What can SMEs actually do in the face of the climate crisis?
Heatwaves, drought and wildfires have made the climate crisis unavoidable this summer in the UK.
Many individuals are responding by improving their environmental responsibility, pressuring elected representatives and asking the companies they work for about what sustainability initiatives are in place.
Most large companies already have environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies and legally-binding net zero emissions targets, but for those in the small-to-medium (SME) size bracket, plans are often less defined, well funded or regularly reported on.
One of the most prominent movements in recent months has been the National Emergency Briefing, an organisation set up by brothers Simon and Nick Oldridge, who are climate funders and communicators, with a background in business.
Its documentary of the same name has been screened in 3,300 community spaces and workplaces, with many more planned for the autumn. The 50-minute film combines speeches from experts at a launch event at Westminster with reactions from celebrities and members of the public, “designed to help audiences process the information on a more human level”.
Donna Okell, director for business at the National Emergency Briefing, said that the project is really about what happens after the screenings – “the conversations, the risks that reach boardrooms, the decisions that change, the influence organisations choose to use, and the actions they are prepared to take”.
She explained: “For me, that’s where this gets particularly interesting for SMEs, businesses aren’t just legal entities, they’re communities of people who are also citizens, voters, consumers, parents, neighbours and members of other networks.
“So perhaps the question is no longer simply, ‘what is my business doing to reduce its own impact?’ it is also ‘how can we use the influence, relationships and resources we already have to help accelerate wider change?’,” Okell continued, adding: “That could mean giving employees time to watch and discuss the film, encouraging conversations with customers and suppliers, collaborating with other businesses, engaging with local communities, or enabling employees to take collective actions during working time.
“None of those things necessarily requires a huge sustainability budget.”
TheBusinessDesk spoke to a range of SME leaders about what changes they have been making in response to the climate crisis, where the impetus has come from recently, and how this has been possible at a time of increased cost pressure.
Freddie Ingleby, chief executive of Caledonian Climate
Freddie Ingleby, chief executive at peatland restoration consultancy Caledonian Climate, attended a showing of the film put on by the Royal Society of Arts and it struck a chord.
“It’s clear to me that everyone needs to see it, so we’re looking to host a staff screening in the coming weeks and are very much open to supporting its wider viewing,” he said. “The film conveys, in an immediately relevant rather than abstract and distant manner, the significant threat we are facing from climate change.
“I appears unequivocal that the industrialisation of the human race is the cause, which makes it relevant to all businesses, regardless of scale.”
Ingleby reckons that what should follow is decisive action on building long-term resilience, identifying new opportunities to address the climate crisis, and preparing both the economy and workforce for the future. “This means investing in nature recovery and low-carbon infrastructure, supporting businesses and communities to adapt, boosting emerging resilient industries and jobs, and equipping people with the skills needed to thrive in a changing economy.”
As for what Caledonian Climate is doing, Ingleby said he works with local contractors to limit travel – many of whom are exploring electric ATVs for use during restoration activity – and is in the process of reviewing transport options and exploring other novel solutions to cut emissions.
“We have proactively reviewed out own Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and are now appointing an internal sustainability champion, who will lead the way on our internal sustainability strategy,” he added.
Callum Milne, managing director of Radix
Callum Milne, managing director at Radix – an engineering company specialising in screw pile foundation systems – doesn’t think this summer has been a specific turning point, but that both staff and clients are becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues and making more conscious decisions about how they operate.
“Sometimes that comes from the top of the organisation, sometimes from employees, and increasingly it’s simply becoming part of the expectations around how a responsible business operates,” he stated.
“For SMEs in particular, I think it’s important to recognise that reducing environmental impact doesn’t necessarily mean adding another layer of cost to a project – in many cases, the more sustainable option can actually be the more efficient and commercially sensible one.
“My advice to other UK SMEs would be not to think of net zero as simply another cost or compliance exercise,” Milne continued. “Start by looking at where you’re creating waste, where you’re travelling unnecessarily and where processes could be made more efficient – very often, those are the same areas where you can reduce your environmental impact and improve your bottom line.”
