One of the key visions for the upcoming COP26 conference is to “Work together to deliver” * solutions to the challenges caused by the climate crisis. Finding solutions to carbon markets by moving to net zero initiatives is a growing trend in franchises who not only want to make a difference for their clients, but also to the world’s environmental outlook. Here, Paolo Massimilla, Managing Director of the UK region of global cost management specialists ERA, shares how his company has utilised their global reach to start their own journey to net zero.
Measuring what your goal and scope is in terms of sustainability is an important starting point.
At ERA, we’re very lucky to have a truly forward-thinking founder in Fred Marfleet. He came to me a year ago and told me that he wants to make a wider difference through our network – now 750 franchisees in 42 countries. If we want to be a good company, we need to be an ethical business. This means not just delivering cost management expertise to clients, but also finding ways to use our influence to contribute to a greener world.
It’s important to first assess what your environmental impact is and to do this, you need some expertise. We partnered with Futureproofed to track and measure our carbon footprint. They measured this using the Bilan Carbon emission fact inventory and following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHC-P) to generate accurate data. The aim of this project was to create long-term stakeholder value through a business strategy. The results then gave us an insight into how we could make a difference as a business. Due to our work with Futureproofed, we discovered that we can’t do a lot to impact ERA’s day-to-day relatively low carbon emissions as using rented office spaces does not allow us to implement renewable energy sources. Whilst that left us committing to the process of offsetting our emissions by purchasing official credits that fund projects such as planting trees or building sustainable communities. But our ongoing commitment goes beyond this. Whilst our global impact is very low, we decided the biggest difference we can make in combatting the climate crisis is through our unique relationships with our clients.
Once we decided that our work with our clients was the best way of making a greener world, we set out a road map. As a franchise, we report on, implement and monitor cost savings for our clients in a range of supplier markets. Our clients’ supply chains cause huge carbon emissions from fleet operations, waste, packaging and logistics. We created a four-point approach of partnership, prosperity, people and planet to support making sustainable changes for our clients. By 2030, we want to offer a tenfold reduction in Co2 compared to what we emit as a company. This is a long-term target – as a company we know carbon negative is a destination and as we get closer every year, that will be an excellent accomplishment.
As a franchise, offering greener services has never been more important. By being sustainable you are building long-lasting relationships with your clients which will make a real difference. The growing focus on greener services means that sooner or later you will need to be highlighting how you are trying to make an impact on the climate crisis. By making a vision statement, you demonstrate how you are not playing at climate change, but you are strategising to make a real impact.
Author bio:
Paolo Massimilla is Managing Director at the UK region of ERA, a multi-award-winning network of Cost Reduction Consultants delivering Value Through Insightä. His role is to drive the growth of the company, by developing effective long-lasting relationships internally and externally.
