Simple & low-cost ways to reduce carbon emissions
There are many simple and cost-effective ways that SMEs can improve their carbon footprint. Here are a few ideas:
Buildings & Utilities
- Start a switch off campaign: A Switch-Off Campaign is a great and easy way to reduce energy consumption and raise awareness of energy efficiency among staff. We’re all guilty of leaving chargers, appliances, and lights on overnight but small behavioural changes can make a big difference. For example, switching computers off at night and at weekends can reduce their energy consumption by 75% per year.
- Install a smart meter: Smart meters provide you with accurate and real-time data on your gas and electricity usage – showing you exactly how much energy you are using and what it’s costing you. They are a great first step because once you know how much energy you are using it’s much easier to set targets to reduce your consumption. In the UK most SMEs and micro-businesses are covered by the smart meter rollout which means you could be eligible for a free smart meter. Use the Smart Energy GB Website to ask for your smart meter or find out from your supplier if you’re eligible.
- Install motion sensor lights: Motion sensor lights are designed to turn on when they detect movement within a certain range, and then turn off again when they no longer detect movement. They are a great option for ensuring that lights are not left on in unoccupied rooms. Motion sensor lights are most effective in areas that are not constantly occupied, have irregular usage patterns, or where occupancy may be unpredictable. For example, conference rooms, bathrooms and changing rooms, storage areas and corridors. If an entire workplace system is too expensive you can get started by changing traditional light switches to motion sensor models. These can be brought for around £20 to £50 and are simple to install.
Employee Commuting
- Introduce a lift-share scheme: Initiating a simple lift share scheme can help reduce the number of cars on the road. This can be done easily through a GoogleDoc or with tailored software. Employees just need to know who else commutes from the same area and who they could potentially share lifts with.
- Introduce a Cycle to Work Scheme: Support your employees to cycle to work through the UK Government backed Cycle2Work Scheme. Under the scheme, employees can purchase a bike through their employer tax-free and pay for it monthly through a salary sacrifice arrangement. In some cases, employees can save up to 50% on a new bike. By encouraging more staff to cycle into work, SMEs can reduce their carbon footprint and contribute towards improving the physical and mental health of their staff.
Travel & Transportation
- Encourage the use of public transport: Opting for public transport over cars is an important step in reducing carbon emissions related to transport. You could help facilitate this by providing staff with incentives to use public transport over cars, such as corporate oyster cards.
- Join a car club: Car clubs are pay-as-you-go car rental services that provide access to local vehicles on a short-term basis. They offer a sustainable alternative to owning private cars and can be a convenient option when public transport is not possible (Zipcars in London are an example of this). The average car club vehicle is newer and more fuel efficient than the average privately owned car, and many are now also electric.
Homeworking
- Switch off campaign for homeworkers: Encourage staff to start their own Switch-Off Campaign at home. At home as well as in the office, leaving laptops and computers on standby, leaving devices plugged-in and leaving lights on all use unnecessary energy.
Water
- Attach tap aerators: These little devices are easy to attach to the end of taps and cost as little as £3. Tap aerators mix air into the waste to reduce your water usage.
- Install a water fountain: A water fountain provides employees with access to instant cold water which means they don’t have to run the tap and wait for the water to cool down (which leads to a lot of wasted water).
Waste
- Encourage litter-less lunches: You could try encouraging staff to reduce the amount of waste they create with a literless lunches campaign. A good way to help staff achieve this goals is to provide them with reusable cups and Tupperware.
- Go paperless: A great way to reduce the amount of waste you produce in the office is to go paperless. For example, this means you cut down on the amount of paper used by opting for emails over letters and replacing paper copies with cloud-based storage.
By implementing just a few of these low-cost and easy actions, SMEs can have a significant impact on their carbon footprint and save money in the process.
Simple & low-cost ways to reduce carbon emissions
There are many simple and cost-effective ways that SMEs can improve their carbon footprint. Here are a few ideas:
Buildings & Utilities
- Start a switch off campaign: A Switch-Off Campaign is a great and easy way to reduce energy consumption and raise awareness of energy efficiency among staff. We’re all guilty of leaving chargers, appliances, and lights on overnight but small behavioural changes can make a big difference. For example, switching computers off at night and at weekends can reduce their energy consumption by 75% per year.
- Install a smart meter: Smart meters provide you with accurate and real-time data on your gas and electricity usage – showing you exactly how much energy you are using and what it’s costing you. They are a great first step because once you know how much energy you are using it’s much easier to set targets to reduce your consumption. In the UK most SMEs and micro-businesses are covered by the smart meter rollout which means you could be eligible for a free smart meter. Use the Smart Energy GB Website to ask for your smart meter or find out from your supplier if you’re eligible.
- Install motion sensor lights: Motion sensor lights are designed to turn on when they detect movement within a certain range, and then turn off again when they no longer detect movement. They are a great option for ensuring that lights are not left on in unoccupied rooms. Motion sensor lights are most effective in areas that are not constantly occupied, have irregular usage patterns, or where occupancy may be unpredictable. For example, conference rooms, bathrooms and changing rooms, storage areas and corridors. If an entire workplace system is too expensive you can get started by changing traditional light switches to motion sensor models. These can be brought for around £20 to £50 and are simple to install.
Employee Commuting
- Introduce a lift-share scheme: Initiating a simple lift share scheme can help reduce the number of cars on the road. This can be done easily through a GoogleDoc or with tailored software. Employees just need to know who else commutes from the same area and who they could potentially share lifts with.
- Introduce a Cycle to Work Scheme: Support your employees to cycle to work through the UK Government backed Cycle2Work Scheme. Under the scheme, employees can purchase a bike through their employer tax-free and pay for it monthly through a salary sacrifice arrangement. In some cases, employees can save up to 50% on a new bike. By encouraging more staff to cycle into work, SMEs can reduce their carbon footprint and contribute towards improving the physical and mental health of their staff.
Travel & Transportation
- Encourage the use of public transport: Opting for public transport over cars is an important step in reducing carbon emissions related to transport. You could help facilitate this by providing staff with incentives to use public transport over cars, such as corporate oyster cards.
- Join a car club: Car clubs are pay-as-you-go car rental services that provide access to local vehicles on a short-term basis. They offer a sustainable alternative to owning private cars and can be a convenient option when public transport is not possible (Zipcars in London are an example of this). The average car club vehicle is newer and more fuel efficient than the average privately owned car, and many are now also electric.
Homeworking
- Switch off campaign for homeworkers: Encourage staff to start their own Switch-Off Campaign at home. At home as well as in the office, leaving laptops and computers on standby, leaving devices plugged-in and leaving lights on all use unnecessary energy.
Water
- Attach tap aerators: These little devices are easy to attach to the end of taps and cost as little as £3. Tap aerators mix air into the waste to reduce your water usage.
- Install a water fountain: A water fountain provides employees with access to instant cold water which means they don’t have to run the tap and wait for the water to cool down (which leads to a lot of wasted water).
Waste
- Encourage litter-less lunches: You could try encouraging staff to reduce the amount of waste they create with a literless lunches campaign. A good way to help staff achieve this goals is to provide them with reusable cups and Tupperware.
- Go paperless: A great way to reduce the amount of waste you produce in the office is to go paperless. For example, this means you cut down on the amount of paper used by opting for emails over letters and replacing paper copies with cloud-based storage.
By implementing just a few of these low-cost and easy actions, SMEs can have a significant impact on their carbon footprint and save money in the process.