Hannah Blackford, account director at Muckle Media
Hannah Blackford, account director at communications agency Muckle Media, has been involved in bringing the B Corp sustainability standard to Scotland.
The number of certified B Corps in Scotland now stands at 113, despite the recent rollout of a much more rigorous route to certification and continuous improvement. As a co-chair for B Local Scotland, Blackford said companies recently achieving the certification have been across construction, engineering, tourism, hospitality, third and public sectors.
Her co-chair Will Richardson, head of ecosystems at 51toCarbonZero, said that his organisation recently put on a National Emergency Briefing screening and found it was well received by clients and other stakeholders.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, this summer has acted as a catalyst for climate action,” he added. “The conversations we’re having in sales and marketing with potential and current clients focus on how organisations need to do more and there is a clear appetite for action.
“The business in which someone works is a great avenue for them to maximise their impact.”
Peter Proud, chief executive of Forrit
Peter Proud, founder and chief executive of cloud-based content management software firm Forrit, said that he has tried to bring learnings from a previous position at Microsoft with him.
“I was a big traveller while working there and all my flights were monitored and offset – I saw how once you get the processes in place it is as easy to be a clean green company as it is to be dirty – it’s all about having a policy, sharing it across the company and making sure it is adhered to,” he commented.
“Everyone is trained in our policies as part of onboarding and the HR and operations teams monitor and maintain them,” Proud continued, adding that this has also been beneficial when speaking to clients. “We seem to tick all the ESG boxes externally, particularly as our staff are proud to talk about our clean credentials.”
Bryce Cunningham, founder of the Mossgiel dairy farm, was influenced by trips to Germany, where he saw a different attitude towards recycling and reuse.
“Returning packaging and using it again felt normal rather than inconvenient – and anything recycled was sorted and binned responsibly in businesses – it felt cultural, not just something forced on people,” he said. “Organic food far more mainstream there too, it wasn’t presented as something relatively wealthy people bought from fancy shops, it was understood as something better for people, farming and the planet.
“That made me question why we accepted such a different system here – I had watched good farmers go bust and families leave farms they had worked for generations, while milk was reduced to an anonymous commodity in disposable packaging.”
Bryce Cunningham, founder of Mossgiel
Mossgiel’s cows graze pastures without synthetic fertilisers, pesticides or genetically-modified feed, while all milk leaves in reusable glass bottles, tubs or churns.
“That creates a lot of extra work,” Cunningham admits, as packaging has to be collected, washed, sterilised and put back into circulation. “Reuse is operationally harder than buying another disposable container, which gives us multiple challenges, but seeing it work in Germany taught me that convenience isn’t an excuse for waste and if people can do this at scale we can all make huge change.”
He noted that maintaining this over time requires systems, certification and constant scrutiny.
“No business is environmentally perfect and we absolutely need to improve in a number of areas, so you have to be honest about the compromises, measure what you are doing and keep improving – not always easy when so many other priorities are pulling everyone around on a day to day basis.”
Cunningham added: “Buy-in comes from explaining why those jobs matter and giving people permission to question how we do things.
“The best people also challenge me and my thinking, it cannot remain ‘Bryce’s sustainability idea’ – which I have called into in the past – instead, it has to become part of how everybody in the business makes decisions.”
Iain Clunie, net zero programme director at Food and Drink Federation Scotland, confirmed that across the sector “some are doing lots, others are doing very little”, so the organisation is launching a food and drink Climate Transition Plan in November.
While he hasn’t seen any clear evidence that this summer’s weather is prompting people to question their employers on what is being done to tackle climate change, “there is some attention directed to climate adaptation and resilience – how to plan ahead and adapt to changing weather – for example, air conditioning needs, reconsidering insurance requirements, flood and storm damage potential and climate-resilient crops”.
There is support available, although Clunie admitted knowing where to find it can be a challenge. He pointed to the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership’s net zero commitment by 2045, adding: “Working across industry, government and wider partners, the programme focuses on turning ambition into practical action, sharing knowledge and building the evidence needed to accelerate change.”
