Deep Dive into net zero for businesses – a timely resume to the soundtrack of Green Day

Last week, I hosted ‘Deep Dive into net zero for businesses’, the latest in our series of Deep Dive webinars.

I was joined by a panel of experts and business leaders, posing questions, both mine and those from the audience:

John Peters (SWIG Finance)
Scott James (Ward Williams Associates)
Peter Lefort (University of Exeter)

I hope those who listened got as much from the event as I did in terms of:

Understanding the terminology
Practical steps to starting the journey – including the educational aspects
Measurement and reduction
Assistance / Tools available
How to start eating the elephant
Keeping it simple
Following the money…

“Start where you can, use what’s out there and…[look to] improve over time.” – Peter Lefort.

It was interesting to hear transport solutions mentioned, which seemed to be the most common theme in terms of difficulties in dealing with/reducing, but also one with a large impact. We considered the Cycle to Work Scheme, Electrical Vehicles (under salary sacrifice sacrifice) and Electric Pool Cars. These are all aspects my colleagues can assist businesses with, in terms of tax implications.

Webinar recording

To listen to or watch the recording of the webinar please click here.

My thanks go to John, Scott and Peter for the insightful conversation, which helped me understand more and I hope providing useful information for those listening to help them on their sustainability journey. Thank you also to Ruth and Saff from our marketing team for making the event happen.

The resounding message from our conversation was to make a start, as soon as you can, as there’s no change too small. We all need to work together, to drive change, to help better the future for us and beyond. We shouldn’t be bogged down in showing the biggest change, rather, doing the right thing and ensuring we do change.

Additional information

For anyone interested in the topic, you can check out some of the materials mentioned below:

Green Day

On 30 March the UK Government made a series of announcements on what it had dubbed Green Day.

Below is a summary of the announcements. Click this link to read the full article.

Announcement	Material covered included
The Energy Security Plan	An extension of the ECO levy, which funds improvements to the energy efficiency of social and low-income homes A new £30m heat pump investment accelerator scheme An extension to the boiler upgrade scheme to 2028 An extra £10bn for UK Export Finance, with a focus on clean energy
A response to the CCC’s 2022 annual net-zero progress report	An acknowledgement that the UK is still not on track to deliver carbon budgets five and six, but an argument that the fourth budget will be met.
A response to Chris Skidmore’s Net-Zero Review	Responses to recommendations in Chris Skidmore’s review. Recommendations that are to implemented are included in the Net-Zero Growth Plan,
The Green Finance Strategy	A new Green Finance Strategy that includes: A commitment for the UK to be the ‘best place in the world for raising transition capital’ Consultations on mandating transition plans from large businesses in high-emission sectors Measures to streamline and join-up corporate reporting standards, with a focus on Scope 3 (indirect) emissions Confirmation of plans in the works to dramatically scale up climate adaptation finance The UK’s first set of principles for nature-based investments Fiduciary duty reform to better reflect how environmental sustainability is being demanded by businesses and individuals when choosing financial products A renewed focus on getting more workers into green finance career
Fresh measures to decarbonise transport	Launch of £381m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (LEVI) funding round (aimed at Local Authorities) DfT has opened the second round of its Advanced Fuels Fund