Small firms urged to invest more in sustainability
SMEs were encouraged to invest more heavily in their sustainability practices during an event by the Solihull Chambers of Commerce, writes Claudia Congrave.
The online 'Net Zero 2041 ' event was held during the Festival of Business campaign, running across various divisions of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) throughout June.
Headline sponsors of the Solihull week were Aston University and Leap IT, as well as the Birmingham Energy Initiative acting as session sponsors for the Net Zero event.
In recognition of the climate emergency and Solihull borough 's aspirations of reducing CO2 emissions to net zero by 2041, Solihull Council invited various experts to discuss the ways businesses can make big strides towards their own net zero goals.
Speaking on behalf of Touchwood Shopping centre, one of the borough 's leaders in sustainability was Tony Elvin, Touchwood general manager and president of the Solihull Chamber of Commerce.
As the first shopping centre to achieve the ISO 50001 certification for energy management in the UK and the first retail environment in the world to gain a two star fitful accreditation, Touchwood has committed to various measures in order to fulfil their ambitious aims of being carbon neutral by 2025.
The mall has seen a 59 per cent reduction in greenhouse emissions in 2020, as well as a 24 per cent reduction in their energy usage. They have also diverted 100 per cent of their waste from landfill.
Next up for Touchwood is exploring the use of solar energy and the implementation of a grid energy system, as well as ensuring that all retailers on the site are equally as committed and well placed to push their sustainability goals forwards.
Tony said: “Touchwood is providing thought leadership to our retailers, especially to the independent stores that are continually joining us.
“Where stores like John Lewis will have teams dedicated to their sustainability efforts, it 's good that we can spear head that thought for the smaller businesses too. ”
Speaking on her similar passion for involving SMEs in the borough 's sustainability aims was Maddie Booth (pictured), sustainability officer at Solihull College and University Centre and consultant for SMEs looking to develop sustainable strategies.
Her work has seen the implementation of a range of sustainability initiatives for the college, including the production of a carbon management strategy, engaging with community clean-ups and the planning of an upcoming project with BNP Paribas to regenerate an area on the campus in aid of biodiversity and mental health.
Maddie reminded small businesses of their input and expressed that it is not just the role of large corporations to become environmentally conscious.
She said: “We 're seeing more and more bigger companies committing themselves to sustainability, such as the likes of Gap, Nike, Levi Strauss and many others in a range of sectors. It 's important now that we are continually working with smaller companies to help them achieve that too. ”
To those looking to make progress, the Chamber 's policy advisor Will Hargreaves concluded on the work that the GBCC are doing to help businesses on their way.
Will said: “We appreciate that many businesses won 't know where to start with this, especially SME 's who might not have the capital to commit to the bigger changes. ”
“We found that information and lack of experience was a main reason for businesses not taking those initial steps with decarbonisation.
“In order to help, we will be running The Sustainable Business Series 2021. The campaign will cover a range of topics, including the circular economy, sustainable business management and will hear from a host of key regional and national figures within our network who possesses vital environmental expertise. ”
To express your interest for the sustainability series, click here