facilitated by software tools like Brightly StreamTM or Energy ManagerTM while prioritising activities that result in further cost savings and a minimal carbon footprint. Learn more about commercial gas here!
Control business travel
Reviewing your company’s travel rules is one of the finest ways to lessen the carbon footprint of your enterprise. The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 27% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 came from transportation. Regulating business travel is a straightforward yet efficient solution to lessen this impact, suitable for your company’s operations and bottom line. It must be essential to your greenhouse gas plan for lowering carbon emissions.
Etihad Airways flight from Seattle to Abu Dhabi in January 2012 was the first in the Middle East to be powered by sustainable biofuel.
As a business owner, you have a unique opportunity and duty to make changes that lessen your organisation’s carbon footprint and save the environment. You may drastically lower your company’s carbon footprint by restricting how frequently personnel travel by air and by road for work-related reasons. When it is practical, switching from flying to trains, buses, and other forms of public transportation can have a significant environmental impact due to their reduced emissions.
When commuting together, companies might encourage their staff to carpool. This lowers each employee’s emissions somewhat. Companies can also take other steps to become more energy-efficient, like switching to hybrid or electric company cars (even one electric car in your fleet can make a difference), letting workers work from home, using public transportation or ride-sharing services for business trips, and encouraging employees to bike or carpool to work. Here, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the primary goal, but doing so without sacrificing productivity and efficiency in business.
Use viable suppliers
Rethinking your supply chain is one efficient way to lower your business’s carbon footprint. Choosing sustainable suppliers for finished goods or raw materials in your supply chain is as crucial as taking internal steps to make your workplace more environmentally friendly. Working with unsustainable suppliers increases emissions, and many companies unintentionally support these behaviours by continuing to do so. Even when the firm does not directly create Scope 3 emissions, the company is nonetheless indirectly liable for them since they are produced by any organisation that is part of its value chain.
To escape this obligation, you can directly request information about your suppliers’ carbon emissions or look for businesses that have earned the ISO 14001 certification, which attests to their dedication to tracking and reducing their environmental effects. You can help your business and the environment by utilising sustainable suppliers and reducing your carbon footprint.
Offsets for carbon
Businesses may effectively supplement their carbon reduction efforts and fight climate change by engaging in carbon offsetting. Companies purchase these offsets as credits to make up for their carbon emissions. Businesses may offset emissions and reduce their carbon footprint by funding authorised projects like reforestation or renewable energy.
To have a long-lasting impact, carbon offsetting should be used in conjunction with other proactive strategies for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. It should not be the only component of a whole sustainability plan.
Limit your waste
Businesses need to remove waste wherever they can to lower their carbon impact. An essential component of global trash production is made up of commercial waste. Business owners must determine how to reduce product waste in their daily operations. Sustainable packaging, avoiding single-use plastics, converting paper documents to digital records, and placing recycling bins throughout the workplace are a few alternatives. Reusing items and packaging, recycling as much material as feasible, and rethinking product design to reduce needless materials should all be the focus of a company’s waste reduction plan.
Businesses can also look for alternate methods or supplies that use less energy and are less damaging to the environment. They should reduce their paper usage and use wiser purchasing practices to avoid overconsumption. Companies may lower their trash production, lower expenses, and enhance environmental performance by applying these measures.
In Conclusion
To make sustainable commercial choices and reduce your business carbon footprint, there are several steps you can take. First, establish carbon reduction goals and collect data to identify the source of your CO2 emissions. Then, focus on reducing energy consumption by using energy-efficient equipment, setting thermostats to operate only during working hours, and relying on natural illumination. Review your company’s travel rules and consider options like carpooling, using public transportation or ride-sharing services for business trips, and switching to hybrid or electric cars.
Choose sustainable suppliers in your supply chain and consider engaging in carbon offsetting. Finally, limit waste by using sustainable packaging, avoiding single-use plastics, converting paper documents to digital records, and recycling as much material as possible. By taking these steps, you can positively impact the environment while also improving your business’s bottom line.
