At The Bear Factory, we believe that addressing climate change is not just the responsibility of large corporations, it’s a commitment every business, big or small, should embrace. As the global call for sustainability grows louder, small businesses have an opportunity to take meaningful steps toward reducing their environmental impact through carbon management. In this guide, we’ll break down key terms, share tips for reducing your carbon footprint, and provide actionable steps and resources that any small business can use to embark on their carbon management journey.
Key Terms and Definitions
It’s crucial to build a solid understanding of the terminology surrounding carbon management. These key terms not only clarify the concepts but also help you communicate* your efforts effectively to customers, stakeholders, and employees.
Carbon Management
Carbon management refers to the process of measuring, reducing, and offsetting the carbon emissions generated by your business operations. It involves tracking your emissions across various activities and implementing strategies to minimize your environmental impact.
Carbon Footprint
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) your business emits, measured in carbon dioxide equivalents. This includes emissions from energy use, transportation, waste, and more. Understanding your carbon footprint is the first step toward managing it effectively.
Carbon Neutral
Being carbon neutral means balancing the carbon you emit with an equivalent amount of carbon removal, such as purchasing carbon offsets or investing in renewable energy projects. This is an essential goal for businesses looking to take responsibility for their emissions.
Climate Positive
Climate positive goes beyond carbon neutrality. A climate-positive business not only offsets its emissions but also removes more carbon from the atmosphere than it produces, actively contributing to climate restoration.
Carbon Negative
Similar to climate positive, being carbon negative means your business’s actions result in a net reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
*As a best practice, companies should check with your leadership / legal team before making any claims that have not been audited by a third party tied to carbon, environmental metrics.
Tips for Small Businesses to Address Carbon
Small businesses don’t need to have large budgets or complex systems to make a meaningful impact on their carbon footprint. In fact, starting small with practical, accessible steps can lead to significant progress over time. Here are some key actions and tools to help you begin your journey towards more carbon-neutral operations:
1. Measure Your Carbon Footprint
Before you can make any changes, you need to understand where your emissions are coming from. Measuring your carbon footprint allows you to assess your current environmental impact and identify key areas to target for reduction. Use these free tools designed for small businesses:
- SME Climate Hub: This platform provides resources and support for small businesses to track their emissions and set targets for reduction.
- Berkeley Cool Climate Calculator: A free tool that helps businesses calculate their carbon footprint and explore strategies for reducing emissions.
It’s important to understand the different types of emissions your business produces. Carbon emissions are broken down into Scopes 1, 2, and 3.
- Scope 1: Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources (ex: company vehicles, company building & how you heat your building)
- Scope 2: Indirect emissions from the energy your business purchases (ex: electricity)
- Scope 3: Indirect emissions (ex: supply chain, product use, and employee travel)
2. Reduce Your Emissions
Once you’ve measured your carbon footprint, it’s time to take action. Start by targeting areas where you can make immediate changes, such as:
- Switch to renewable energy: Transition your business’s energy use to renewable sources of energy. All US based utility companies have a local program where the utility customer can opt in to purchase renewable energy, in some cases there may be an additional charge.
- Optimize transportation: Use efficient routing for deliveries, invest in hybrid or electric vehicles, or encourage remote work to cut down on employee commutes.
- Improve energy efficiency: Upgrade to energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and make sure your office or store is properly insulated to reduce energy waste.
3. Offset What You Can’t Reduce
While reducing emissions is a priority, it’s not always possible to eliminate them entirely. That’s where carbon offsets come in. By purchasing offsets, you can balance your remaining emissions by funding projects that remove or reduce CO2 from the atmosphere. Reputable offset providers include:
4. Consider Signing The Climate Pledge
Small businesses can join a growing network of companies committed to taking climate action by signing The Climate Pledge. This pledge represents a commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement and it was co-created by Amazon and Global Optimism in 2019.
5. Utilize Free Resources
There are many free tools and educational resources available to help small businesses better understand and manage their carbon footprint. One great place to start is Evolution Marketing’s free courses on Carbon and Energy Management. (You could also add each of these youtube videos into the webpage as well. They were done for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day for the Nelson Institute at the University of WI Madison, and Evolution Marketing co-curated them, we worked with high school students and experts across WI. They cover a lot of different info., but all useful if someone wants to do a deep dive.) These courses provide valuable insights into how businesses can reduce their environmental impact by focusing on practical, effective carbon management strategies.
Taking meaningful action on climate change is no longer just a government or corporate responsibility, it’s an opportunity for small businesses to lead the charge toward a more sustainable future. By understanding the key concepts of carbon management and implementing practical steps like measuring, reducing, and offsetting emissions, your business can make a real difference.