How can SMEs (small & medium-sized enterprises) like yours help to shift the UK economy towards #netzero by 2050?
This is a question asked a little while ago by Beverley Cornaby, Senior Programme Manager in the Policy Team at Cambridge University's Institute for Sustainability Leadership, in an article from where some of the statistics below derive (note: these are all pre-Covid figures).
First, note this: 99.9% of all British businesses are classed as SMEs covering all sectors of the economy.
So, SME's are British business! On this definition, SME doesn't seem a particularly useful term. We use it, however, precisely because most of us do in fact work for, with or in SMEs. It's useful, because its ubiquitous.
Around 5.82 million SMEs have fewer than 49 employees. And SMEs employ 16.6 million people meaning they represent around 25% of the UK population – which is a significant proportion, and so makes a big contribution to the UK's carbon footprint.
Business and industry account for 25 per cent of UK territorial emissions (source: BEIS), with just under half of these emissions from SMEs.
It is therefore plain that if "we are to shift the whole economy towards net zero emissions, SMEs therefore have a vital role to play."
As we have noted before, through the UK Business Climate Hub, UK SMEs with less than 500 employees, can sign the ‘SME Climate Commitment’ to:
Halve greenhouse gas emissions before 2030
Achieve net zero emissions before 2050
Disclose progress on a yearly basis
But businesses need to baseline their current emissions to enable them to get on track to reduce carbon output, whilst continuing to grow and thrive as businesses.
Businesses need to know where they are to know where they are going.
An audit, a baseline and a CarbonNow report which includes bespoke recommendations to reduce your business emissions... that's the ABC of carbon reduction.
Get in touch today to begin your journey to #netzero.