New workshops help members kickstart carbon reduction plans
At Oh Yes! Net Zero one of our main goals is to provide real support to help organisations cut their carbon emissions – and our new Carbon Clinic workshops are already doing just that.
The three-hour workshops are aimed at small and medium-sized organisations – including microbusinesses – who are serious about reducing their carbon footprint but need expert support to get started or to take their next step.
Melissa Rackham, Oh Yes! Net Zero’s community engagement manager, explains the thinking behind their introduction: “The workshops have a clear purpose – to help members calculate their organisation’s carbon footprint and create a plan to reduce it.
“While any measures our members take to reduce their environmental impact and become more sustainable are worthwhile, creating a carbon reduction plan is vital because it helps you understand where your carbon emissions are coming from and prioritise the activities that will make the biggest impact in reducing them.
“We’re targeting the workshops at smaller organisations which, based on member feedback, are less likely than large businesses to have the in-house resources or the time to focus on creating a plan.
“With a maximum of five organisations at each session, we’re able to ensure everyone gets support relevant to their circumstances, which makes them very productive and practical, as well as collaborative.
“We’re very pleased that 100 per cent of participants have said they would recommend the workshops to others.”
The workshops are led by experts from local decarbonisation consultancy BACB Renewables and funded by Oh Yes! Net Zero founding member Reckitt.
Jan Antons is Business Development Manager at Vertual Ltd, which provides virtual reality solutions for healthcare training, and took part in the first workshop.
She said: “Part of our company strategy is to measure scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and identify ways to cut our carbon footprint and become more sustainable, but as a small business it can be difficult to know where to start.
“Being able to work on our carbon reduction plan in the workshop, with advice and help on hand, has been very valuable. Ciaran and Ethan from BACB were approachable and knowledgeable.
“The workshop made calculating our scope 1 and 2 emissions simple, and signposting to other resources meant we could complete our carbon reduction plan sooner than we expected to, which in turn means we could start acting sooner. It was also great to meet other business leaders who were navigating their carbon management journeys and to share our experiences.”
Lloyd Glanville of BACB Renewables said: “There are lots of benefits to developing a carbon reduction plan for your business. As well as providing a roadmap to achieving your environmental goals, it can cut your energy costs and enable you to bid for certain public sector contracts.
“In the Carbon Clinic workshops we guide members through the process of creating a plan tailored to their organisation, which can be updated annually as they make progress towards net zero.”
Members attending a workshop are asked to submit a copy of their plan to Oh Yes! Net Zero and also to “pay it forward” by supporting an organisation in their supply chain – or another Oh Yes! member – to create their own carbon reduction plan.
Forthcoming workshops:
22nd October, 9:30 – 12:30
Hull City Council, The Guildhall, Hull12th November, 13:30 – 16:30
ergo Business Centre, Bridgehead Business Park, Hessle4th December, 9:30 – 12:30
Reckitt Science and Innovation Centre, Dansom Lane, Hull
To book a place email melissa@ohyesnetzero.co.uk.