Sustainability for businesses

Kiwi companies are increasingly taking action to improve their environmental impact – and telling the world about what they’re doing. As our awareness of climate change and other environmental issues has evolved, more and more companies are choosing to weave sustainability into their business strategy. Sustainability has shifted from being a business niche occupied by mainly eco-conscious companies, to now being seen as ‘table stakes’ in many industries. This of course, is better for the planet – and brings many other business benefits including improved brand value, customer and staff relationships, business resilience, and reduced costs through improved efficiency. Policy drives change across the business sector In New Zealand, a range of recent climate policies have made it more attractive to ‘go green’. For example, 200 of our largest companies will need to report their climate change progress publicly as part of new ‘mandatory disclosure’ regulations. This includes the greenhouse gas emissions associated with goods and services they purchase. If you are a smaller company supplying a large corporate – or if you want to win their business - there are real advantages in being able to show action on climate change. Many large companies are already taking strong climate action (e.g. members of the Climate Leaders Coalition) – and are already working to positively influence smaller businesses they work with. It’s not just corporates changing how they look at their supply chain: the Government’s carbon neutral programme is focused on considering the carbon footprint of suppliers to the public sector. If you’re a small business owner and want to become more sustainable, where should you start? Whether you run your company from a small studio or a large manufacturing site, all businesses have some impact on the environment, and have opportunities to improve their footprint. If you decide now is the right time to tackle sustainability, here are some ideas to get started. First: understand your impacts It is important that your sustainability efforts are genuine and thorough. This means investing time at the outset to really understand where you have the biggest impact, and making a plan to tackle those areas first. The term ‘greenwashing’ is used to describe those who talk about sustainability but are making only a token effort – or worse, trying to mask a negative impact by making a noise about something small that they’re doing well. Being perceived as greenwashing could damage your brand and customer relationships. Being authentic and able to show meaningful action, is important. At a basic level this will mean, you:  <ul> <li>Measure the right things (by examining what’s ‘material’ to your business).</li> <li>Plan to improve over time (setting targets and making someone accountable).</li> <li>Report on your progress (including being transparent about things you’re not doing so well).</li> <li>Embed plans into your other business processes – so you’re committed for the long term.</li> </ul> Your climate impact – carbon footprinting Start by measuring your carbon footprint. The saying ‘what gets measured, gets managed’ applies to your business emissions. When you are clear on your carbon footprint, you can start planning to improve it. For most small Kiwi businesses, their carbon footprint will come mostly from transport (e.g. driving, freight or air travel) and energy use (e.g. gas or electricity used to power your IT, lighting or heating). Companies that use a lot of fossil fuel (e.g. heavy transport, or manufacturing) will have higher emissions as a result. There are several online tools that will help you to measure your footprint using inputs like utility bills and fuel invoices. These tools apply an ‘emissions factor’ per litre of fuel or per unit of energy used, to translate your consumption into greenhouse gas emissions. Check out the <a href="https://www.tools.business.govt.nz/climate/guides/measure-your-carbon-footprint/" target="_blank">free carbon calculators available for businesses</a> as a start. When you want to audit or assure your footprint, there are tools to both measure and certify your emissions. Reducing your greenhouse gas emissions Knowing your carbon footprint is step one – the really important part is taking action to reduce it. This doesn’t necessarily mean cutting productivity or making large capital investments in new equipment straight away. Fuel efficiency and energy efficiency improvements are a great first step, and can often make a marked difference (to your business overheads as well as your carbon footprint!). As a guide, work to align your plan to the international ‘science based targets’ initiative. This ensures that the reductions you’re aiming for, will support the goals of the Paris Agreement (to limit global temperature rise to no more than 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels). This is the level that scientists agree will give the world the best chance of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. Becoming carbon neutral If you’re making great progress on cutting emissions, you may want to go further and become certified as carbon neutral. Companies that are officially ‘carbon zero’ or carbon neutral, are those that measure and verify their emissions, have a strong action plan to reduce them, and then offset the remainder through purchasing a reputable source of carbon credits. ‘Carbon zero’ status can only be achieved via formal certification – you cannot claim it without working through a verification scheme. And it can only come alongside, or after, you have a solid action plan underway to cut emissions. Be sure to check out ASB’s step-by-step guide to developing your sustainability strategy; and keep an eye out for upcoming profiles of companies gaining a competitive edge through sustainability. More information <ul> <li>Read about what some of New Zealand’s largest and most influential businesses are doing to reduce emissions: <a href="https://climateleaderscoalition.org.nz/" target="_blank">Climate Leaders Coalition | On a mission to reduce emissions in NZ</a></li> <li>What mandatory climate disclosure will mean for NZ companies: <a href="https://environment.govt.nz/what-government-is-doing/areas-of-work/climate-change/mandatory-climate-related-financial-disclosures/#:~:text=Organisations%20that%20would%20have%20to,of%20more%20than%20%241%20billion." target="_blank">Mandatory climate-related disclosures | Ministry for the Environment</a></li> <li>How the Government is reducing emissions in the public sector: <a href="https://environment.govt.nz/what-government-is-doing/areas-of-work/climate-change/carbon-neutral-government-programme/about-carbon-neutral-government-programme/" target="_blank">About the Carbon Neutral Government Programme | Ministry for the Environment</a></li> <li>Setting science-based targets: <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/how-it-works" target="_blank">How it works - Science Based Targets</a></li> </ul> Get Started Download our step-by-step guide and template to help you develop a high-quality sustainability strategy for your business.