How to Reduce Carbon Footprint at Work

Louise Petty

August 8, 2024

5 min read

All businesses have a responsibility to look after the environment, as their daily operations can often create high carbon emissions and have a significant impact on climate change. Reducing your company’s carbon footprint will ensure that sustainability and accountability remain important values for your business and will help you to improve your Corporate Social Responsibility. In this article, we’ll look at what a carbon footprint in business is, why you should improve your carbon footprint and how to reduce your carbon footprint in the workplace.

What is Carbon Footprint in Business?

Your carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases that are generated by your actions. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide and methane, and they are emitted either directly or indirectly by daily activities.

Your carbon footprint in business refers to the total amount of greenhouse gases your workplace generates through daily operations, transportation, manufacturing and maintenance, to name a few. It also includes the emissions created by workplace equipment and utilities.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol – who set international standards for carbon emissions – categorise carbon footprint activities into three key areas. Each of your workplace activities will fall into one of the three categories and you can use this information to help your company reduce its carbon footprint. The three areas are:

Scope 1: Direct Emissions – these are the greenhouse gas emissions created by the fuel and energy sources your business uses in its daily operations. For example, gas boilers, furnaces or the petrol in company-owned vehicles.
Scope 2: Indirect Emissions – these are the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the energy your business purchases. For example, the energy needed for electricity, heating and air conditioning. Indirect emissions are linked to your company’s utility bills and are affected by your energy choices and how energy efficient your business is.
Scope 3: Other Indirect Emissions – this category is for everything else, i.e. all other indirect greenhouse gas emissions linked to your company’s daily operations but not produced by the business itself. For example, employee commuting, waste disposal, purchased goods, office electronics and outsourced services.

Why Should Companies Reduce Their Carbon Footprint?

Reducing your carbon footprint is vital to help mitigate climate change. Businesses and buildings contribute enormously to global greenhouse gas emissions, so it’s essential that they play their part in reducing them. It’s believed that buildings and offices are responsible for almost 40% of the world’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.

As well as the positive environmental impact, reducing your business’s carbon footprint has many other benefits:

Help the UK achieve net zero – As part of the Paris Agreement, the UK aims to reach net zero by 2050, meaning the total greenhouse gas emissions will be equal to the emissions removed from the atmosphere. Reducing your organisation’s carbon footprint now will help the country to achieve this goal and ensure you’re complying with any current or future regulatory requirements.
Attract like-minded employees – A 2021 survey learnt that 65% of people would prefer to work for an environmentally-minded company. Working to reduce your carbon footprint shows potential job candidates that your business is responsible, caring and accountable for its future.
Enhance your public profile – Alongside attracting like-minded staff, your business will also attract like-minded customers, clients and stakeholders by reducing its carbon emissions. Research has shown that 34% of consumers choose brands with strong, sustainable credentials, so upping your environmental game will likely lead to an increase in sales.
Save your business money – Taking a look at your company’s carbon footprint and making changes to improve it will more than likely save your business money. Energy consumption is a significant cost for most businesses, so improving your energy efficiency will soon lead to lower energy bills.

How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint in the Workplace

There are so many ways for your business to reduce its carbon footprint, many of which are low-cost and low-effort. Even if your company makes just one of the changes listed here, it will still make a positive difference to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions it creates.

Choose energy-efficient lighting – Switch to LED lightbulbs as these are much more efficient than older, halogen bulbs and tend to last a lot longer before they need replacing. The Energy Saving Trust says that replacing lightbulbs with LED alternatives can reduce your carbon emissions by 5KG. You should also aim to reduce energy wastage by only switching on lights when you need them, installing sensor-activated lighting, using dimmable lights and keeping blinds open to maximise natural light.

Manage the temperature – Pay attention to the way your business both heats and cools its premises, as heating and cooling systems can quickly use a lot of energy. Opt for programmable thermostats and energy-efficient HVAC systems, seal windows and doors, install insulation and use double glazing. Keep systems clean and well maintained so that they’re working at maximum efficiency and pay attention to the temperature settings on your thermostat – turning the temperature down by just one degree will make a big difference to your carbon footprint.

Switch energy suppliers – Take a look at who currently provides your utilities and see whether you’re able to switch to a renewable source. Renewable energy sources, like hydroelectric power and solar power, are much more sustainable options than fossil fuels and create far less harmful carbon emissions.You could even consider installing solar panels on the roof of your company’s premises.

Opt for greener transport – If you have employees that commute to the workplace, encourage them to use more sustainable transport options, such as public transports, walking, biking or car-sharing. Your business could consider offering incentives to reduce the cost of public transport for workers and, if company cars are provided, selecting electric vehicles rather than petrol/diesel-fuelled ones.

