Please find below our series of images and graphics below which we have developed to help communicate common Net Zero problems to Small Business Owners.
Feel free to share any images here with your network and credit us accordingly!
We explore the impact recycling has on carbon emissions and compare it against other daily activities, such as emissions from driving.
In any business, one of the biggest sources of your emissions will be travel.
Whether it’s a company vehicle moving goods around (Scope 1), or people driving to work (Scope 3), emissions quickly stack up.
Recycling is important. However, we need to look at it in context and admit it’s just the start. Instead, focus on behaviour changes in areas which are more emissions heavy.
Reducing your annual mileage by 500 miles would save around 200kg of CO2, the same as recycling.
Reducing your overall production of waste will help much more than recycling it too! Read more here.
How tackling your scope 3 connects in with other parts of your business and the winder economy
Working with your supply chain is your biggest impact when it comes to Net Zero, especially if you’re a service based business.
Improving your supply chain emissions makes you a far more resilient company and will build trust with customers and partners alike for years to come! Read more here.
2030 Net Zero targets are bullshit.
By 2026, 60% of the existing small businesses will have shut down, with just 40% remaining.
Targeting 2030 is delaying the inevitable. Get started with your Net Zero journey today! Read more here.
Reduction is always more effective than trying to find a perfect “eco” product.
Bags provide a great example for this, where directly swapping out your plastic carrier bags for cotton totes like for like would be a huge increase in carbon footprint!
The answer really is to implement a “bring your own bag” policy instead and discourage the consumption of new bags. Read more here.
Tree planting is great, but it’s only offsetting if the growth of that tree is successful.
It will take around 20 years for a tree to reach full maturity and draw down 22kg per year.
Relying on tree planting can mean you’re actually delaying tackling your emissions by 20 years or more. Read more here.
I’ve been playing around with visualising Carbon Emissions so that when people see figures they have a frame of reference to use.
However, I’ve been struggling and could do with some feedback!
How does it make you feel? Is it easy to read and understand? Do you feel like it helps you understand your carbon footprint? Read more here.
Beef Burgers and Avocados are the most common “What about” that are pointed too. Avocados consume a lot of water, and Beef is known for methane emissions.
But how do the figures really compare?
The Average UK commute is 7,000 Miles. This equates to 2 tonnes of CO2e annually from a petrol car doing 35mpg.
To undo this damage it would take 2 trees 100 years each.
Switching to EVs or an eBike can quickly cut your fuel bills and emissions. Read more here.
There’s a lot of discussion around the impacts of producing an EV, and arguments that keeping an old petrol car going is more environmentally friendly.
So what is the carbon payback period for an Electric Vehicle? Somewhere between 25,000 and 30,000 miles, or around 4 years based on average UK mileage. Read more here.
So, COP26 generated around 102,500 tCO2e in total with 60% coming from flights. Scotland generates annual emissions of 40 Million tCO2e. Taken over a year, COP26 was equivalent to **0.2%** of Scotland’s emissions.
In other terms, 4 days of road traffic in Scotland exceeds that of COP26, even including flights. Read more here.
Small99 was started because people were struggling to find companies locally to shop with.
Going with large brands means money quickly leaves your town and ends up in an offshore account somewhere, which quickly reduces the money available through local taxes and flows.
In short, shopping locally keeps an extra 23% of finances locally. Read more here.
What does COP26 mean for your business?
1. 66% of FTSE 100 companies have 50% carbon emission reduction targets by 2030. This means they’ll be asking suppliers and partners what they’re up to.
2. Thanks to GFANZ, there’s $120 Trillion of assets under management now mobilising for Net Zero. Read more here.
We’re running two events during COP26:
1. Net Zero in 6 months Workshop (Online and in Person) Learn what Net Zero means for your business, and how you can accelerate towards impactful climate action.
2. Pub Meetup! Come and meet other business owners and professionals and chat about Net Zero in a relaxed atmosphere at our COP26 Pub. Read more here.
