Member Article

Helping Britain?s SMEs manage their carbon footprint

The CarbonNeutral Company and AXA Business Insurance join forces to help Britain’s small businesses manage their carbon footprint

Partnership sees CarbonNeutral Footprint Reporter made available to AXA customers as new research reveals UK SMEs struggling with environmental sustainability

Small business owners have a lack of understanding when it comes to the benefits of carbon management for business, new research from AXA Business Insurance has revealed. Insights from a survey of over 500 UK Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have shown that while nearly half (46%) of respondents deemed green issues to be important to their business, almost as many (43%) did not recognise their importance at all. Moreover, results revealed that a substantial 56% of firms did not believe that improving their carbon footprint would help them to grow their business. This stands in stark contrast to the 96% of FTSE 100 listed companies reporting on their carbon emissions, demonstrating the importance being placed on environmental sustainability by large businesses in the UK and the increasing pressure this will push down through small businesses in their supply chains.

In order to help SMEs meet customer demand for improved environmental credentials and minimise their carbon footprint, AXA Business Insurance’s Business Guardian Angel website - which provides SME’s with the tools and advice they need to protect and grow their business - is making CarbonNeutral Footprint Reporter available to those who register on the site. The online tool - developed by The CarbonNeutral Company and Best Foot Forward - provides a simple, accessible and low cost way for small businesses to accurately measure their carbon footprint. The solution integrates carbon footprinting, carbon neutral certification and the purchase of carbon credits, as well as providing materials to support businesses in communicating their action. Small businesses are able to immediately gain a credible, recognised certification of carbon management, enabling them to deliver tangible business benefits through competitive differentiation and increased revenue.

The introduction of Mandatory Carbon Reporting (MCR) this April - which makes it compulsory for companies on the London Stock Exchange to report their levels of greenhouse gas emissions in their annual reports - is set to propel environmental sustainability further up the corporate agenda. MCR will build a domino effect for small and mid-sized businesses, as larger firms place increased focus on reducing emissions in their supply chain. This makes it the optimum time for UK SMEs to meet customer demand for action on carbon management, differentiate from their competitors and build a strong environmental profile.

Douglas Barnett, Head of Customer Risk Management at AXA Insurance UK commented: “Our research goes to show that whilst environmental credentials are evidently important for businesses, there is still a lack of understanding when it comes to how they can harness carbon management action to help support their business. By making CarbonNeutral Footprint Reporter available on AXA’s Business Guardian Angel website, we are aiming to help guide small businesses in the process to measure and reduce their carbon footprint as well as enabling them to realise the business advantages which can be achieved through carbon neutrality.”

Oliver Crouch, Head of Strategic Development at The CarbonNeutral Company, explained: “It’s clear from this research that there is still a significant opportunity for UK small businesses to realise the business benefits that managing their carbon footprint can bring. With legislation putting a focus on measuring and reporting carbon emissions throughout the value chain, and the cost of running buildings and travel programmes rising, carbon management is no longer a luxury but a business necessity. There is significant potential for SME’s to develop and grow their businesses by demonstrating action to reduce their carbon impact and through our partnership with AXA we look forward to helping them achieve this.”

The online CarbonNeutral Footprint Reporter provides a simple, cost-effective solution for small businesses to manage their carbon emissions and achieve CarbonNeutral® certification.

About The CarbonNeutral Company

The CarbonNeutral Company is a world-leading provider of carbon reduction solutions. It works with more than 350 companies in 34 countries to develop offset-inclusive carbon reduction programmes and since 1997 it has purchased carbon credits from 246 projects in 30 countries.

Through its offices in London and New York, The CarbonNeutral Company’s global team combines experience working in international B2B corporations, carbon markets and trading, carbon project development, engineering, corporate sustainability management, marketing communications and consulting. CarbonNeutral® is the registered trademark of The CarbonNeutral Company and is underpinned by The CarbonNeutral Protocol, the global standard to certify that businesses have measured and reduced their CO2 emissions to net zero for their company, products, operations or services.

About AXA Business Insurance

AXA Business Insurance is part of AXA Insurance UK plc, which belongs to the AXA group of companies. With us, you choose the business insurance that’s right for you. We offer public liability, employers’ liability and professional indemnity insurance online to start ups, sole traders, self-employed people and small businesses. In addition we offer van insurance. AXA Business Insurance also runs Business Guardian Angel which provides resources to help protect and grow small businesses.

You can follow AXA Business Insurance on Twitter @AXAbizteam, for business insurance help, and @itsyoursmallbiz, for the latest business news. You’ll also find AXA Business Insurance on Google+ and Facebook – and you can watch expert guides and business case studies on the AXA Business Insurance YouTube channel.

About AXA

The AXA Group is a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with more than 163,000 employees serving 102 million clients in 57 countries. In 2012, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 90.1 billion and IFRS underlying earnings to Euro 4.3 billion. AXA had Euro 1,116 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2012.

In the UK AXA operates through a number of business units including: AXA Wealth, AXA Commercial Lines and Personal Intermediary, AXA Personal Direct and Partnerships, AXA PPP healthcare, AXA Ireland and an independent distribution business Bluefin. AXA employs over 12,000 staff in the UK.

The AXA ordinary share is listed on compartment A of Euronext Paris under the ticker symbol CS (ISN FR 0000120628 – Bloomberg: CS FP – Reuters: AXAF.PA). AXA’s American Depository Share is also quoted on the OTC QX platform under the ticker symbol AXAHY.

The AXA Group is included in the main international SRI indexes, such as Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and FTSE4GOOD.

It is a founding member of the UN Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Principles
for Sustainable Insurance and a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The CarbonNeutral Company .