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How can I build a Carbon Negative Business?
What is a carbon negative business ?
From the fuel emitted from your company car to the production of the paper being shredded in your office, these things create greenhouse gasses, and across a business large or small, it all adds up. Being a carbon negative business means not only offsetting the carbon your own company creates but going the extra mile to actively reduce the net total of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
From the fuel emitted from your company car to the production of the paper being shredded in your office, these things create greenhouse gasses, and across a business large or small, it all adds up. Being a carbon negative business means not only offsetting the carbon your own company creates but going the extra mile to actively reduce the net total of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
As a business, it is becoming increasingly necessary to be aware of your impact on the environment. We understand time can’t be reversed and appreciate those who are adapting to a better future. Reforestation and tree planting activities, as established by the corporations outlined, is an effective way of doing this. Tree planting is needed to reverse the current trends of rising greenhouse gas emissions caused by the use of fossil fuels and forest destruction. To learn more about the need for tree planting – check out our article:
What are the climate risks for business ?
Climate Change Committee, the climate advisory group, identified the following risks for the business sector in the next five years.
• Flooding and extreme weather events
• Knowledge gap of climate change especially for SMEs
• Higher costs of finance and insurance
• Disruptions to supply chain and network distributions
• Reducing employees’ productivity due to extreme weather
Should going green be a priority for a business?
Whether your reasons are moral or strategic, there is no doubt going green is a good business decision. Becoming carbon negative takes time, however many large corporations are working towards a greener future:
What are the advantages of a carbon negative business?
In a survey of 30,000 consumers from around the world, sixty-six percent of consumers (77 percent among Millennial consumers) said they are willing to pay more for sustainable brands. And that number has been growing year on year. Customers respond well to companies who are reliable and ethical. Another study found 91% [of consumers] say they are likely to switch brands to one that supports a good cause, given similar price and quality, and with climate change becoming more and more of a publicised and urgent issue, people are increasingly seeing the importance of charities and non-profits who are trying to change this. With this in mind, growing your environmental credentials is a worthwhile financial investment. Making a business greener can be a relatively low cost compared with the profits gained from doing so.
There is also evidence to suggest employees who work for ethical companies do more work. A study of environmental standards and labour productivity found a 16% boost in employee productivity in firms that had voluntarily adopted sustainable practices. Being an environmentally conscious company can also reduce staff turnover and keep valued and knowledgeable employees in their roles for longer. Small Businesses explains ‘Going green doesn’t only foster positive feelings from customers. Employees feel safer working for green businesses. Involving workers in company-wide green initiatives boosts morale. Employees feel that their health is cared for and they aren’t simply expendable commodities.’
Many carbon offsetting programs offer a carbon calculator to work out exactly how many trees you would need to plant in order to make up for the impact made, however these calculators take different emission-causing activities into account, resulting in varying figures. In addition, these calculators often don’t account for the number of planted trees that die or even that businesses’ emissions will change as they expand and adapt. That’s why we don’t just aim for carbon neutral – our aim is to make businesses carbon negative to allow your business flexibility to grow and change while still ensuring all of your emissions are offset.
At Become Carbon Negative, we understand not all businesses have established ways to help the environment. By becoming a partner, you give back to the environment instantly through tree planting activities, increasing your sustainability credentials. As a non-profit we are always grateful for assistance, the benefits include:
Climate Change Committee, the climate advisory group, identified the following risks for the business sector in the next five years.
• Flooding and extreme weather events
• Knowledge gap of climate change especially for SMEs
• Higher costs of finance and insurance
• Disruptions to supply chain and network distributions
• Reducing employees’ productivity due to extreme weather
Should going green be a priority for a business?
Whether your reasons are moral or strategic, there is no doubt going green is a good business decision. Becoming carbon negative takes time, however many large corporations are working towards a greener future:
- Google have been carbon neutral since 2007, by matching 100% of their energy consumption with renewable energy sources. They intend to be carbon negative in 2030 with continued efforts of sustainability bonds and reforestation.
- Microsoft aim to become carbon negative by 2030, and remove their historical carbon emissions by 2050. As an organisation, they have completed a detailed plan on how this is possible, including electrifying their global campus operations fleet.
- Marks and Spencer achieved their carbon neutral status in 2014, and are further working towards reducing their operations emissions. They currently aim to operate through low carbon technologies and causing zero deforestation for ingredients such as palm oil and soy for their own brand products.
What are the advantages of a carbon negative business?
In a survey of 30,000 consumers from around the world, sixty-six percent of consumers (77 percent among Millennial consumers) said they are willing to pay more for sustainable brands. And that number has been growing year on year. Customers respond well to companies who are reliable and ethical. Another study found 91% [of consumers] say they are likely to switch brands to one that supports a good cause, given similar price and quality, and with climate change becoming more and more of a publicised and urgent issue, people are increasingly seeing the importance of charities and non-profits who are trying to change this. With this in mind, growing your environmental credentials is a worthwhile financial investment. Making a business greener can be a relatively low cost compared with the profits gained from doing so.
There is also evidence to suggest employees who work for ethical companies do more work. A study of environmental standards and labour productivity found a 16% boost in employee productivity in firms that had voluntarily adopted sustainable practices. Being an environmentally conscious company can also reduce staff turnover and keep valued and knowledgeable employees in their roles for longer. Small Businesses explains ‘Going green doesn’t only foster positive feelings from customers. Employees feel safer working for green businesses. Involving workers in company-wide green initiatives boosts morale. Employees feel that their health is cared for and they aren’t simply expendable commodities.’
Many carbon offsetting programs offer a carbon calculator to work out exactly how many trees you would need to plant in order to make up for the impact made, however these calculators take different emission-causing activities into account, resulting in varying figures. In addition, these calculators often don’t account for the number of planted trees that die or even that businesses’ emissions will change as they expand and adapt. That’s why we don’t just aim for carbon neutral – our aim is to make businesses carbon negative to allow your business flexibility to grow and change while still ensuring all of your emissions are offset.
At Become Carbon Negative, we understand not all businesses have established ways to help the environment. By becoming a partner, you give back to the environment instantly through tree planting activities, increasing your sustainability credentials. As a non-profit we are always grateful for assistance, the benefits include:
- Increase your sustainability credentials.
- Give your customers, employees or community another good reason to be part of your business.
- Use of our exclusive carbon offsetting logo to display on your website, social media channels & correspondence.
- A features article about our partnership published on our website.
- Partnership certificate customised for your organisation.
- Social media outreach, publicising your organisation.
Our partnership allows you to demonstrate your commitment to the planet. This is one of the easiest ways to reduce your impact on the environment because by embarking on a continual tree-planting project you will compensate over and above your needs. Using this system means you don’t need to change anything about your business – a simple donation is all it takes and our teams will do the hard work for you. You have the choice to offset the carbon impact of your whole business or simply certain products and services. This is often an appealing choice for customers who want to buy a product without causing harm to the environment. Having your business shared on social media and our website is also great advertising and will create traction from customers that otherwise may not have had the chance to find out about your ethical company.
By forming a partnership and planting trees with us, you’ll help fight climate change, help put a stop to the ecological crisis, and make a difference for our future. You will give your business the best chance of growth, keep your employees satisfied and your customers loyal.
By forming a partnership and planting trees with us, you’ll help fight climate change, help put a stop to the ecological crisis, and make a difference for our future. You will give your business the best chance of growth, keep your employees satisfied and your customers loyal.
