Greening London

17 February 2008

While much of the focus of environmental campaigning so far has fallen on big business - the low-hanging fruit of carbon reduction – smaller companies can’t ignore their own share of responsibility. In fact, according to The Carbon Trust, small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions. But the problem many of them face is working out what initiatives really make a difference – and then finding time to do something about it.

Fortunately, with the government aiming to cut UK emissions by 60% by 2020, there’s plenty of support and encouragement for businesses, from the Carbon Trust to the LDA-funded Global Action Plan charity, to longstanding government programme Envirowise. And there are solid business reasons for smaller businesses to start acting. Last year, for example, the Trust carried out a study which found that by introducing advanced metering in place of the 2.7 million manually-read energy meters, UK SMEs could save an average of 5% off their utility bills – that’s a £1,000 saving to the bottom line. Advanced meters, which identify patterns of energy usage, are common in larger businesses and the Trust is now lobbying for grants to enable their wider adoption.

There are also legal obligations in areas such as hazardous waste disposal, and they don’t just apply to big polluters. Since 30 October last year, the new Landfill Directive prohibits any business from sending non-hazardous waste to landfill without prior treatment.

“A lot of the time small businesses come to us because they think it’s the right thing to do,” says Sarah Van Erp, a business advisor with Global Action Plan, which runs a free advice programme for SMEs called Smartworks (see www.globalactionplan.org ). “But they also face pressure from stakeholders, from staff and from clients. Increasingly, when businesses are tendering for work they have to specify whether they have an environmental policy, or some measures to limit their impact on the environment.”

In the public sector, too, environmental accreditations are often a requirement in the procurement process. The Olympics Committee, for example, has announced that all suppliers working on its facilities have to demonstrate their green credentials. g2i company Bioregional is advising on the programme after mayor Ken Livingstone promised the 2012 Olympics would be the most environmentally-friendly games ever staged.

Getting started

If you’re confused about where to start, one good option is to calculate your company’s carbon footprint – after all, once you understand your impact on the environment, it’s easier to do something about it. You can also start taking some immediate steps towards making your office greener – such as shared lift schemes, turning down the thermostat by one degree, or turning off the lights when you go home at night. The Carbon Trust estimates that SMEs waste an average £6,000 per year by leaving equipment running over the weekend.

It’s also worth looking at your technology options. The IT industry is engaged in wide-ranging initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of its equipment, from Green Ethernet – where networking switches power down when they’re not in use – to energy-efficient data centres. In its recent report, ‘An Inefficient Truth’, Global Action Plan found that the IT industry is responsible for 2% of carbon emissions, the same level as the aviation business, and its impact is skyrocketing as IT equipment becomes more ubiquitous.

Beyond these simple measures, think about the steps other businesses in your industry are taking. “SMEs find it really useful to get together in the workshops that we hold, and they come from a wide range of sectors,” says Van Erp. “They also like the fact that we can come onsite and talk to their bosses about what we can do. Often staff members are really passionate about going green but they haven’t got senior buy-in. We can come in and talk about green travel plans or purchasing policies and identify what’s key for them.”

For larger organisations – or those making a significant impact on the environment – badges and accreditations can help win business, such as the ISO 14001 certification for a company’s environmental management system. But that’s often not suitable for an SME. An alternative is London’s Greenmark scheme, which is similar in spirit to the ISO system, but specifically aimed at smaller companies. The scheme has three levels, the most basic of which simply requires a company to show it’s taking responsibility for its environmental impact.

Ultimately, going green may mean identifying different ways of conducting business, such as holding meetings by video conference rather than flying half way round the world. If you need financial help changing the way you work, you may be able to tap into a funding scheme. The Carbon Trust, for example, offers an interest free loan of up to £100,000, repayable over four years. It also provides access to the Energy Technology List, a listing of the most energy efficient equipment in a whole host of different areas – and there are often tax breaks on those kinds of purchase.

By David Longworth, Webster Buchanan Research