UK firms offered carbon cutting workshops as Race to Zero kicks off

Thousands of British businesses from across the country will be offered carbon reduction workshops and practical net zero advice until the end of COP26 in November.

The workshops will be provided by Planet Mark – a leading sustainability and net zero certification group that usually works with companies like Centrica and Charles Tyrwhitt – and forms part of the UN-backed Race to Zero campaign.

In the UK, the Race to Zero effort is being coordinated by Kwasi Kwarteng’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department working with Local Authorities, Planet Mark, the Institute of Directors, and others. It is the Government’s flagship campaign to raise awareness among the business community about the urgent need for firms to cut their carbon emissions.

This phase of the campaign will see Planet Mark’s fully electric powered battle bus – which also made the trip to Cornwall for the G7 conference – visit 30 towns and cities across the UK. Cambridge is the first stop on Tuesday 31 August, and it will finish in Glasgow for COP26.

This month’s hard hitting IPCC report showed just how dire the climate crisis really is. The study said: “it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, oceans and land.” Businesses and organisations across the UK, and globally, must therefore be encouraged to take action now to reduce their carbon emissions and help create a healthier planet and society.

At each bus tour location Planet Mark’s team will demonstrate how businesses can set their own credible carbon reduction targets and implement plans to achieve them in line with the Race to Zero’s rigorous minimum criteria. The tour will empower British firms and their employees to become part of a greater national effort to protect our environment by demystifying what is needed to achieve net zero. It will also highlight the good work many companies are already doing to address their carbon output.

UK Net Zero Business Champion Andrew Griffith said: “The UK-hosted COP26 Climate Summit is the tip of a pyramid of activity that involves us all. World leaders getting together and finding agreement is crucial but equally important are the small changes made by each of us.”

“What I find businesses need more than anything is practical advice. They want to change and many are already doing so. They also recognise there are big opportunities for themselves and for the UK in moving to a low carbon economy. That’s why the Zero Carbon electric bus tour is a great initiative, travelling the UK in the run up to COP26 to engage with British companies and give them the tips and tools to go Net Zero.”

Steve Malkin, founder and CEO of Planet Mark, said: “Action must be taken now by all businesses, from the very largest to the very smallest, to support the UK’s net zero transition. COP26 puts the UK at the heart of the battle to reduce global emissions and our electric bus tour will provide thousands of British firms with the practical tools and resources they need to tackle the climate emergency. We want to help the entire nation move to net zero.”

Race to Zero is the UN-backed, global campaign to rally leadership and support from all non-state actors for a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery. All members are credibly committed to the same overarching goal: halving global emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions as soon as possible, and by 2050 at the very latest. Planet Mark is one of the campaign’s 11 formal partners for businesses.

Jonathan Geldart, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said: “Business leaders up and down the country recognise the critical importance of tackling climate change and its effect on the environment. It is one of the most significant challenges facing organisations today. The Institute of Directors is supporting and encouraging directors to join the Race to Zero. Access to training, advice, and incentives will be vital to support businesses as they develop a broader understanding of decarbonisation strategies, and Planet Mark’s effort plays a crucial part in this.”