With the pressing need to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Holly Abbott–Cragg from the Corporate Commercial Department at Wake Smith Solicitors looks at how businesses can do their bit in the bid to tackle the world’s climate crisis.
Sustainability in the corporate world has been growing steadily over the last few years, albeit not as fast as political leaders, and of course, Mother Nature would have hoped.
Nevertheless, reducing our carbon footprint can not only be done individually, but also through certain small changes you can make to the way in which you run your business:
1. Greener commuting – encouraging employees to use public transport or even create incentives to bike to work is impactful. If your business is in a remote location or commutes are far, creating a ‘carpool’ or organising ‘leave your car at home’ days can reduce pollution and travel expenses.
2. Ban/reduce single use plastic – this can be done by encouraging the use of sustainable water bottles in the office or using products made by recycled materials.
3. Look at suppliers – switch up the suppliers you use to ensure goods are sourced and services are undertaken in a sustainable way.
4. Look at your appliances – can you swap old ones to those more energy efficient? It may be worth doing an energy check on your next items to see which ones are most beneficial in terms of low energy usage.
5. Reduce paper consumption – in many businesses, going completely paperless is a difficult proposition but, if you do have to print, keep it to a minimum.
The daily climate strikes that take place world-wide illustrate the pressing need to make this topic a core focus of mainstream business operations of all sizes. The Government has addressed this by creating its own policy paper as to their plans to improve the environment over the next 25 years.
There’s also a ‘Green Brexit’ strategy, which sets out the proposed environmental policies to be effective after Britain has left the EU. Both papers centre on ambitiously committing to reduce the UK’s Greenhouse Gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
Over the years, Wake Smith Solicitors has recognised the pertinence of having climate change on its agenda. It has executed various initiatives and incentives focussed on recycling, reducing vehicle use and making its supply chain greener.
Amongst other things, Wake Smith Solicitors use water machines and regularly upgrade its printers to ensure the firm is working as energy efficiently as possible. This is all regulated and monitored through their Procurement and Sustainability Policy, which staff are encouraged to support.
Last year, the firm came top in two categories for low carbon emissions in a national environmental survey.
It reported the lowest total carbon emissions and the lowest emissions per employee of the 59 nationwide firms that provided information to the Legal Sustainability Alliance (LSA) 2018 annual report.
The firm looked at its carbon footprint including the energy used to light, heat and run the offices, business travel, water and paper usage and the waste it generates.
Corporate enterprises can make a small, but crucial contribution to meet the Government’s targets.
The ‘Carbon Trust Green Business Fund’ offers ideas, advice and support to small and medium-sized businesses, with a view to improve their energy efficiency and saving on energy spends.
Customers are becoming increasing mindful and expectant of good environmental practice. As such, Directors at Wake Smith are confident that by frequently revising their policies and work practices, more ways can be found to make the firm more eco-friendly.
These practices can be mirrored by other businesses in the UK that are willing to minimise costs and go greener.
