What can my Company do to Reduce its Carbon Emissions?

by ClimateSeed

4 min read

August 25, 2022 at 4:34 PM

5:08

Table of contents

1. Measure your carbon footprint to determine levels of carbon emissions

2. Have sustainable suppliers

3. Create a policy for business travel

4. Educate and encourage employees to follow sustainable practices

5. Reduce waste

6. Extend usage of digital products

7. Reduce energy consumption

8. Invest in renewable energy

Climate change awareness has become more prominent with the rising temperatures and extreme climate events taking place across the world. As we become more aware of these events, it's obvious that changes need to be made in our daily lifestyle practices to positively influence the environment. It can be overwhelming to make changes to our lifestyle, especially when we are not sure how to implement these new habits.

For businesses, this could be an opportunity to re-evaluate their current activities, commit to a robust sustainability strategy, and improve their reputation. A decarbonization strategy can be challenging to start, but here are some steps that can help businesses on their journey toward transition:

1. Measure your Carbon Footprint to Determine Levels of Carbon Emissions

There are many reasons why it is beneficial to measure your carbon footprint. A carbon footprint assessment allows your company to understand the most intensive drivers of carbon emissions in your business activity. This will help you prioritize and plan your reduction strategy accordingly. Measuring carbon footprints also forces companies to account for data that is not purely financial. Not only will this help you to understand where inefficiencies are in your business, but will also contribute to implementing cost-saving measures.

2. Have Sustainable Suppliers

One of the things you will probably notice from a carbon footprint assessment is that you have to collect different data from various suppliers.

This allows you to engage with your suppliers and understand the carbon impact of the goods you purchase. Here you can motivate your suppliers to adopt carbon reduction strategies and in turn, contribute to creating a list of sustainable suppliers.

3. Create a Policy for Business Travel

While this may seem simple in practice, it is often difficult for businesses to make final decisions on when travel is necessary. A travel policy will set boundaries and ease the decision-making process.

Potential recommendations include:

Limiting the number of flights an employee can take a year,
Banning air travel that is less than 2 or 3 hours of travel time,
Favoring train travel, and hosting virtual meetings in place of physical events.

4. Educate and Encourage Employees to follow Sustainable Practices

Creating an environment that promotes carbon emission reduction shows commitment as people become increasingly more environmentally conscious.

Putting in place workshops or resources to help employees understand how they can reduce their carbon emissions could also be very beneficial. Other incentive methods can be subsidizing public transportation costs, encouraging ride-sharing, or carpooling to work.

5. Reduce Waste

Implement waste reduction practices within the office to decrease the amount of garbage entering landfills. This can be done by; ensuring there is a proper recycling program in place, starting a green team to conduct annual waste audits, recycling electronic equipment, going paperless, and banning plastic bottles.

As well as, encouraging litter-less lunches, and working with suppliers to ensure packaging is composed of recycled materials³.

6. Extend Usage of Digital Products

As technology is integral to running businesses, an effective method of controlling carbon emissions is ensuring that your technology is sustainable. In France, 99% of a smartphone’s carbon footprint is linked to its production and transport to France¹.

Next time, when replacing electronic equipment, opt to repair your existing device or purchase second-hand digital goods.

7. Reduce Energy Consumption

There are many ways in which your company can reduce its overall energy consumption levels. By ensuring the lights are off during the evening, devices are unplugged when they're not in use, and implementing energy-efficient solutions.

For example, motion-sensor lighting, and temperature regulating systems. This practice ensures that the office space is not over-air-conditioned during summer or overheating during the winter.

8. Invest in Renewable Energy

Another controllable and effective solution is to look at the office energy supply and transition to renewable energy sources. There are various suppliers, such as ekWateur and Enercoop that provide 100% renewable energy solutions². By significantly reducing the amount of fossil fuels used, you can decrease your overall carbon emissions.

For more tips on how to reduce your environmental impact, check out our blog: "Sustainable Fashion: How to Reduce your Environmental Impact".

These are just a few recommendations a company can follow to reduce its environmental impact. Contact ClimateSeed to structure a detailed strategy.

Q&A

Companies should address climate change due to their significant impact on global greenhouse gas emissions. Acting on climate change demonstrates corporate responsibility and aligns with investor and consumer demands for sustainability. Stakeholders use ESG ratings, certifications like EcoVadis and CDP Climate Change, and standards such as SBTi to evaluate companies. Regulatory bodies are also tightening emissions and sustainability reporting requirements. By adopting sustainable practices, companies not only comply with regulations but also seize new market opportunities, boost innovation, enhance their reputation, and foster customer loyalty.

To get started on your organization's carbon footprint, follow these key steps:

Define the scope: Identify the activities, sites and sources of emissions to be included in the carbon footprint.

Collect data: Gather data on energy consumption, vehicle emissions, raw material consumption, etc.

Calculate emissions: Use specific emissions factors to convert consumption data into CO₂ emissions.

Analyze results: Evaluate major emissions items and identify reduction opportunities.

Plan actions: Develop an emissions reduction strategy based on the analysis.

Implement and monitor: Implement reduction measures and monitor their effectiveness over time.

It is advisable to call on the expertise of a specialist service provider such as ClimateSeed to measure your carbon footprint accurately and to benefit from advice tailored to your sector and your specific requirements. Please contact us for further details.