Back in 2006, Carbon Neutral was declared the word of the year. Since then, the popularity of the term as well as the ethos behind it has gone from strength to strength.
The prominence of the term carbon neutral shows just how important the impacts of climate change are to us and, just as importantly, it also shows how much climate change damage your business can do. But, what does it involve and how can you make your business carbon neutral?
–What Does Going Carbon Neutral Mean?
The New Oxford American Dictionary’s definition of carbon neutral describes the overarching concept, stating that:
“Carbon Neutral is not a static state but an engaged process. Being carbon neutral involves calculating your total climate-damaging carbon emissions, reducing them where possible, and then balancing your remaining emissions, often by purchasing a carbon offset: paying to plant new trees or investing in “green” technologies such as solar and wind power.”
So, with this definition in mind, how can we make our businesses carbon neutral?
–3 Steps To Make Your Business Carbon Neutral
All over the globe we have seen businesses begin to make the concerted effort to go carbon neutral. No matter what the size or sector of your business, you should make the concerted effort to go carbon neutral. Here’s how it can be done.
Measure your existing footprint: You can only start to effectively reduce your carbon footprint when you know what is inefficient. Once you’ve done this, you can begin to make targeted reduction goals.
Sustainable, Targeted Goals: Remember that going carbon neutral isn’t a fad and, for this reason, you have to make your goals sustainable. Even simple steps such as changing your business light bulbs to energy efficient ones will make a difference at a very minimal cost to you. There’s a plan to suit every need and every budget.
Carry Out The Work: Something like changing a light bulb is simple, but for larger renovation projects you may need some help. If you’re a UK business, you can use the government’s Green Deal to help you pay for the work that needs to be carried out. This means that, no matter what you want to do, you should have a funding option so that there is no barrier to your work.
To conclude, we have seen a number of businesses all over the world make the move to go carbon neutral, and doing so could be easier than you’ve ever thought. With government incentives such as the Green Deal there really is no obstacle, so get started today.