We’ve moved from Climate Denial (we’re not causing it) into Climate Delayism (someone else is causing it and there’s nothing I can do).
The second is arguably more dangerous than the first because it is far more widespread and easy to get on board with.
Delay is the new Denial. We need acceleration, and this comes back to Net Zero being a Marketing problem. Read more here.
COP26 for Small Business!
There’s been a bit of a deafening silence so far about what events are going on for SMEs around the Big Event, so I thought I’d try and keep track of everything I come across in one place.
Our new COP26 page will keep you abreast of all the events and ways you can get involved:
Net Zero is like a budget.
Currently, you’re spending too much carbon and are in debt.
Net Zero is about reducing your spending down while making “carbon profit” through initiatives like tree planting and carbon capture. Read more here.
Your supplier’s emissions are a big part of your Carbon Footprint.
Your Scope 3 emissions contains another companies energy consumption and driving emissions too.
If they’re not using renewable energy, then a big chunk of your carbon footprint is being caused by them. Equally, *their* suppliers also forms part of their footprint, and so on. It’s called “Supply Chain” for a reason! Read more here.
96% of the UK economy having less than 9 employees. What does the rest of the world look like in this regard?
France, Italy, USA, Mexico and Spain all see similar figures of 95% economy less than 9 employees.
Germany is slightly lower, but still 97% are under 49 employees. Read more here.
Imaging what a Tonne of CO2 actually looks like is difficult. So many figures are flying around it’s hard to distinguish what 100g of CO2 looks like compared to 100 tonnes.
To tackle this, we’ve calculated what CO2 would look like as a gas bill.
If you’re business currently emits 10 Tonnes of CO2, we can see how much gas it would take to create this, and the financial cost incurred. Read more here
I’m setting you a challenge. By the end of next week check the environmental policy of 1 of your suppliers.
Just the one! If they don’t have one, email them and ask what they’re doing about their carbon emissions.
Your Scope 3 emissions are 90%+ of your carbon footprint. Scope 3 means your supply chain with every small decision and purchase you make adding to your emissions. Read more here.
At Small99 my focus has been to make starting your net zero journey as simple as possible. Here’s our process:
Step 1: Do a non-technical carbon impact assessment to flag the key areas in your business where your carbon emissions are.
Step 2: Shortcut guide which gives walks you through 45 actions you can take to reduce your footprint down. Read more here.
Carbon Taxes are needed to change behaviours. This is especially the case around flights, where a minority of people take up the majority of emissions.
If we’re to see real action on flights, we need to cost in their environmental damage and incentivise alternative methods.
Just 15% of the population take a huge 70% of the flights. Read more here.
I often see doomy discussions online around “What’s the point of me changing? Big Business needs to change first”.
Because they feel their contributions are insignificant, which on a direct comparison they are. But it ignores the bigger picture of how all of these small actions add up.
In a study of historical social movements, it only took 3.5% of a committed minority to see systemic change. Read more here.
Looking at your personal carbon footprint, it’s important to understand the power of #Reduction.
People focus on recycling as a way to “do their bit”, but the reality is it does very little compared to other behaviours.
Reducing car usage, the number of flights, and the meat you eat will all have a much bigger impact. Read more here.
Net Zero takes into account ALL Greenhouse Gases (GHGs).
Carbon Neutral only takes into account Carbon Dioxide.
Both phrases allow for offsets such as tree planting to balance your emissions.
Zero Carbon means no emissions at all. This leaves no room for carbon offsetting. Read more here.
Net Zero is made up of 3 Scopes which measure areas of your business emissions.
Scope 3 – Everything else. From Waste, Purchased goods, your suppliers, delivery, investments (employee pensions etc), website hosting, digital tools you use – everything!
Scope 3 is so important to include in your targets, and makes up such a big chunk of your carbon budget. Read more here.
50% of the Van Journeys made in 2019 were less than 15 miles.
This puts a huge amount of journeys we currently think of being only possible by long-range diesel vehicles into the reach of EVs and even Electric Cargo Bikes.
