Shifting to a truly sustainable business model can, understandably, feel like a mammoth undertaking, with many small and medium enterprise (SME) owners stumped on where to even start. However, the good news is there are some small steps you can take that can result in a big impact. From switching energy suppliers and rethinking travel policies, to changing pension plans and incentivising staff, there’s a huge array of updates you can make to improve the climate footprint of your business – and attract more investment along the way. We spoke to some experts in the field to highlight the most actionable steps …
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” says Paolo Taticchi, professor of strategy and sustainability at the UCL School of Management. “SME owners need to comprehensively assess the carbon footprint of their organisation in order to begin tackling it.” Luckily there are free tools – such as those provided by Carbon Trust and Normative – that will help you calculate your organisation’s emissions. Once you have a handle on how much of an impact your business is having and where your opportunities to improve things lie, you can set realistic targets. Just remember, when it comes to aiming for investment, this means sticking to industry standard figures.
