Why it makes perfect business sense to tackle climate change together

By Samantha Barber - CEO, SBC
Scotsman - Green Business Supplement June 19, 2008

19 June 2008

There are two very good reasons why businesses are rising to the challenge of climate change. Firstly, they have to. We all have to face up to the fact that our climate is changing, that we are individually and collectively responsible for these changes and that we all have to do something about it. The May Day Network, a movement of businesses committed to working together to tackle climate change, is called May Day because climate change is our planets’ distress call. 

A survey carried out at the recent May Day Business Summit on Climate Change, hosted by Scottish Business in the Community (SBC), revealed that all the companies present understood climate change and 65% believe that the Scottish Governments ambitious carbon reduction target is achievable. Attendees were asked to make pledges to start to tackle their company’s emissions and over 300 pledges have been made by the 112 companies signed up to the Network in Scotland.

This makes good business sense. Reduced emissions lead to reduced costs and can have benefits around a business’ reputation, both internally and externally. It can be seen as the ‘triple bottom line’ principle put into practice – it benefits people, the planet and profit.

Of course, recognising the business benefits is not the same as actually doing it. For many businesses, especially smaller ones, knowing where to start on a carbon reduction strategy that will require long term and indefinite commitment, can be mind-bogglingly difficult.

Thankfully there are lots of sources of help for Scottish businesses of all size and the May Day Network can assist companies find what’s right for them. Organisations such as Carbon Trust Scotland, Envirowise, or the Energy Saving Trust Scotland can all help businesses tackle their emissions by carrying out an energy audit and offering expert advice.

One of the pledges companies can make as part of the May Day Network is to measure and report their carbon footprint. For some companies this is the right place to start. According to the Carbon Trust, the term ‘carbon footprint’ is “the total amount of CO² and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for which an individual or organisation is responsible.”  Sources of CO² emissions can include a business’ processes, electricity use, or the transport used by its employees. By measuring a business’ carbon footprint its emissions can be benchmarked, relevant targets set and actions can be taken to improve its impact.

But this is only one pledge and it is not necessarily the right one for all companies. Business shouldn’t get too bogged down by the idea of their carbon footprint. For smaller companies measuring their footprint would be simply too costly and time consuming – instead they should be looking at an energy audit as a useful starting point. Once they know what their energy use, transport costs etc, they can benchmark against this figure and begin to reduce it – saving money and improving their environmental impact at the same time.

But there is another important source of help for companies and that lies within the business community itself. The idea of collaboration might initially appear to be un-businesslike (business being by nature competitive) but on the question of climate change businesses really are willing to share information and work together. The May Day Network allows businesses to tap into the knowledge and experience of other companies and will, long term, build a momentum that will only increase action and impact. Collectively we’re responsible for climate change, and collectively we must tackle it.