The upside to the climate change challenge issue for business is all about innovation

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BEYOND CARBON NEUTRAL

The first step in embarking on a sustainable approach to your business is to determine your ‘carbon footprint’ – a term used to describe the measurement of the impact human activities have on the environment. This is done by calculating the quantity of greenhouse gases your business produces. Questions to consider include how much energy the business uses; how much waste it produces; and what its level of water consumption is.

Companies need to encourage behavioural change in the push to become carbon neutral. Businesses can’t continue to do exactly what they have done in the past and simply purchase carbon offsets at the end of the year. Instead, organisations should first aim to reduce their emissions, purchase renewable energy, and only buy offsets as a last step.

“My advice to other companies in the SME sector is to accept that customers may tolerate organisations which don’t reduce their carbon footprint or practise sustainable activities, but the time when they will demand it will come very soon,” says Guest. “Therefore this is an opportunity for the SME sector to take a stand and to create a point of difference in the market.”

REDUCING YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

Map out where your staff live in relation to your company’s location, the means of travel they use to commute and how long it takes. How does this affect your company’s carbon footprint? How much will it change if staff worked from home one day a week, a fortnight, a month?

• Outsource work to suppliers who practise similar sustainable business practices. Often people who work from home create
  a small carbon footprint.
• Consider new ways to reduce consumption of energy resources such as gas, electricity and air conditioning. For example, retailers can reduce demands on store lighting and air conditioning.
• Download software. Store-bought computer software often includes packaging, CDs and plastic, which are not biodegradable.
  

For more information on how to reduce the carbon footprint of your business visit www.originenergy.com.au.