Businesses and their approach to tackling climate change

More and more businesses are now looking to play a key role in reducing emissions. This is also why low-cost zero-emission technology needs to be released in order to help to tackle the issue at hand. There has also been a continued push from ‘Green Businesses’, calling on the EU to prioritize tackling climate change. This starts with providing them with options on how they can invest in sustainability for the future.

One business that has looked to make a change with the production of its composite doors is Truedor. The whole process is about ‘staying green’. They have done this by promoting their promise that they will always comply with all regulations and recycle 100% of their products in the process of making their doors. This covers products such as PVC, mixed scrap metal, cardboard, paper, and even polythene and ink cartridges. This is while also continuing to provide quality for customers.

Ambitious targets

This previous example is one that many businesses need to make in order to reach the overall climate goals. The goal in place is to maintain temperatures at 1.5 °C, before then reducing emissions by 45% from 2010 to 2030. The target is to then have reached zero emissions by 2050. This is a huge goal and a key reason why change needs to be made sooner than later, from both individuals and businesses.

Another example within a business is PPS and its returnable packaging. They have a motto of ‘returnable packaging that doesn’t cost the earth’. This shows that they are looking to tackle the issue with the products they are offering. This product not only has a large number of benefits for businesses but is cancelling out single trip packaging, which has long been an issue within the industry. This is removing the likes of cardboard boxes, which have been common in the meat and fresh produce sector. It also removes polystyrene, which has long been popular for use in the seafood industry.

So how can businesses make the change to tackling climate change:

• Measuring carbon footprint

The first step for any business looking to make a change is to measure how much greenhouse gas emissions are being generated. Once you have this benchmark, you can then work on reducing this from current levels.

• Climate action plan

Developing a climate action plan in the next part of the process. You can start this by looking at supply chain emissions. These are often responsible for the majority of corporate carbon footprints, so can make the biggest impact. Another easy change is energy. This starts with reducing the use of electricity, heating, and cooling and improving energy efficiency within the business. Transportation is another change that can be made in most businesses. An example is pushing the use of public transport and bicycle travel amongst employees, with incentives in place.

• Emission reduction targets

Once the plan is in place, you can then look to reduce your emission to match the targets made. These can be mapped out with time-sensitive targets, which can then help with monitoring the overall progress. Through this, the business can then see where improvements could be made moving forward.