The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 12: Summer 2019 | Page 22

GOING GREEN FUNDING TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES START THEIR SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEYS Businesses in Bath are being offered the chance to start their sustainability journey with a new funded programme, The Planet Mark Start! With the rise of the Extinction Rebellion movement and UK Government voting on a Climate Emergency, the time has come for businesses to get serious about tackling their sustainability impact. If global temperatures rise above 1.5°C over the next 12 years, humans will face unprecedented climate-related risks and weather events. We are currently on a path of a 3-4°C increase. However, meeting carbon reduction doesn’t have to be bad news for business. In a recent report, the Committee on Climate Change noted that in the UK since 1990 there has been a 44% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions alongside a 75% increase in real gross domestic product. Clean growth is clearly achievable and it should matter to businesses both large and small. Project Manager of The Planet Mark Start! Mike Harris said, “We are funded to help businesses in the West of England build their sustainability credentials. We constantly come across business owners who hide their green policies on the last page of their website or perhaps don’t even mention what they’re doing at all! The time has come to change.” In terms of attracting new customers nearly 80% of consumers, want to buy from ethical and environmental companies, but only 45% of businesses show their customers their green credentials. “Even if you work from home on a laptop there are steps to be taken to improve your business’ carbon impact. Usually this results in cost savings to help improve the bottom line, and by shouting about it in your marketing you should attract more customers as well – increasing turnover and profitability”. The Planet Mark Start! project has secured ERDF funding to help support those businesses in the region seeking to realise their green potential. They are also offering a few businesses the opportunity to get free coverage in the local media to promote their sustainability journey. “We have a few months left of the funding to help businesses achieve The Planet Mark Start! certificate. In addition, we are also looking to promote some of those businesses and talk about their journey in the media with secured coverage lined up in key publications across Bristol and Bath.” To get involved all a business needs to do is contact the Planet Mark Start! team on [email protected] or call 0117 989 7053. Cover story BATH SPA UNIVERSITY BINS SINGLE-USE CUPS IN FAVOUR OF GOING PLASTIC FREE As part of its commitment to continually improve its green credentials, Bath Spa University has permanently removed single-use cups from its own catering outlets and water machines across all campuses. “Sustainability is a key part of our fabric and this is reflected in our overall sustainability strategy” 22 The University is aiming to completely eliminate the usage of all single-use cups throughout its estate by 2020. Currently, two out of three of its performance venues are proudly plastic-free, while the third offers drinks in reusable polycarbonate glasses. Dr Julian Greaves, Sustainability Manager at Bath Spa University, said, “I am delighted to see how well our plastic-free initiative has been received by the Bath Spa community. We pride ourselves on caring for students, staff and, of course, our precious environment. Sustainability is a key part of our fabric and this is THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019 reflected in our overall sustainability strategy, which is underpinned by our primary commitment to be ethically-led. We truly are working to make the world a better place, one student at a time.” Over the last ten years, the University has continued to improve its environmental performance. It has reduced its carbon emissions by over 50% per m2, an impressive 80% of all University waste is recycled, and biodiversity at its sites is thriving thanks to its biodiversity and habitat management plan. More recently, the University expanded its estates-based activities Cows at Bath Spa University campus to ensure that issues relating to sustainability are addressed in all of its degree courses. The sustainability team has recruited a second year Bath Spa University BSc Environmental Science student, Asher Griffin Moore, to conduct research into this area. As part of his Biology Work Placement module, Asher has been assessing to what extent Bath Spa University is incorporating the United @BathSpaUni Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals into the curricula for every single course. The results will soon be analysed and used to map out further sustainability improvements across the University. You can read the full Bath Spa University Sustainability Strategy on the Bath Spa website and keep up to date with the sustainability team’s latest information on the University’s Green Focus web page. For more info: www.bathspa.ac.uk