Here is a list of 7 concrete actions you can take to make your business more climate-friendly
Reducing your company's carbon footprint doesn't always have to be more complicated than that. We've compiled a list of some very concrete actions you can take right now 👊
Categories
🔥️ Heating consumption
✈️ Flight policy
🍽 Canteen scheme
🧼 Cleaning solution
🖥 Purchasing and electronics
🚆 Employee transport
🏨 Hotels
Heat consumption 🔥
In general, CO2 emissions from district heating are not a major culprit. However, it is one of the places where you can reduce your consumption.
This can be done in two ways: either by minimizing losses through retrofitting windows and doors, for example, or simply by keeping the office a few degrees colder. The good thing here is that you can see it not only on your CO2 emissions, but also on your bills.
Flight policy ✈️
Aviation policy is one of the obvious places to start, and this should come as no surprise to anyone. For many companies, the category is by far the largest in the overall carbon footprint.
One measure we typically recommend is therefore a clear company policy on when you can fly. As a minimum, domestic travel should be along the ground, but it can and should also be extended to neighboring countries or in the Nordic region. There are about 120 kg. CO2 to save for each round trip from KBH-AAR if you take the train instead of the plane.
Canteen arrangements 🍽
The canteen scheme is a place where most companies have the opportunity to make a lot of progress. However, it is also a place where there are typically a lot of emotions involved, as not everyone likes to have eating habits imposed on them.
However, if you look at it from a climate perspective, there is a lot to be saved by cutting down on meat. A change to a completely vegetarian canteen would of course create the biggest reduction, but we know that this is possible for very few people.
Therefore, we recommend two ways to get there:
Introduce single vegetarian days. Start with one and then slowly scale it up. For a company with 150 employees, going from a normal varied diet every five days to three days without meat could save around 16 tons of CO2.
The other way is to phase out beef as soon as possible, possibly replacing it with pork or chicken as a start. There is a lot of CO2 to be saved here: A tenderloin emits up to 152 kg. CO2/kg, while a chicken breast, for example, emits around 3.5 kg. CO2/kg.
Cleaning solution 🧼
A typically overlooked reduction option is to replace your cleaning solution or push for them to operate as sustainably as possible. There can be up to 25% CO2 savings here. This includes sustainable transportation to and from the office, but also the materials used.
If you need help finding a good solution, please send me an email at oskar@climaider.com
Employee transport 🚆
Your employees are your biggest asset and they need to get to and from work. So make sure you provide information and incentives for sustainable transportation. This could be anything from having enough bike racks, secure bike sheds or charging points for electric cars.
Alternatively, you can provide solutions - for example, a bicycle through your salary and/or a subscription to GreenMobility.
This is also something we can help with if you send an email to oskar@climaider.com
Hotels 🏨
Introduce a company policy that employees should always look for climate-friendly solutions when travelling. This applies to the form of travel, of course, but also to the choice of hotel: does the hotel have climate and environmental guidelines, are vegetarian meals possible and are they Green Key certified, if applicable.
Source list 🔗
