Surely SMEs don't need to be too concerned about their carbon footprint? 

Wrong.

We were lucky enough to have Alan Stenson of the Neutral Carbon Zone come and talk to us at one of our recent Pabasso meetings about the importance of understanding your carbon footprint if you are an SME.

We tend to think that it's the big enterprises and corporations that are producing the most carbon and that they are addressing this in the drive to carbon neutral and hopefully that's true.

However, the wind of change is in the air, and it was clear from Alan's presentation that SMEs must start to understand their carbon footprint if they are to remain competitive.

It's a big subject, but some of the key areas that Alan identified where SMEs can be disadvantaged if they do not know their carbon footprint include:

• Tenders: more and more tenders for products and services (not just from the Public Sector) are insisting that potential suppliers include their carbon footprint in proposals, not just for lip service; many companies are now seriously scoring this when evaluating tenders.

• Customers: many existing customers are now asking the same questions of SME suppliers and are actually switching away from existing suppliers who are not able to identify their current carbon footprint or their plans to progress to carbon neutral.

• Staffing: it is becoming increasingly important to employers to be able to answer the carbon footprint questions raised by both potential employees and existing employees.

As regards tenders and customers it's not just about your organisations carbon footprint, which may be small, but there is a need to know the carbon footprint within your supply chain which can be the largest component.

Alan's team at Neutral Carbon Zone have been helping organisations work through this maze for over 20 years so if you want to get ahead of the curve they can help.

If you would like to find out more about the value MDs and CEOs of Yorkshire-based SMEs get from being part of Pabasso - Peer Advisory Board Associates, then please drop me a note at rad@pabasso.com, and we can arrange a confidential chat to see if we can help you progress.

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