As a business leader, you’ll probably agree that there seems to be an ever-growing need to showcase your green credentials.
Questions about your sustainability practices seem to be cropping up everywhere, in tender requirements, partnership agreements, any form of award application, even when you’re interviewing prospective employees. Parties all around you are asking for you to prove your commitment to a brighter future. So, what should you showcase? How do you prove it’s legitimate? And what more can you do to improve your current carbon situation?
The world of sustainability can be a complex one, and thanks to plenty of cases of greenwashing over the past few years it can be difficult to trust. It’s all too easy for less-than-credible businesses to tell a white lie here or there in order to enhance their sustainability credentials… we’d certainly advise against such practices, they do way more harm than good, as explained in another article What Exactly is Greenwashing?
Instead focus on elements of your operation that can be backed up with data or documentation in real-time, or should the need arise. If you’ve moved to a greener energy tariff, shout about it, you have the contract comparison as verification. If you’ve adopted a print-free office initiative, make a big deal of how many reams of paper you’re saving on a monthly tally – showcase it in your staffroom and publicise it one your social channels. If you’re changing your lights to more efficient LED bulbs, document the process in a TikTok video for your audiences. Your customers, employees, partners and job applicants will appreciate and react to these updates, even if some of them do seem relatively minor – you’re contributing, and you’ll be seen in a better light for doing so.
Start consciously practicing sustainable procurement. Essentially this is where you do you background research on products and services available to your business in order to carry forward their sustainability record, or enhance yours by considering elements such as locality, etc. Sustainable procurement can provide some very quick wins when it comes to improving your green stats.
Consider adopting green energy technology that provides real-time and cumulative data and reporting. A GLC commercial solar array comes with a handy app whereby you can monitor energy generation instantly when you need it. On bright days our clients have used screen shots of this to illuminate the huge carbon savings by their business.
To cater to more in-depth requests – those that seek specific, quantitative data regarding your efforts, we’d recommend engaging a specialist carbon reduction organisation (such as ourselves) who may be able to certify or accredit your efforts. Our Carbon Conscious and Carbon Neutral watermarks are awarded when you undertake a GLC carbon reduction journey via carbon audit. Within the process we’ll assess your carbon output in relation to 3 scopes that include direct and indirect emissions. Once we know what figure we’re working with we can tailor a manageable plan that you can implement to bring down your carbon footprint. You’ll be surprised just how quickly you’ll see results and you’ll receive regular stats and updates that you can happily and confidently share with necessary audiences.
As we move closer to the UK Government’s goal of net-zero country by 2050, more and more pressure will be on businesses to prove and showcase their climate commitment in stats, fact and figures. Our advice would be to get ahead of the rush, by the time they’re forced to catch up you’ll be well versed and can stand clearly ahead of your competitors. In the short term, showcasing your commitment to a healthy environment for future generations will put you in a great light with your customers, clients and your entire supply chain.
To find out more about bolstering and showcasing your sustainability credentials drop us and email: info@golowcarbon.co.uk or give us a call, we’d love to chat with you: 01228 830850
