“Much is made of the need for businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and a few basic principles can be applied but realistically its common sense.”
And shopping locally is one way for customers to reduce their carbon footprint
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Vincent Page of Antiques on High has a regular piece in the in the Sidmouth Herald – and this week he looks beyond the bounce of Folk Week to more difficult times ahead:
Time to start preparing for potentially harsh winter
As a bumper week draws to a close, some may consider it a long time coming, but maybe business owners should be starting to plan ahead for the winter months, ensuring our premises are warm and inviting for our customers.
But … are we ready?
Much is made of the need for businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and a few basic principles can be applied but realistically its common sense and inevitably some benefits require an initial outlay, if you can’t afford it then quite simply you can’t afford it. L.E.D. Lighting is an obvious choice, easy to fit and as we have found, will effectively halve your electricity bill and provide a much easier light on your eyes.
Whilst many people who run a business are offended at the thought of suggestions as to how to make their business more effective it is simply human nature to feel that you know what you are doing within your chosen sector… sometimes the question is not can I afford to do it?, but can I afford not to do it?
Sidmouth businesses need to be ready for winter | Sidmouth Herald
As Mr Page says, “much is made of the need for businesses to reduce their carbon footprint” – which can also lead to serious ways to reduce energy costs and other overheads for that matter.
Over the last months, these news pages have looked at the double benefits to businesses of going green:
How to make sustainability a priority for your small business – Vision Group for Sidmouth
How to make your business more eco-friendly – Vision Group for Sidmouth
How to help the environment through your new business – Vision Group for Sidmouth
With many Sidmouth businesses doing pretty much this already:
How Sidmouth businesses are helping the environment – Vision Group for Sidmouth
And in that vein, here are a few more very practical tips for businesses – from another West Country publication this weekend:
1: Carbon offsetting with Climate Conscious IT
2: Carry out an energy audit
3: Buy second-hand furnishings
4: Let employees work from home if they can
5: Switch to veggie or vegan catering
6: Go paperless
7: Introduce some greenery
8: Cut down on travel
8 ways to reduce your carbon footprint and save your Gloucestershire business money
And as our local papers say, we should be shopping locally – especially as Amazon’s own carbon footprint has shot up:
In 2019, Amazon cofounded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Since then, the company’s carbon footprint has increased by nearly 40%. Amazon’s carbon footprint was 51.17 million metric tons in 2019 and grew to 71.54 million metric tons in 2021, according to the company’s sustainability report released this week. Amazon said the increase was driven by growth during the pandemic across both its consumer e-commerce and cloud businesses, which required building new facilities and expanding its transportation network.
Attempting to deflect away from the total carbon footprint, the report suggested companies should also be judged on whether they are lowering “carbon intensity,” which is total carbon emissions per dollar of gross merchandise sales.