Business Climate Hub launched as 'one stop shop' for sustainable solutions
Lucy Baldwin
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has created a digital resource to help businesses cut energy costs and consumption across their supply chains.
The Business Climate Hub will provide free advice to businesses on solutions which are not only more sustainable, but will also reduce energy bills. Advice is tailored to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs). It includes a carbon calculator as well as guidance on:
- Switching to more sustainable logistics models including company electric vehicles (EVs)
- Installing green technologies including EV charging points, heat pumps, wind turbines and solar panels
- How to sell energy back to the grid
- Accessing business grants and green loans
- Financing a retrofit
- How to buy credible carbon offsets
- Improving waste reduction and recycling
- Getting low carbon product labels and certifications
The announcement comes in tandem with the government's new Net Zero Council launching their Net Zero business sector roadmap guidelines; a guide that helps organisations to plan how their sector will reach Net Zero.
Plugging the knowledge gap
In the UK, the businesses and industry sector is responsible for 25% of overall carbon emissions, a large contributor in this area.
Research by the International Chamber of Commerce and software company Sage found that while 90% of UK SME leaders want to cut emissions, they are unsure of how to make changes.
SME leaders reported feeling restrained by a lack of knowledge on the right solutions to cut carbon emissions and a lack of funding to provide them.
Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Graham Stuart, has described the Business Climate Hub as the new “one-stop-shop” for support on how SMEs can actually convert to carbon cutting solutions and reduce their energy bills.
He highlighted that “the UK has cut its emissions more than any other major economy in the world” adding that businesses want to get involved, saying: “more and more businesses are recognising the business benefits of reaching net zero and we’re determined to empower them to do so.”
Support from all sides
The Business Climate Hub is being delivered in collaboration with the Broadway Initiative which facilitates links between businesses and environmental experts on decarbonisation techniques.
It is also the UK partner of the international SME Climate Hub, a global organisation facilitating net zero in business by 2050.
Some of the UK’s biggest businesses are supporting the project including HSBC and Natwest, the British Business Bank and the National Grid.
Additionally, the hub has been endorsed by a huge number of business organisations including the government’s Net Zero Council, the British Chamber of Commerce, the Confederation of British Industry and the Federation of Small Businesses.
National Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, Martin McTague, said that “in addition to helping small firms become more energy and resource efficient, the hub also has the opportunity to empower small firms to take ambitious steps towards net zero, ultimately ensuring that they also benefit from the economic opportunities created in a net zero economy.”
Co-Chair of the Net Zero Council and Co-op Group Chief Executive Shirine Khoury-Haq, said: “None of us will get to Net Zero without all of us getting to net zero" adding "I hope the UK Business Climate Hub will be a valuable tool for business leaders looking for guidance and support in this vital endeavour."
Newly published research from Government Transformation Magazine and Kin + Carta, surveying over 100 DDaT leaders in central government departments, sheds light on levels of preparedness for decarbonising government. You can download the report below!
