Why should small or medium sized companies with limited time and resources aim to be sustainable?
SMEs make up 90% of businesses globally and account for 50-70% of emissions so they have a crucial role to play in meeting national legally binding net zero goals.
In many countries large or listed companies are forced by law to report on their sustainability impacts and efforts to reduce them due to regulations like Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) in the UK, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in Europe, or the Senate Bill 253/ Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act in California. As of 2024 29 countries around the world mandated some form of ESG reporting.
What are the advantages of being sustainable for a SME?
- 🚀 It helps save money: By examining a firm's sustainability you often find energy and waste inefficiencies, it should involve finding opportunities to reduce and reuse materials.
- 💡 It helps you understand your emissions: Around 37% of UK based SMEs have been asked for emissions or carbon data according to the UK Net Zero Business Census.
- 💲 It provides investment opportunities: favourable terms for bank loans, better rates for insurance and increased investor confidence.
- 🏆 It helps you win customers: A study by PWC in 2023 found that 78% of consumers felt they were willing to pay more for sustainably made products.
What can a small firm do today to help be more sustainable?
- 🏠 If you own your building in the UK take a look at the EPC website, it recommends energy saving ideas, their cost and financial benefits. https://lnkd.in/etVCsgCs
- 💡 Switch to LED lights.
- ♻️ Have well labelled recycling points around your office.
- 🚲 Encourage cycling, car sharing and public transport use. Partner up with a local bike shop to provide discounts on bikes.
- 👨💼 Nominate a sustainability lead at your firm and maybe a sustainability team.
What can a medium sized firm aim to do this year?
- 🔍 Track your energy, water use and emissions. Standardise data collection across departments. Find ways to reduce them were possible.
- 🖥️ Report your data using an industry standard for credibility e.g. the Global Reporting Index (GRI) https://lnkd.in/emDH2Cvv or the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board's SASBA taxonomy https://lnkd.in/eTqcHFY6.
- 📦 Collect data from suppliers using questionnaires.
- 🚀 Focus on measuring factors most material to your organisation's long term sustainability.
For any help with the above please do get in contact using Alanna@eqonic.com
I'm Alanna and I work for Eqonic Sustainability which provides sustainable consulting, project management, batteries and solar panels.