Of course not right for everyone and it’s easy to think of exceptions, but this stat really shocked me as I thought it would be much lower. Read more here.
What are Carbon Border Tarriffs? Yes, it’s the question you’ve all been for the answer to! 💰
Let’s take the example of Steel. Currently, Steel produced in the UK/EU pays Carbon Taxes on every Tonne of CO2e emitted during production.*
However, imported Steel does not. Locally produced, low-carbon steel is more expensive than high-mileage, high-carbon steel. Read more here.
More good news – demand for fossil fuel electricity generation has peaked, with renewables rapidly being built in their place.
Renewables are now cheaper in 90% of the world, meaning developing countries will achieve growth while leapfrogging coal and gas entirely.
We still have a long way to go with transport, but there’s good reasons to be #optimisitic
Read more here.
Yesterday the EU unveiled it’s #Fitfor55 Carbon Reduction plan.
There’s a lot to take in, but early indications show welcome ambition in previously lacklustre areas.
Aviation fuel will be taxed for the first time. High-carbon imports will face tariffs at the border.
Costs of CO2 taxes for industry will increase. Read more here.
🌎 Apart from saving the planet, there’s plenty of solid business reasons to reduce your emissions.
Reducing your environmental impact doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.
Our approach is simple: no bullshit. Our guidance is always action-orientated and appropriate for your business and scale. #TogetherForOurPlanet
Read more here.
Emails are a fact of daily life and have a surprising carbon footprint.
Sending 1 email to 5,000 people is the same as driving 60 miles in a petrol car. Many businesses send emails out on a weekly basis which can quickly stack up.
We wanted to find the most sustainable email marketing tools out there and highlight those doing good work. Read more here.
Carbon taxes. They’re coming.
In Sweden they’re as much as £90 per Tonne of CO2 emitted.
However even small taxes are effective. £5 per Tonne of CO2 from Coal has driven its use down to just 1% in 2021, down from 15% in 2010.The 5p plastic bag tax reduced use by 85% in 12 months.
Reducing your emissions today will reduce your risk of taxation in the future. #netzerotips #small99 #racetozero #carbontax #cop26 Read more here.
Don’t forget about your supply chain.
Starbucks identified that 96% of their emissions sit in their supply chain, otherwise known as Scope 3.
Despite their size, their controlled emissions from shops, energy, manufacturing and transport accounted for just 4% of their total emissions.
If that’s the case for a massive corporate, it’ll be a similar story for small businesses too who generate less directly. Read more here.
Small businesses rely on Productivity Tools to efficiently manage staff and tasks, however their carbon footprint can still be considerable if you’re a heavy user.
Most tools had #netzero targets for 2050(!), and many had no information whatsoever.
Asana and Basecamp came out top as they’re already carbon neutral, but could communicate better with a clear environmental policy. Read more here.
This is doing the rounds this morning, and is pretty shocking to read.
BBC Bitesize lists the following POSITIVES of Climate Change in it’s GCSE syllabus.
For decades we’ve failed to communicate that climate change in the interest of “balance”. Most of these programmes were aimed at Adults which is bad enough, but having this as a formal educational piece on their GCSE material is…another level. Read more here.
What we discovered, or didn’t discover, is the shocking lack of emissions data for smaller companies.
Official Statistics show SMEs contribute just 6% of emissions, despite making up 99% of the economy.
Most sources only take into account generated emissions (Scope 1 and 2) and completely ignore Consumed emissions (Scope 3) which make up 95%+ of most business footprints. Read more here.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is in that order for a reason.
Reduction is by far the most impactful decision you can make. Relying on recycling for your product waste isn’t good enough.
Customers or Councils may incorrectly dispose of the items. Removing the production entirely through Reduction ensures this isn’t an option! Read more here.
#netzerotips Vehicle emissions account for 35% of emissions in the UK. The average car journey is just 8 miles. In 2017, 56% of journeys under 5 miles, and 20% less than 1 mile were done in a car.
