Get your staff engaged in your carbon reduction plan

Create a shared culture of responsibility to help your employees to play their part.

Involving your team in sustainability initiatives could benefit your business by:

• reducing energy costs and increasing profitability
• inspiring your workforce to be part of carbon reduction
• getting you recognised as a progressive and responsible organisation in your community
• increasing staff retention and recruitment of employees who want to work for an eco-friendly organisation

Create a carbon reduction plan
Set up a working group
Assign responsibilities to your working group
Train your staff to reduce carbon and cut costs
Put your carbon reduction plan into action
Embed your carbon reduction plan in your workplace
Find finance and support

Create a carbon reduction plan

A carbon reduction plan helps you set clear goals for cutting emissions and outline the steps to achieve them.

Measuring your carbon emissions is the first step toward smarter energy use and long-term savings. Understanding your business’s carbon footprint and identifying key areas where you can cut costs and reduce environmental impact will help you:

establish a baseline
set realistic targets for reducing emissions over time

More than ever, your business needs to stay competitive by meeting the growing sustainability expectations of customers, investors, and partners. Taking action now can give your business an edge in a low-carbon economy.

Learn more in How to become a ‘net-zero ready’ supplier.

Set up a working group

A working group can help your business make a lasting effort to reduce carbon emissions. Shared responsibility for setting goals and reporting back ensures the work isn’t left to one person.

If your business has multiple employees, you can set up a group within your organisation. If you are a 1-person business, consider organising with others in your local area.

You can follow these steps to set up a working group:

Establish group guidelines and ways of working.
Appoint a leader, a green champion who will motivate your team, and a scribe.
Write down a shared understanding of the problem.
Come up with ideas for solving it, for example, asking staff to review their own workstation or practices, competitions or team projects to reduce energy consumption.
Decide on specific tasks and divide them.
Ensure that each group member has a responsibility.
Decide on deadlines and regular follow-up meetings.
Decide how you will communicate progress and updates to your team.

For an example, read how Companies House formed an environmental working group to reduce emissions and waste disposal.

Assign responsibilities to your working group

The tasks of the person or team responsible for energy management depend on the size and nature of your business, but typical responsibilities include:

1. Monitoring and measuring energy use

track energy consumption through smart meters and energy bills
identify patterns, inefficiencies, and potential savings

2. Setting energy-saving goals and strategies

develop a plan to reduce energy waste and improve resource efficiency
set targets aligned with cost savings and sustainability goals.

3. Implementing energy efficiency measures

encourage simple behavioural changes such as switching off equipment and optimising heating and cooling
overseeing upgrades to energy-efficient lighting, equipment, and processes

4. Managing contracts and suppliers

review energy contracts to ensure competitive rates
explore renewable energy options and negotiate supplier agreements

5. Engaging staff and creating awareness

provide training and guidance to employees on energy-saving practices
promoting a culture of energy efficiency across the business

6. Identifying funding and support

research grants, incentives, and financing options for energy efficiency projects
work with stakeholders to secure funding for improvements

7. Reporting and compliance

ensure compliance with relevant energy regulations and sustainability targets
report progress to management and stakeholders

Train your staff to reduce carbon and cut costs

You can increase the chance of real change if your employees understand why you are trying to reduce emissions and save energy.

Explain why you are setting up a carbon reduction plan and the benefits of energy saving in an informal meeting at an appropriate time. A simple format to engage your team and encourage participation could be:

What is carbon reduction?
The benefits of reducing our carbon footprint
Where we are already doing well in terms of sustainability
How can we make improvements to reduce our carbon footprint?

Point out the benefits for your team.

Benefits could include:

a healthier environment: better air quality will enhance physical and mental wellbeing
motivation: your team can feel empowered by your business’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions
training opportunities: you may need to train your employees so that they have tools and information to make more sustainable decisions

Put your carbon reduction plan into action

Make a start with practical cost-saving actions, including the following:

1. Switching off equipment

Switching off equipment will save you money and increase its lifetime as you won’t need to replace it as often. You could:

set up an employee rota for the last to leave to check equipment is switched off, including printers, copiers, vending machines, coffee machines and any other equipment
turn off computer monitors if employees are away from their desks for more than 10 minutes
turn off both PCs and monitors at the plug at the end of the day
make sure that infrequently used printers and photocopiers are turned on only when required
set computers and other devices to low-power ‘sleep’ mode when not in use

2. Review your heating and cooling system

Encourage your staff to help reduce your business’s energy bills by:

setting heat lower – you can lower your monthly heating bill up to 8% for every 1°C you reduce
setting your air conditioning to the highest comfortable temperature – every degree of extra cooling may cost you 5-10% more
encouraging staff to layer up or dress cool in warmer weather
keeping doors and windows closed when the air-conditioning is on

3. Take steps to save on lighting

Take steps to maximise your natural light and reduce energy from lighting systems. You could:

maximise the use of daylight and hold off switching on lights until necessary
position your furniture, so it makes the most of natural light
optimise the brightness of their monitors; the brighter they are the more energy they use and this can cause eye strain

Find out more about how to save on lighting by changing behaviour and equipment.

4. Reduce waste and save water

Set up an office waste management and recycling system and back it up with a policy you share with your employees.

Train your staff on the importance and practices of water efficiency. Place posters around your building to encourage water saving behaviour.

Find out about more ways to reduce waste and save water.

5. Reduce the impact of transport

Encourage your staff to switch their mode of transport, for example by implementing a cycle-to-work employer scheme. Find out how you can switch to electric vehicles and more ways to reduce transport emissions.

Embed your carbon reduction plan in your workplace

Make sustainability part of your workplace culture. Steps you could take include:

drawing up an energy-saving checklist that puts sustainability at the forefront of operations and policy
giving regular updates on how your energy-saving strategy is going via email or another communication channel
rewarding employees who are demonstrating their commitment to sustainability
including energy saving responsibilities in job descriptions
making sustainability a key agenda item for the leadership team and part of every meeting.
creating marketing materials such as reminders and promotional materials to raise awareness