The pace of global warming is increasing at an alarming rate, as highlighted in the latest WMO report. With a national goal of reducing all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025, UK Net Zero Awareness Week discusses the importance of eliminating climate change, raising awareness, and addressing some of the common issues faced by UK businesses.
Put simply, Net Zero means improving life and giving back to our environment. As quoted by Net Zero Week UK, “Net zero differs from ‘carbon neutral’ as this can be achieved by simply offsetting the carbon emissions of a business or home; whereas net zero, in spirit, means reducing emissions to their lowest amount through energy efficiency measures and then using offsetting as a last resort to balance remaining hard to remove emissions”.
Actively ensuring that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions being released into the atmosphere equates to the amount being removed from it will help to significantly reduce the amount of harmful emissions that contribute to global warming. This requires a strategic approach, which is where UK Net Zero Awareness Week steps in.
The UK’s Net Zero Week highlights challenges, provides expert advice, and explains how to benefit from making changes within our businesses.
Contrary to popular belief, tech companies also produce a small, yet significant, amount of carbon emissions. Reports suggest, though, that these companies are more likely to avoid making Net Zero commitments.
As uncovered in a previous PwC Annual Global CEO Survey in 2022, approximately 74% of Tech CEOs were without net zero commitments, compared with the 57% of CEO’s on average avoiding Net Zero efforts across other UK sectors. However, the Tech industry currently accounts for 4% of global emissions, with a chance of gradually increasing as digital technologies continue to grow. Companies such as techUK and Tech Nation strive to steer a path of digital innovation to help reach net zero, focusing on key energy-saving technologies, transitioning to renewables, and decarbonising data centres.
Involvement will vary depending on business size, but here are 10 top tips to help your tech business reduce its carbon footprint:
1. Commit To A Net Zero Action Plan And Make It A Part Of Company Policy
Around 80% of Tech Company emissions fall under the Scope 3 category, so it’s best to measure as much as possible. Set a realistic Net Zero target and use online resources (such as Carbon Footprint and Greenhouse Gas Protocol) to manually take action. It is recommended by Tech Nation to aim to halve emissions by 2030.
2. Reduce Digital Emissions
Each time an email is sent or a website is visited, a small amount of carbon dioxide is emitted, which accounts for around 4% of the UK’s digital emissions annually. To mitigate your emissions, try to clean out unused files from cloud storage drives and websites and avoid storing the same file in multiple places.
You can measure your digital emission here.
3. Reduce Hardware Emissions
Alongside digital emissions, reviewing hardware equipment used – such as mobile phones, laptops, and monitors – can help to reduce your company’s carbon footprint. To action, you can set a goal to use hardware for a minimum of 4 years before its retirement, check product environment reports, and ensure that you’re sourcing the most efficient products the market has to offer. This is especially important for larger companies.
4. Swap Your Energy To Renewable Sources
It may be possible for your business to request a green tariff with some of the larger energy suppliers. Alternatively, you could switch to a specialist green energy supplier like Green Energy UK or Good Energy.
Before installing any type of renewable energy technology, we recommend reading this article first.
5. Upgrade your office lighting (if applicable)
Switching to energy-efficient bulbs is a small but effective way of reducing lighting energy consumption – in some instances, this can reach up to 70%! A simple change like this in office buildings, warehouses, or parking lots can have a great impact.
6. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
Certain single-use items within your office can be replaced or reused, and your old tech can be recycled. Introducing a recycling system in the kitchen office, and ensuring that your building management adhere to this can help to create healthy recycling habits among the team and ensure that recyclable items aren’t being sent to landfill unnecessarily.
7. Acknowledge your Data Centre
Thanks to tax breaks, incentives, and diminishing costs for renewable energy (particularly at a time when energy prices are soaring), it’s becoming more cost-effective for data centres to be a green and sustainable option for businesses.
Review your data centre and reap the rewards of not only becoming more sustainable, but potential cost savings too.
Here’s a recommended article discussing ways to Tackle Data Sustainability Myths.
8. Work from Home (where applicable)
Not only does working from home reduce carbon emission, this can also cut down on travel expenses and increase productivity amongst staff, not to mention the countless benefits to staff wellbeing. Why not introduce flexible working options that allow your team to utilise home working?
9. Calculate your business carbon footprint
Measuring your existing carbon footprint using the SME Carbon Footprint Calculator from the Carbon Trust can help you identify what business activity creates the most carbon dioxide emissions, so that your business can take action.
Please note, using this tool only provides an estimated figure of Carbon Footprint.
10. Sustainable Working Spaces
Try to find net zero aligned office spaces which are actively decarbonising. This can include office spaces that use 100% renewable energy (ideally), climate control facilities, measure emissions, and have a clear recycling and zero waste policy.
Achieving Net Zero will take time and requires collective action as many areas of a business are involved, but the key is to make a start and lead by example.
Interested in learning more about Net Zero Week and ways you can help reduce carbon emissions? Visit the Net Zero Week 2023 website or check out the Leeds Climate Commission for all the latest on climate action in the City Region.