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Many businesses looking to minimise the environmental impact of their activities follow the established methodology of reduce, reuse and recycle. This has signifcantly more effect if you add the additional step of “measure” at both the start and end of the process and then repeat the cycle. By measuring your environmental impact and acting upon it, you move from simple, random – if well intentioned – activities to a more focused carbon management strategy.

I use the term carbon management advisedly because not all actions have a visible carbon connection but carbon, or more strictly tonnes equivalent to CO2 ( T CO2e), is the measure in common usage, often quoted as a carbon footprint. Fitting water butts to the down pipes on your premises to save water may seem removed from changing to more effcient light bulbs. However, both actions will have a measurable effect within a carbon management strategy. A good starting point is to have a baseline assessment of your business. A properly conducted Greenhouse Gas Audit (conforming to the greenhouse gas protocol) will measure your energy usage from all sources – gas, electric, oil – as well as water and business travel. This will produce a carbon footprint for your business expressed in TCO2e.

A carbon management strategy looks at these cost elements and devises a series of actions to make total carbon reductions. Often, these are simple cultural changes such as shutting off unused IT equipment out of hours or opening windows instead of using air conditioning. Others will require capital investment, for example changing from halogen spot lights to new ultra low energy L.E.D. bulbs or ftting motion detection systems for the lights in a meeting room. In most cases, the return on investment (ROI) is achieved relatively quickly.

The ROI from a human perspective can be signifcant too. Studies have shown that a majority of consumers will choose an environmentally conscious brand over another providing it falls within acceptable price parameters. The same is true for employee job satisfaction.When an organisation actively promotes environmental awareness and actions alongside other corporate and social responsibility actions, employee satisfaction fgures rise, as does the desirability for candidates to join such organisations. In this way a carbon strategy can save your company hard cash and help to retain and improve your most valuable asset, your people.

An organisation that has taken steps to reduce its carbon footprint and established a culture that actively looks for further effciencies will eventually reach a level where further reductions will impede their ability to operate effectively. For businesses that want to carry on shrinking their carbon footprint or even achieve carbon zero status, the last option to consider is carbon offset. Carbon offset is a very simple concept: frst calculate the value of carbon associated with a product, service or business that you cannot reduce any further; then invest in a project that reduces carbon, or prevents its release into the atmosphere, at an equivalent value to your product. By balancing carbon emissions created with emissions saved, you can achieve CarbonZero status for your product, service or business.

The offset concept got off to a bad start in the late 1990s when a number of so called carbon emission reduction projects turned out to be scams. This caused many environmental organisations and NGOs to claim that offsetting was no different to the practice of selling indulgences in the Middle Ages when the rich could pay someone to pray on their behalf. However, since the full introduction of the Kyoto protocol in 2005 reputable international standards bodies have been established to regulate the industry. Governments, too, have encouraged the creation of a robust and accountable regulatory framework within which to operate their own carbon ‘Cap and Trade’ programs, including the UK’s mandatory climate change and energy saving CRC Energy Effciency Scheme (formerly known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment ).

Today, it is a fairly straightforward process to fnd a reputable carbon offset project and supplier. The cost of each Tonne of carbon credit will vary depending on the standard you wish your credits to comply with. The better programs, such as those that comply with the Swiss-registered Gold Standard, offer signifcantly more social, health and welfare benefts to the communities where the projects take place. If your purpose is to promote your business or product through a strong positive CSR message, this is the standard to go for.

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