Resources
Measure
your businesses carbon footprint and other environmental impacts
For more information and context for small businesses, visit the Zero Carbon Business (FSB & IEMA)
Sign up to find out more about the FSB small business sustainability hub
Join the SME Climate Hub
Explore the resources and tools from Zellar
Whether you are an individual or a business of any size, measure your Carbon Footprint and find out about carbon offsetting in your local area
For an SME carbon footprint calculator, try Carbon Trust and the benchmarking tool
For medium sized businesses, commit to Business Ambition for 1.5 degrees by joining the Science-based Target Initiative
For carbon reporting tools and more, visit WWF Emission Possible
To learn about certified environment management system standards for your business, see ISO14001
And for Energy Management system standards go to ISO50001
Useful carbon footprint guide and information on the scopes of your carbon footprint
Understand the Net-zero government strategy
Empowering small businesses on the journey to Net Zero, an FSB report
Small Business user guide: Guidance on how to measure and report your greenhouse gas emissions
UK Gov conversion factors spreadsheet to use when working out business carbon footprint
Greenhouse Gas Protocol provides the world’s most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards for companies.
Ensure that you consider the sustainability and the social impact of your business by considering how you contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Utilise an understanding of Carbon Footprints from the How Bad Are Bananas book by Mike Berners-Lee
Develop
your plan to reduce your negative impact
Use the Carbon Reduction Action Plan to help you develop your business’ strategy and enabling you to reduce your carbon emissions effectively.
Leicestershire grants for up to £3000 to help eligible community-based organisations – grants will only be available for projects where the main beneficiaries are residents of Leicestershire, excluding Leicester City.
Potential funding opportunities that might be relevant for your organisation from Community Energy England.
Potential funding opportunities that might be relevant for your organisation from Centre for Sustainable Energy
WWF Climate Action Plan Step by Step Guide
WWF Climate and environmental policy guidance document
Read the report: “Setting Climate Commitments for Leicester” The Tyndall Centre (February 2021)
Understand the Leicester and Leicestershire local climate strategies
Train and Engage
your staff to help implement your plan
Carbon Literacy Training for your workforce will provide a full day of learning for employees to better understand the climate emergency and develop meaningful plans to play their part in combatting climate change. This training is independently accredited by the Carbon Literacy Trust but delivered by various organisations, see the CLT website for details or contact Lorent Training for specific SME training in the East Midlands and surrounding areas.
Research if you could commit to becoming a Carbon Literate Organisation (CLO) and receiving an organisational accreditation from the Carbon Literacy Project
Completing and understanding your individual carbon footprint helps to put business actions into perspective, your staff could learn a lot from the WWF calculator.
More support and information can be seen within the two reports below:
Monitor and Communicate
your ambitions and progress. Excite your customers and inspire others
Consider making the SME climate commitment on the SME climate hub
A guide to using values to promote sustainable ways of doing business with SMEs, by Climate Outreach