Building a greener business

• Our Climate Emergency Toolkit has lots of advice and guidance to help businesses, communities and individuals reduce their energy use, waste and carbon emissions
• The Carbon Trust can help businesses put cost-saving energy efficiency strategies into practice, with finance and implementation support to make energy efficiency easy
• The Energy Saving Trust supports businesses of all sizes to enable them to play their part in building a sustainable, energy efficient future. They provide support and advice for businesses
• The Energy Technology List is a government list of energy efficient plant and machinery. It features products such as boilers, electric motors, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment
• The FSB sustainability hub is regularly updated with the latest resources, tools and information to help small businesses prepare for changes, go greener and be more sustainable
• The Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Commercial team is your local partner to help you with all your recycling and waste needs. Their aim is to help businesses save money from the unavoidable production of rubbish, recycle as much as possible and reduce their impact on the environment
• Install a smart meter: contact your energy supplier to check if you are eligible. This can help you identify what appliances or equipment are costing you money, and when. You can then take steps to reduce the use of some of these items, especially during peak times
• Smart Energy GB is the UK Government-backed campaign for a smarter Britain. They work to help you understand smart meters and their rollout across England, Scotland and Wales
• Waterwise is an independent, not for profit organisation focused on decreasing water consumption in the UK and building the evidence base for large-scale water efficiency. Provides information and assistance to households, businesses, the media and the government
• WRAP works to help businesses reap the benefits of reducing waste, developing sustainable products and using resources in an efficient way. They currently focus on the food and drink, hospitality and food service, agriculture, textiles and electrical sectors
• The Government’s waste and environmental impact pages provide advice and tools to help businesses comply with legislation and regulation.

The carbon footprint of your organisation is a measure of the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the activities of your organisation. 

• Carbon Trust provide a guide to help you understand your carbon footprint
• Cambridge Carbon Footprint offer a range of advice and resources to support businesses to move towards net zero
• Farm Carbon Toolkit provides tools and services to measure impact and runs projects with farmers that inspire action on the ground
• Conversion factors are updated annually by the government to reflect changes such as the lowering carbon intensity of electricity resulting from switching from coal fired power stations to renewable energy.

• The Allia Future Business Centre runs free business support programmes to help entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground, help start-ups to grow and scale, and help ventures to create positive impact in social and environmental innovation

• B Lab is the non-profit network transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities and the planet. Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. They offer a range of advice and resources including a free, online tool for businesses to measure their impact.

• The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership's Centre for Business Transformation develops new thinking and solutions to enable business to play a transformative role towards a sustainable economy
• The Green Business Impact Programme supports local SMEs in their efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of their operations and embed sustainability into business operations and integrate climate change into decision-making
• The Institute of Directors’ Sustainable Business Hub supports Directors in the adoption and management of sustainability policies and provides information, value and support to members in relation to Corporate Social Responsibility issues and practices
• Investors in the Environment is a national environmental accreditation scheme. It is designed to help organisations save time and money, reduce their impact on the environment, and get promoted for their green credentials
• Planet Mark is a Business Certification that recognises commitment to continuous improvement; measuring and reducing a business' carbon emissions, energy and water consumption, travel and waste
• The UK Business Climate Hub is a government partnership with businesses and climate groups helping businesses commit to cutting their carbon emissions in half by 2030 and reach ‘net zero’ by 2050.

• Community Energy England lists details of a wide range of funding opportunities relevant to community energy organisations. The latest additions to the page are shown first
• The Net Zero Innovation Portfolio provides funding for low carbon technologies and systems, to help enable the UK to end its contribution to climate change
• PECT is an environmental charity that aims to make places better for people and the planet. They provide a range of information, including funding sources for sustainable projects
• We have information about some low carbon grants on our Grants and funding page.