Business climate change toolkit

Energy

Our Green Team will provide tailored energy‑saving advice as part of your free green business review. In the meantime, small changes can make a big difference, so here are a few easy ways to get started to save money and protect the environment:

• switch to a green energy tariff to reduce your carbon footprint
• replace old lights with LEDs
• install motion sensors for lights so they’re only on when needed
• unplug computers, printers and other equipment when it isn't in use
• keep doors closed so heated or cooler air remains inside

If you own your building, make a big difference by:

• installing solar panels to generate renewable energy on your premises, grants and tax reliefs are available
• getting up to £7,500 off a brand-new energy efficient boiler with the government’s boiler upgrade scheme

Waste and recycling

Tailored guidance will be provided by our Green Team as part of your free green business review. In the meantime, here are some simple steps you can take right away to improve your waste and recycling practices:

• refurbish appliances and IT and replace them only when necessary, when you do, go for the most energy efficient option possible
• follow the five Rs of recycling:
• rethink what you need
• reduce what you use (for example, print less)
• reuse what you can
• repair what’s broken
• recycle what you can’t fix

We’ve also included information about government rules your business must follow:

• make sure you separate waste and recycling before they are collected to keep in line with the government’s simpler recycling rules
• if you produce or import packaging materials, you are responsible for the cost of recycling and disposing of them under the government’s extended producer responsibility duty
• cut down on single-use plastics to make sure you’re following the government’s bans and restrictions

Supply chain and business operations

Our Green Team will provide tailored guidance on what your business buys, where it sources from, and how your operations can become more sustainable as part of your free green business review. In the meantime, here are some simple steps you can take to get started:

Supply chains

• buy less and buy local
• go for refurbished or already-recycled items that you can recycle again, for example, recycled paper for printing and recycled packing boxes
• verify the green credentials of your supply chain so you can compete and win new business

Business operations

• opt for greener banking services
• check your business insurance covers extreme weather as it could help protect your company and its operations in the case of events like unexpected flooding

Travel and transport

How your business approaches travel and transport will also be discussed as part of your free green business review. In the meantime, here are some simple steps you can take to get started:

• plan business journeys, for example deliveries, to make fewer trips
• explore an electric car leasing scheme for business travel, for example for sales representatives
• your business can get a grant that covers up to 75% of the costs of new electric vehicle chargers from the government’s Workplace Charging Scheme

Engagement

Guidance on how to engage your staff, customers and prospective clients will be provided as part of your free green business review.

Engaging with and encouraging staff to go greener

Getting staff actively involved in sustainability can strengthen your reputation, help win new business and reduce cost including cutting your energy bill by around 15%. Here are a few quick ways to get started:

• get an energy champion to encourage other staff to switch off lights and appliances when they’re not being used or other issues such as like dripping taps
• upskill staff in sustainability to support your business’s growth
• check out free training courses on the Love Basingstoke SEEDL portal
• apply for grants for other training courses through the Basingstoke and Deane Workforce Development Grant Scheme
• Basingstoke College of Technology (BCOT) also runs short electric vehicle courses for those in the automotive trade
• inform your staff about your business’s green commitments and encourage them to share them with customers

Engaging with fellow businesses looking to go greener

• join the North Hampshire Sustainable Business Network, which offers a place for local organisations to engage along with free workshops and webpages with information for small to medium-sized businesses
• find out about support for smaller businesses to go greener on the Business Climate Hub’s webpages