The green genies

As consumers and householders we can all make sure we recycle our waste, buy local produce in local shops, use energy-efficient light bulbs – the list, as you know, goes on. But aside from recycling the odd bit of loose paper cluttering your desk, how much consideration do you give to how your workplace affects the environment?

IWR scouted around for guidance on how organisations can make a positive contribution to the environment – or at least engage in some damage limitation.

The web is a natural place to begin, with several UK-based organisations and government agencies offering a wealth of advice, information and tools to help turn your organisation into a greener business.

The Carbon Trust , for example, is an independent company set up and funded by various government agencies such as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It works with both businesses and public sector organisations to reduce carbon emissions and maximise the financial potential of low-carbon technologies.

Claire Norris, head of corporate development at the Carbon Trust, explains why it is particularly urgent for organisations to adopt greener policies, especially now: “Businesses account for more than 40% of UK carbon emissions and therefore have a real opportunity to reduce the UK’s carbon footprint.”

In terms of how effective the implementation of green measures has been, Norris says: “Last year alone, the Carbon Trust helped organisations of all sizes identify four million tonnes of carbon dioxide savings, with potential annual savings of £390m.”

Whether or not these potential savings were achieved is, of course, another matter.

With plenty of easy-to-understand and accessible information available on the Carbon Trust’s website, you may want to start with a PDF copy of the trust’s Maximising Energy Savings in an Office Environment booklet. This explains how office-dwellers can become more efficient by changing lighting, heating and air-conditioning materials and habits as well as undertaking a more significant improvement in a building’s material fabric.

Powerful arguments
There are also some useful snippets of advice for businesses. Did you know that enhanced capital allowances (ECAs) permit organisations to buy energy-efficient equipment using a 100% tax allowance and then claim this back as part of the investment value of the product? Or that an organisation with energy bills in excess of £50,000 can get an energy survey from the Carbon Trust? Smaller companies may even qualify for an energy-efficiency loan.

While working with dedicated environmental consultants is probably the most realistic option for an organisation, especially if it’s of any considerable size, these resources are an invaluable starting point and a glimpse into what is needed to become a greener business including the difficulties as well as the benefits.

Norris says that the “tracking of energy – and thereby carbon – emissions is a common challenge clients initially face if looking to manage their environmental impacts”. In pointing out that such challenges depend on the type of business as well as its size, she highlights that large organisations – with energy bills to match – have traditionally explored ways to maximise energy efficiencies, if not for the environmental impact, then at least to cut their costs.

“Companies for which energy is a high proportion of their cost base have always managed energy efficiency at a senior level. These include pulp and paper, glass, cement and steel manufacturers.”

Having worked with a number of businesses and public sector organisations, the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management (ECCM) has a wealth of useful information for your organisation. The ECCM has advised oil giant BP on measuring carbon baselines in conjunction with the Scottish Forest Alliance and has also worked with government departments such as Defra and the Department for International Development on developing environmental policies.

As an environmental consultancy, the ECCM offers advice to organisations looking to manage their carbon output more effectively. It explains how to find the right balance between financial and environmental responsibilities, and even has a downloadable Excel-based self-assessment tool to measure an organisation’s environmental impact.

Enter information into each cell as required and ECCM’s simple tool will tot up your company’s environmental carbon impact. But be warned: some of the questions will test your information-gathering skills and require input from more than one person in your organisation – everyone from your office’s facilities manager to your corporate communications department confirming what environmental message is circulated among your employees. Nonetheless, the tool will give you an insight into the factors your organisation will need to consider to go greener.

ECCM technical director Richard Tipper explains the initial processes an organisation should undertake to adopt best green practice and what information is required: “The place to start is by assessing what your main impacts are, regulatory risks, etc. There are a lot of good consultants and advisors who can help.

“The most important people to talk to are your customers, investors and staff. If you manufacture transistors, there’s probably not much point in trying to position yourself like the Innocent Fruit Company.”

Some organisations could be forgiven for wanting to hold back until mandatory legislation is enacted. After all, wouldn’t it make more business sense for an organisation to wait until it has to become more environmentally friendly rather than acting proactively?

However, Tipper sees some advantages in going green sooner rather than later, depending on whether your organisation wants to be seen as a follower or a leader in this area.

“There may be dangers in jumping too soon – for example, incurring additional costs or unreliable technology – but there are also costs in being late, by playing catch-up and risking being viewed as a laggard,” he warns. “Good information is vital. It is also important to understand the timescale required to implement things within organisations, which in our experience is often not very quick.”

Business information vendors and market analysts have a wealth of stories at their fingertips that you may need to use as a case analysis for making an early move to be greener.

The green gauntlet
So what are some of the more significant challenges to be expected?

Allaying fears of a cost hike or hit on company profits or departmental budgets is not unreasonable, while getting buy-in from colleagues as well as senior management should also be considered.

“We take the view that if a client cannot understand information that we provide, then we are doing something wrong,” says Tipper. “One of the main reasons for using external professionals such as ECCM is to get information that makes sense and enables rational decision-making. An important part of our job is to make sure the client asks the right questions. It always helps to know why you want the information.”

Take Blackwell Publishing, which in 2006 became the first publisher to achieve carbon neutrality. By working with the CarbonNeutral Company – an organisation that assists businesses in offsetting their carbon impact and determining their carbon footprint – the publisher looked at what elements of its business imposed a significant environmental toll, such as travel and haulage, energy usage, waste generation and various other elements of the company’s carbon dioxide output.

Following advice from CarbonNeutral, Blackwell set about implementing a number of projects ranging from investment in a rural solar energy project in India and Sri Lanka to making funds available for reforestation initiatives in one of Mexico’s poorest regions and the creation of a 1,600-acre woodland in Scotland.

While this commitment by big business to world ecology should be lauded, bear in mind a story recently covered in the Green Business News blog (see Green Advice) that examined the recently published findings of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Scientists, which suggested that while the prevention of deforestation and the promotion of reforestation (in certain tropical and subtropical climates) could limit carbon dioxide levels, “reforestation at higher latitudes could actually increase temperatures because tree canopies absorb more heat than snow or scrubland”.

Essentially, you need to ensure you have the correct information, identify what you want to achieve and get the buy-in from leaders in your organisation as well as your clients. Expert advice is probably going to be a must if your operation is of any significant size, but there is help for even the smallest company from the likes of the Carbon Trust.

These are going to be the key factors if you are hoping to become a genuine environmentally responsible business rather than simply paying lip service to the concept.

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