The UK Lays Out Plans to Cut Emissions: What It Means for Businesses
Businesses will be under pressure to adapt and even reconstruct their processes to better align themselves with carbon-neutral aims, as the UK strives to drastically decrease emissions in the near future. Come read our blog to learn more about this ambitious plan.
The UK has set new goals to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035, compared to 1990 levels. The UK’s sixth carbon budget aims to move the country over 75% of the way to its goal of being carbon-neutral by 2050 over the next 14 years. While some of the UK’s plans have been criticized as being insufficient to meet its ambitious goals, there will no doubt be a strong demand for businesses to change, update, and even overhaul their processes in order to align themselves with carbon-neutral goals.
All Industries Will Need to Make Changes
The UK has already made significant progress towards reaching its carbon goals. In 2019, the UK released 38% fewer emissions than it did in 1990. However, it still has a long way to go to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. While much of the UK’s new strategy focuses on addressing the major contributors to carbon emissions, such as the transportation sector, the pressure to make changes to contribute to carbon-neutral goals will be felt in every industry.
UK businesses will need to make efforts to cut their emissions in every part of their business, from their materials/goods sourcing, their production methods and/or services, to the transportation involved in their operations.
Business owners may be required to make adjustments to their business models, such as using climate-friendly packaging or switching to electric vehicles. Others may be forced to consider overhauling their business as certain materials and processes that are associated with high carbon footprints become unrealistic in a carbon-neutral future.
Special Considerations to Buildings Will Be More Important
Changes to building regulations are perhaps one area likely to impact all businesses regardless of the sector they operate in. The UK government has announced specific strategies to reduce emissions associated with operating buildings, such as those caused by poor insulation, reliance on fossil fuels, and inefficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Additionally, new technologies that allow buildings to optimize their energy usage, such as the implementation of sensors alongside smart technology and the leverage of nanoparticles into innovations such as window coatings, will become more commonplace and will be increasingly important to consider for any building-related business operations, be it a warehouse, factory, or office space.
Businesses Should Make Carbon-Neutral a Priority
The best way for UK businesses to assimilate to this changing landscape is to stay informed on government policy and be early adopters of new technologies. Not only is it important for businesses to make efforts to become carbon neutral in order to tackle climate change and stay in line with government strategies, it is also vital in terms of keeping up with competitors and satisfying the changing demands of the consumer. Studies have shown that consumers are becoming more conscious of what they are buying and are motivated to support brands and businesses that are eco-friendly.
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