Environmental Sustainability for SMEs

This session provided a high-level overview of the key components of a comprehensive environmental strategy for SMEs. It outlined how leading SMEs have implemented policies and practices to tackle a broad range of environmental impact areas across their operations, and presented the business case for why other SMEs should follow their lead.

SPEAKERS:

• David Osborne - CEO, Roman
• Stephanie Schlipper - Climate and Sustainability Lead, MannionDaniels

This session explored how SMEs can report on their environmental sustainability commitments and performance in a manner aligned with stakeholder expectations. It provided an overview of the sustainability reporting landscape, focusing particularly on SME reporting frameworks. Attendees also learnt about the new UN Global Compact Communication on Progress (CoP) questionnaire and heard from an SME Early Adopter of the new CoP about their experience completing the environmental components of the questionnaire.

SPEAKERS:

• Heather Rigby, Senior Consultant – Corporate Sustainability & Climate Change, ERM
• Caterina Agnoletti, Head of Operations and Participant Engagement, UN Global Compact Network UK
• Russell Waite, Group Director, Affinity Private Wealth
• Elizabeth Shaw, Associate Director, Affinity Private Wealth

This session took a deep dive into some of the challenges often faced by SMEs operating out of a leased or shared office, including how to calculate and allocate energy, water, and waste-related emissions, and how to manage situations where landlords are unwilling to provide the necessary data.

SPEAKERS:

Andrew Griffiths, Director of Policy and Partnerships, Planet Mark

This session equipped participants with the knowledge and resources to calculate and reduce the emissions derived from their employee commuting, homeworking, and business travel.

SPEAKERS:

• Amelie Trolle, Head of Engagement
  Planet Mark
• Ruth Wilkinson, Sustainability Lead
  Clarasys

This session explored how SMEs that are part of larger corporate supply chains will be impacted by upcoming climate-related regulations, and how they can go about managing requests for climate-related disclosures from customers. Attendees also learnt about procurement policies and practices that SMEs can implement to facilitate emissions-related data collection and drive emissions reductions within their own supply chains.

SPEAKERS:

• Nathan Cole, Senior Manager – Reporting Services, CDP
• Will Kirk, Head of Operations, Forster Communications

This session compared the processes and benefits of setting emissions reduction targets through the SME Climate Hub and the Science Based Targets initiative, covering the nature of the commitment involved, the extent of support provided by each initiative as part of the target-setting process, and the role that setting targets through these initiatives can play in helping small and medium-sized businesses meet common procurement demands.

SPEAKERS:

• Pamela Jouven, Director, SME Climate Hub
• Stephanie Schlipper, Climate and Sustainability Lead, MannionDaniels

This session provided practical guidance on how smaller businesses can go about understanding their nature-related impacts and dependencies, and demonstrated the solutions that can be implimented to mitigate harmful impacts and restore nature.

SPEAKERS:

• Sarah Cook, Head of Environment Programme, UN Global Compact Network UK
• Olivia Canham, Sustainability Manager, Monica Vinader

This session explored how SMEs can reduce the waste generated across their operations using circular economy principles. Practical case studies were highlighted to demonstrate how smaller businesses are embedding these principles into their product designs, manufacturing processes, and business models to reduce their environmental impacts and generate wider benefits in the process.

SPEAKERS:

• Peter Henry, Director of Sustainability - Harworth Group
• Deborah Graham-Wilson, Head of Communications & ESG - Eland Cables

This session explored how SMEs can drive down energy usage across their operations and premises, achieving cost savings in the process. Discussions were focussed on the low-cost measures that SMEs can implement to reduce their energy consumption and increase the energy efficiency of existing appliances/assets, as well as how SMEs can access the funding required to finance these measures.

Speakers:

• Chris Taylor, Net Zero Programme Director, Broadway Initiative
• Magaly Etter, Supply Chain Officer, Whatley Manor

In this session, participants had the opportunity to ask experts about the process and benefits of switching to Electric Vehicle (EV) fleets across their operations. Discussions focussed on the key considerations that SMEs should take into account when devising an EV fleet roll-out strategy, including how to select EV solutions that work for their business, the role that switching to EV fleets can play in helping SMEs achieve their emissions reduction targets, and schemes available to help SMEs finance the switch.

Speakers:

• James Brown, Senior Fleet Decarbonisation Consultant, Energy Saving Trust 
• David Osborne, CEO, Roman