Fran Ellington, Business Development director and ESG lead at Triple Bottom Line Accounting, led a very well attended webinar for the Norfolk Network on Thursday 15th July to highlight the essential part that SME businesses must play in the “Race to Net Zero”.
The image above was created at the beginning of the session and illustrates the emotions felt by the delegates at the start of the session. Despite sharing some startling facts on how little time we have left to mitigate and adapt to climate change, we hope that the positive actions discussed reduced this “climate anxiety” and provided some room for cautious optimism by the end of the session.
Fran explained that UK Business and Industry are responsible for 25% of UK emissions. SMEs make up 99% of our 5.87 million enterprises, 60% of our 16.6. million employees, 52% of our £2.2 trillion revenue, and just under half of the UK Business and industry emissions. (Source UN climate change conference: UK 2021). Therefore, our collective action can make a big difference in a short space of time.
Triple Bottom Line Accounting was used as a case study to explain how the accountancy practice was able to measure and improve its environmental impact and set targets involving the whole TBLA team in co-creating an action plan to halve the company’s emissions by 2030 at the latest. We offer the same service to our clients. You can find out more on our website: Triple Bottom Line and Maple Cone Environmental and Social Impact Narratives service.
Fran emphasised the power of the narrative to inspire and engage all stakeholders, including employees, coworking employers, clients, suppliers, and the community. “Our collective consciousness is gradually altered by climate debates and movements” (Steven Stone, UNFCCC environmental economist)
This interactive webinar covered:
- What is meant by terms such as Net Zero, Zero emissions, Carbon Neutral, CO2 and CO2e
- Which greenhouse gases are the worst for global warming and why.
- How to measure your business emissions for free or seek help from a growing number of consultants.
- How to make a climate commitment with actionable targets for reducing emissions each year between now and 2030.
The webinar started with some polls to gauge how informed the delegates were on the issues and which areas needed more explanation.
You can watch the recording of the session here.
We can help you start this journey with some simple environmental impact measurements, advice on how to write and communicate your impact narratives and we facilitate team workshops to help your team agree on targets and actions to reduce your business emissions as soon as possible.
Details of our ESG services can be found here.
Contact ">Fran for more information.
Peter Ellington is the Founder of Triple Bottom Line Accounting. He has a Doctorate in Education and campaigns for social and environmental justice.