Choose local suppliers and reduce journey distances – Buy products and services from businesses local to you, as this is much more sustainable and reduces carbon emissions as products have a much smaller distance to travel. Plan deliveries, orders and collections more efficiently to prevent unnecessary journeys, look for local companies that offer packaging-free delivery options and send just one person out to collect office lunches, rather than each employee driving individually.

Go paperless – Reduce the amount of paper used in your business by using digital documents instead of paper ones, emails rather than posted mail, limit printing to essential documents only, avoid hard-copies of training materials and print double-sided. Adopt a ‘paperless policy’ across the company and recycle as much as possible to avoid any paper waste – it’s thought that around 26% of waste in landfills around the world is a result of paper.

a company making steps to reduce their carbon footprint

Banish single-use items – Single-use items, like paper towels, disposable cutlery and coffee cups, contribute towards carbon emissions as they require manufacturing, sale and delivery to replace. Around 2.5 billion takeaway coffee cups are thrown away in the UK each year. Replace any single-use items your company uses with reusable ones – you could provide staff with water bottles, mugs, spoons and cloth cleaning towels, for example. These are easy swaps to make and can have a big impact on reducing your business’s carbon footprint.

Use rechargeable batteries – Your company office probably has a variety of small appliances and items that use batteries, such as smoke detectors, radios, calculators, remote controls and wireless keyboards. Replace the single-use batteries in them with rechargeable ones which can be used hundreds of times rather than just once, reducing waste and reducing carbon emissions.

Reduce, reuse and recycle – Alongside reducing the amount of waste produced by your company, you should also aim to recycle as much as you can to reduce the environmental impact you have. Put labelled recycling bins in all staff areas and offices to encourage the recycling of paper, cardboard, tins, bottles, glass, printer ink cartridges, batteries, lightbulbs, etc. Make recycling as easy as possible for employees so that nothing goes in the wrong bin and educate staff so they understand the importance of recycling.

Reduce food waste – The UN says that a third of all food produced in the world is wasted. Not only does this result in lost food, but also a waste of carbon emissions from when the food was produced, packaged, transported and disposed of. Furthermore, when waste food breaks down in landfill, it produces methane – a greenhouse gas. Whether your business has a canteen, food hall, shop or staffroom, ensure that food waste is reduced wherever possible through composting or food donation.

Opt for organic food and drink – If your business provides employees or visitors with food and drink, choose organic or Fairtrade options where you can, as these have been produced in a more sustainable way and therefore have a lower carbon footprint. You could also look for food and drink companies that are BCorp certified, as this shows the company has a strong social conscience.

Remove plastic water bottles – Many businesses offer free bottles of water to staff and visitors, but this can result in significant plastic waste, costs and carbon emissions. Instead, swap bottled water for a water filter which can be installed directly onto your taps.

Rent items rather than buying them – All equipment creates carbon emissions during manufacture, packing and delivery, including office furniture, electronics and machinery. If you’re able to, lease your equipment rather than purchasing it outright, as this helps to save resources and energy. Another option is to buy second hand, as this is a much more sustainable option than buying new.

Look for green appliances – If you need to replace company appliances and electronics with new ones, and you aren’t able to rent them, then always look for the most energy-efficient options. All appliances have ratings for how efficient they are and, the better the rating, the less energy it uses, the lower emissions it produces and the more money it’ll save you to run.

Retrofit existing company buildings – Older company premises are unlikely to be as energy-efficient as newly built ones, so consider retrofitting your building to improve its environmental credentials. Could you install more insulation, replace old windows with double-glazing, install solar panels or add lighting sensors? All of these options will reduce carbon emissions and reduce energy costs.

Aim for a green certification – Your business can apply for a certification scheme to prove how sustainable it is. Not only does this show potential clients and stakeholders that you’re accountable for your environmental actions, but it also helps your business recognise what it needs to do to reduce emissions in order to achieve green accreditation. Examples of green certifications in the UK are Green Mark, Green Accord and B Corp.

Implement a company-wide sustainability policy – Including a sustainability policy in your company procedures shows to employees, customers, stakeholders and the world that you are serious about reducing carbon emissions and improving your carbon footprint. Ensure employees are trained regularly in environmental awareness, keep sustainability part of every business conversation and actively do what you can to keep green behaviour at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

If your business takes action to reduce its carbon footprint, then not only will the environment benefit from the changes made, but your company will also save money and enhance its public profile. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is vital for mitigating climate change and achieving net zero and it’s often the smallest of changes to your daily operations that make all the difference.