Many of us are striving to reduce our environmental impact at home but trying to work out what changes can be made in the workplace can sometimes feel like a much bigger challenge. It’s surprising how many small changes can be easily made that can make a big difference, so we have compiled a list of 10 tips to reduce your business’s carbon footprint. We hope that they will either help your business to see how far it has already come or see which changes can be made in the near future to start making a difference as soon as possible.

1. CALCULATE YOUR CURRENT CARBON FOOTPRINT
To be able to measure what differences any changes will make, spend some time calculating your organisation’s current emissions using a tool such as the Carbon Trusts Carbon Footprint Calculator. You’ll need information such as your fuel consumption, energy consumption and any top-ups to air conditioning units, refrigerators and fire protection systems over the last 12 months. You will then have a clear indicator of where your journey started and can set realistic targets and keep track of any progress and improvements made.

2. SWITCH TO A GREEN ENERGY TARIFF
Switching to a green energy tariff with a supplier that operates their own renewable energy or only purchases from renewable generators will deliver maximum impact. If there is an increase in the demand for low-carbon electricity, there will be an increase in the potential for greater future investment in renewables.

3. REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE
Encourage colleagues to be involved in establishing opportunities to reduce waste; switch off lights and equipment that are not in use (especially outside of working hours), reuse or recycle packaging from deliveries and make sure that the taps are turned off when not in use. “Team lunches” collaborating with a mix of ingredients to create something everyone can dive into can reduce food waste. Encouraging walking or cycling (maybe with a prize on offer) can not only help to reduce individuals carbon footprint but also provide physical and mental health benefits too, a win win for everyone!

4. ENABLE HOME WORKING/REDUCE TRAVEL
Enabling home working (where practical and reasonable) and reducing the amount of travel that employees need to undertake should result in not only a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from transport but also a reduction in overall premises costs for the business and a reduction in travel costs (for the business and/or employees) too.

5. INVEST IN IMPROVEMENT
The changes that you make in the short term should result in financial savings against energy, waste disposal, water and raw materials in the long term; any savings can make a difference, especially if they can be utilised for further actions and improvement, such as LED lights and smart heating controls.

6. EDUCATE & INFORM
Spread the word, sharing is caring after all! By informing your colleagues/employees, supply chain partners and customers about all of the good things that you are doing, you might just encourage others to do the same. Being honest, explaining your changes and the benefits of those changes in real terms will demonstrate your environmental commitment and might even help to attract new customers too.

7. BE SELECTIVE WITH YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN
By carefully selecting your supply chain partners and committing to only buy from those that are taking genuine action to reduce their carbon footprint, it will provide an incentive for other businesses to commit and take steps within their own operations to reduce their carbon footprint too.

8. SWITCH TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Although the upfront cost of electric vehicles may be higher than their petrol or diesel counterparts, there are benefits in terms of a lower fuel cost per mile, lower road tax fees, exemptions from the congestion charge in London and a reduction in the rate of benefit in kind tax, so it’s worth checking the Carbon Trust’s fleet upgrade tool to evaluate your options. Car share schemes are a great way for colleagues that live close to each other to reduce the number of vehicles travelling into the same place.

9. GREEN FINANCIAL SERVICES
From banking to pensions, utilising a financial services provider with strong ethical investment credentials will help to increase the level of financial flow from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors to sustainable development priorities.

10. SOLAR PANELS
Solar energy is one of the world’s few truly renewable energy sources and in theory, it’s not too difficult to save hundreds of pounds over the course of a year by generating your own electricity on-site. Solar PV (Photovoltaic) has become up to 70% cheaper than it was in 2010 and once you’ve covered the initial cost, you can expect very little spending on maintenance or repair work. Solar panels are silent and they help your business to be less vulnerable to power-cuts and other outages. They will serve as a highly visible demonstration of your business’ commitment to environmental causes.

This list is by no means exhaustive and we would love to hear about any measures that you have undertaken to reduce your business’s carbon footprint, please do get in touch!