In 2023, we announced that SmartCarbon was working with approved compliance scheme, Wastepack, to encourage more organisations to make carbon emissions reporting a priority.
With more than 1,500 member organisations from across a wide range of industries, Wastepack works with businesses to help them meet UK packaging waste regulations. And by collaborating with SmartCarbon, Wastepack’s members are able to seamlessly build carbon accounting into their broader sustainability work.
While 2023 was a busy year for Wastepack members, due to changes in packaging legislation and stricter regulatory requirements, 2024 has seen a growing number of organisations look to bring carbon emissions reporting into their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) work in a much more rigorous way.
As Alyce Morris, Project Manager at Wastepack, explains,
“Our members are familiar with growing compliance requirements as part of their work within larger commercial ecosystems. Whether it’s gaining certifications for procurement purposes or simply meeting standards to be able to demonstrate a commitment towards sustainability, they understand the need to act responsibly and follow best practice.
“As our members are required to do more to meet supply chain requirements – whether they are at the top or bottom of that chain – having a partner like SmartCarbon on hand to help has proven to be incredibly valuable.”
One of the first Wastepack members to utilise the SmartCarbon platform was Kimm and Miller, a food gifting company that works with household brands such as Costa Coffee, Coca Cola and Tesco. Having received a request from Tesco to submit an emissions survey, Kimm and Miller engaged with SmartCarbon in order to begin tracking emissions from a baseline level.
Reflecting on the business’s experience and the growing demand for carbon accounting, Kimm and Miller’s Sam Kimm said,
“Emissions reporting is not as scary as it looks once you get beneath the surface. Although we only started our reporting last year, the last couple of months has seen an influx of customers requesting us to start recording emissions and develop a sustainability plan.
“We have also engaged our supply chain with an excellent warehouse team who are very proactive in carbon reduction across the freight sector and initiated the conversation on emissions tracking with the factories we use.”
As more organisations sign up to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) – a corporate climate action movement designed to drive sustainable growth and create a more coherent community of businesses committed to a Net Zero economy – those organisations in industries such as manufacturing and retail that fail to take action may soon find themselves on the outside of this commercial ecosystem.
With over 1,300 UK-based organisations already signed up to the initiative, this database is fast becoming a go-to for businesses who want to know that potential partners are going to be on the same page when it comes to emissions reporting, amongst other things. The marked increase in interest in carbon emissions reporting from Wastepack members was also seen in a recent webinar with SmartCarbon, which saw over 200 sign ups. Of those who attended to better understand the basics of carbon accounting, many Wastepack members have since engaged with SmartCarbon and are at varying stages on their journey to Net Zero.
Just some of the feedback received from Wastepack members includes: Evan Bavester of Needwood Foods said,
“We have started the process and it is going well. We are currently collecting the data to create our base year. The team at SmartCarbon are great and answered any questions we have had, plus the platform is straightforward and easy to use. The biggest thing I have found is that a lot of the information we were already collecting – like weight of fruit/packaging imported. It might need a little bit of tweaking but it’s not gathering completely new information!”
Chris Neal of Hacel Lighting said,
“We are at the stage where we need a more formal confirmation of our measurements, especially around compliance with published definitions and regulations. SmartCarbon provides this along with an easy-to use platform for data collection. “Our carbon credentials and our positioning on the environment are a key USP for us as a business.”
Louse Nicholson or Remix Dry Mortar said:
“So far SmartCarbon have been great. We have only had an opening workshop and it was very informative. Really detailed information about what we need to do and why.”
Ready to take the climate emergency seriously as a business but not sure where to start? Or are you simply looking to improve your current reporting? Get in touch with the SmartCarbon team today and let us help you make a start on calculating, reporting and reducing your greenhouse gas emissions.