Not yet started calculating your company's CO2 emissions? Here are two good reasons!
Climate accounts are growing in popularity among Denmark's growing businesses. It has gone from being something for those companies whose owners were thinking about the impacts of climate change, to being almost common practice.
Have you not yet started calculating your company's CO2 emissions?
There are many good reasons to get started:
🤝 Investors' expectations
💰 SMEs can get public subsidies for green initiatives
📉 You can save on operating costs
😍 Customers will be more positive towards your business
✅ You get ahead of legislation
🔗 You are part of a value chain
Today we will highlight a few of them. Because it's actually not just about being good for the climate - it can also create tangible value for your business!
"Investors are willing to pay a 10% premium for a company with a positive ESG and climate record."
- McKinsey
Investors and banks expect it
Climate change is affecting markets and economies around the world. For many investors, taking environmental and climate considerations into account has already become a central part of their investment strategy. In particular, over the past decade, there has been a growing focus on how investors manage the risks and opportunities associated with climate change.
This has meant that many have started to invest directly in green solutions, and those investment opportunities that are not a direct green solution need to be screened for environmental and climate impacts. Investments are therefore being steered towards green investments:
- The UN Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) are steadily growing in popularity and at the time of writing are signed by 76% of large investment funds.
- 450 financial institutions have joined the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). That's about 40% of the world's investment capital actively committed to finance and support companies working on climate reporting and Net-Zero targets.
- BlackRock, one of the world's largest investment firms, has started pushing for companies in their portfolios to provide greater transparency on their climate impact.
A McKinsey report also found that investors are on average willing to pay a premium of around 10% for a company with a positive ESG and climate record - and according to the report, 25% of respondents would pay up to 20% extra! So we are not talking about small change here.
It's not just that interest has grown: with new requirements and standards like the SFDR, financial institutions are increasingly having to provide information on the climate impact of their investments - so it's a good idea to get your carbon footprint right if you want to be in the best position to raise new money.
Green loans
However, keeping track of your carbon footprint is not only smart if you want to raise money - it's also true if you want to borrow money. In fact, over the past few years, it has become significantly more attractive to take out "green" loans. This can be either to implement green solutions or interest rates that are directly ESG-dependent.
SMEs can get public funding for green initiatives
We've mentioned it before and now we'll do it again: Right now is a super good time to start!
Because even though you might not be convinced yet, let's try this: As an SME, you can have the cost of carbon accounting paid for you!
Every year, money is awarded from pools such as SME:Green and the CO2 Pool, which you can use to finance your climate audit and action plan. Applications for the CO2Pool will open on 27 February 2023. SME:Green will open in spring 2023.
If you can see the benefits of taking some decisive climate action now, let us know! We can help you with your climate accounting, action plan and with a free, no-obligation application to a pool that's right for you.
