environmental strategies for services companies

Introduction

This page concerns environmental strategies for companies which do not create or distribute any physical products.

Examples include bankers, financiers, lawyers, accountants, insurance brokers, therapists, designers, architects and real estate agents.

Companies in this sector tend to have relatively modest carbon footprints, so taking action on the environment can be relatively easy and cost-effective.

Whether or not taking action on the environment is worth doing right now will depend primarily upon the moral stance of your staff and management and, perhaps most importantly, the impact on demand for your services.

The usual starting point is for us to create a tailor-made Environmental Strategy Report for your company, to serve as a framework within which you can outline your ambitions, quantify your emissions and assess progress on your various positive actions.

The second part of the process is the attainment of carbon certification, the primary mechanism through which you can broadcast your environmental achievements.

Carbon certification is usually achieved through the purchase of carbon credits (most commonly from tree-planting projects), with the required quantity being determined by the annual calculation of your emissions and the level of certification that you select.

A services company that achieves carbon certification is generally viewed by customers as being inherently more positive, more approachable and more forward-thinking.

Being carbon neutral can also prove to be a great motivating factor for staff and lead to significant commercial advantages, which usually far outweigh the modest costs.

Carbon neutral certification

The primary aim of Carbon Neutral certification is to offset the emissions that are created by your core operation and infrastructure.

For a services company that means taking responsibility for the carbon footprint created by your staff, offices, equipment, transport and associated extras.

Since there are not usually any carbon emissions associated with the ‘products’ that a service company provides, achieving carbon neutral certification is usually easy, quick and cost-effective.

There are exceptional cases, where apparently virtual products do actually carry a significant carbon cost (such as the mining of crypto currencies), in which case please refer to the section aimed at manufacturing companies.

When it comes to guide prices for the first year, the Environmental Action Report typically works out around GBP 1000 / USD 3600 per million turnover. If you choose to go Carbon Neutral, that usually falls in the range GBP 275-850 / USD 330-1025 per employee, depending on your level of emissions. These costs tend to be around 70% lower in subsequent years.

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Services and costs

In this article we describe the services that we offer and the process through which we would guide you, on the way to fulfilling your environmental ambitions.