Step one to achieving carbon-neutral status for your business
It is difficult to reduce your business emissions when you do not know where they are coming from.
Energy use, travel, suppliers, office equipment, waste and everyday processes can all contribute to an organisation’s carbon footprint.
That is why the first practical step towards carbon-neutral status is measuring the emissions connected to your business.
Once you understand the starting point, you can identify where changes will make the biggest difference and create a realistic carbon reduction plan.
This article provides general operational guidance rather than environmental certification advice.
What does carbon neutral mean?
Carbon neutral generally means balancing the greenhouse gas emissions connected to an activity or organisation by reducing emissions and compensating for the remaining amount.
It is different from zero carbon, which means an activity produces no carbon emissions within the boundary being measured.
Net zero is also commonly used in sustainability discussions, but it should not automatically be treated as another name for carbon neutral. The exact meaning depends on the standard, target and reporting boundary being used.
Before making any public claim, businesses should be clear about:
- Which parts of the organisation are included
- Which emissions are being measured
- The reporting period covered
- How emissions have been calculated
- What reductions have already been made
- How any remaining emissions are being addressed
Clear boundaries stop a useful sustainability plan from turning into a collection of vague promises.
Start by measuring your business emissions
A carbon footprint assessment gives your business a baseline.
Depending on the organisation, this could include emissions connected to:
- Electricity, heating and fuel
- Company vehicles and business travel
- Purchased goods and services
- Waste and recycling
- Employee commuting
- Printing, postage and office processes
You may need help from an environmental consultant or carbon accounting specialist to define the correct reporting boundary and calculate the figures.
The aim is not to produce a perfect-looking number. It is to identify the areas where your business can make meaningful reductions and track whether those changes are working.
Ways to reduce your business carbon footprint
Review energy use
Look at how your workplace is powered and where energy is being wasted. Switching to renewable electricity, improving insulation and replacing inefficient equipment may help reduce emissions.
Reduce unnecessary materials
Review the paper, packaging and other supplies your business uses. Removing unnecessary printing can help, but the better goal is to make sure every process uses only what it genuinely needs.
Look at suppliers
Your carbon footprint is not limited to what happens inside your own office. Ask suppliers how they measure and reduce their environmental impact, particularly when their service forms a regular part of your operation.
Support credible environmental projects
Some organisations compensate for residual emissions by supporting verified environmental projects. This should sit alongside active reduction work rather than replace it.
The sensible order is to measure, reduce and then address what remains.
Review how your business manages post
Office post often involves printers, franking equipment, supplies and journeys to collect or drop off letters.
An online print and post service can move the production process away from individual offices. Your team uploads the documents, while a specialist provider handles the printing, folding, enclosing and postage.
This does not make a physical letter paper-free or automatically carbon neutral. It can, however, reduce local equipment, supplies and manual handling while giving the business clearer control over how post is produced.
When comparing providers, sustainability and procurement teams should consider the supplier’s own environmental reporting, materials, production processes and carbon reduction commitments.
Postworks previously published an article about its historical carbon-neutral announcement. You can read the original Postworks carbon-neutral announcement or review the current Carbon Reduction Plan for more recent information.
This guest post was written by Keith Tully, a partner at Real Business Rescue.
