Achieving zero-carbon has become the new norm for businesses across the world. Organizations have started to realize the consequences of climate change and the stature of the threat it poses to an individual and a nation. If you are a part of an organization that is looking to accomplish the goal of zero-carbon emission, then these five easy steps can help you for a green future:
Step #1 Assess Your Energy Footprint
Ensure you’re keeping a close eye on the carbon emissions and the energy footprint your business is leaving behind. It will help monitor the environmental impact that internal stakeholders can use to make future decisions and figure out the next steps. Without proper assessment, the process may turn out to be more time-consuming and difficult.
Step #2 ARM Yourself
You need a robust action plan to achieve your ultimate goal of carbon neutrality, and one efficient way to accomplish that is by sticking to the ARM (Avoid, Reduce and Mitigate) process. You don’t have to arm yourself with carbon eradication weapons or anything, although that would be a great invention. It is a simple process to considerably reduce business-based carbon emissions. Here’s how it works:
Avoid: Abstain yourself from producing carbon-dating products and operations that emit carbon on a mass scale. For instance, avoiding the use of conventional refrigerants and air conditioners can greatly reduce the amount of CFC production. Instead, it’s recommended to go for green or smart refrigerants. It’s advisable to invest in technologies that help you track these metrics.
Reduce: Some emissions are unavoidable and that’s when you need to take some measures to optimize the utilization of those carbon-inducing activities. For example, optimizing your supply chain management, which typically involves reducing unnecessary operations and transport, can have a significant effect on the environment.
Mitigate: There are sources of emissions that you cannot avoid or reduce, the best way to combat that is by mitigating them. You can take the following steps to mitigate carbon emissions: choose a low-carbon energy provider, switch modes of transport for operations, equip yourself with industrial plants that use cleaner fuels, etc.
Step #3 Educate Your Employees
As much as it is the priority of the senior management, mid and entry-level personnel must also be aware of the ill effects of carbon emission in the environment. New company policies must be amended that focus on sustainability. Civil discussions based on the same can have a positive impact on the staffs’ mindsets. As they become more aware, organizations can speed up their progress.
Step #4 Join Hands with Others Who Are on The Same Path
While the whole concept sounds like a walk in the park, but it’s far from it. Achieving zero-carbon emission is a long marathon. It is a battle that cannot be won overnight and certainly not alone. Your organization needs trillion dollars of investments, government aid, tie-up with other corporations and financial institutions to conquer carbon neutrality. Furthermore, with collaboration, businesses can assist one another to come up with sustainable solutions for fiddly challenges.
Step #5 Embrace Work-From-Home
The work-from-home lifestyle reduces the number of cars on the road. If the majority of the workforce opts for working from home then it’s a sure-fire way to lessen the emission of greenhouse gas, and reduce air pollution.
Closing Note
Reaching carbon neutrality is not easy to achieve, but it sure is not impossible. As a core part of your organization, you need to constantly educate yourself and figure out the ways to reduce carbon emissions. These five steps that we mentioned here are some of the easiest ways to start transforming your business into a green and sustainable one.