These are distances easily managed by bike, electric bikes and alternative forms of low-carbon transport.
If you want your business to reduce its footprint, often the biggest hidden chunk is all of the small journeys you make. Read more here.
Plastic-free doesn’t mean carbon-free. Sometimes existing plastic items have less of a carbon footprint than their alternatives.
This is why reduction is so vital! Replacing your existing usage with the alternative may increase your footprint.
Technology is often overlooked as a source of carbon emissions.
However, technology can be data and energy intensive, and if they’re not using renewable energy can quickly become a big wedge of your carbon budget.
For example, Wholegrain Digital calculated that the average pageview uses nearly 2g of carbon. With just 50,000 page views a month, that’s 100KG of CO2, equivalent to driving 300 miles. Read more here.
#netzerotips When research emissions data, you might see CO2 mentioned as well as CO2e.
What’s the difference?
CO2e stands for Carbon Dioxide Equivalent.
Green house gas emissions consist of other gases. Reporting on these independently would be confusing and slow decision making. #netzero2025 @small99
#netzerotips You only need to be better than you were yesterday.
The biggest concern a lot of small businesses have is making the wrong decision. This leads to paralysis and no action happens.
Data is constantly coming out and we’re learning more all the time. This isn’t about making the perfect decision first time, but about getting started. Read more here.
#netzerotips Reduce, don’t replace.
The common motto reduce reuse recycle is in that order because reduction is always the most effective thing you can do.
We don’t need to replace all petrol cars with electric, we need to reduce the reliance on energy intensive cars.
Replacing all of your plastic bags with plastic free bags will have a large environmental cost too. Read more here.
These pillars will be driving everything we do, and help clarify the aims and methods in which Small businesses can achieve net zero.
– Budget
– Reduce Not Replace
– Collaborate
– Communicate
– Momentum
As part of my goal to get 1 million businesses to Net Zero by 2025, I’m offering coaching sessions!
It’ll be monthly meetings between like minded business owners to support each other on your #netzero journey, guided by myself and other industry experts.
It’s an informal, friendly space for us to work together and make a meaningful impact on reducing your environmental footprint. Read more here.
During FutureX Impact Summit I first heard the term “Green Hushing”. It really clicked as a term to describe what a lot of companies are doing.
Often small businesses have great policies and actions but are hesitant or fail to communicate this effectively.
It’s essentially the inverse of greenwashing, where rather than celebrating ineffective environmental action, you are silent about the good stuff you do! Read more here.
Well, I’m excited to announce I’ve got a new target mission to drive the work we do.
Small99 will Guide 1 Million Micro Businesses to Net Zero By 2025.
Over 5 million businesses in the UK are defined as “Micro” with less than 9 employees. These make up 96% of the economy and a ~12% of business emissions.
So, do you want to be part of the 2025 1 million? Read more here.
You want to make a positive impact and run a more sustainable business but just don’t know where to start or what you need to do.
In every industry, there’s conflicting advice and it can take time to distil and decipher this down. That’s why I’ve done the hard work for you!
I’m excited to announce the launch of our first Industry guide: Net Zero eCommerce.
This is a complete “How To” guide, which covers:
– Clear steps on every action you can take, from energy to returns policies
– How to communicate your changes with customers effectively without greenwashing. Read more here.
🌱 With so many options out there, finding the best eco-friendly products for your business might seem overwhelming.
In this blog we’ll cover options for:
– kitchens and cafes
– offices
– cleaning companies
Dive in for our list of the most effective, eco-friendly cleaning products: Read more here.
It’s coming!
The first “How To” guide that includes everything you need to do as an #eCommerce business to move towards #NetZero is nearly here.
Later this week it’ll be live for purchase on the site with lifetime access, meaning as the world changes, you can change with it.
This has been months of work, research and refinement but I’m happy (enough) to release it into the wild.
From Car Clubs to Cardboard, there’s more ways for you to make change than you might think. Read more here.
