Lights Camera Climate Action
B4b hosted it’s autumn event in the unique surroundings of the Rediscovery Centre on Tuesday 11th October where the focus was on ‘Climate Action!’ Roger Warburton, Rediscovery Centre opened the meeting and welcomed everybody to the national centre for the circular economy. Our keynote speaker was Hans Zommer, CEO of Global Action Plan who delivered an impassioned talk around the impact of Biodiversity, Pollution and Climate Change and what businesses can do to support their bottom line through Climate Action measures. Of course any tips and tricks to help businesses save money are of huge interest, but the concern among the audience about what is happening to the planet was palpable. Hans encouraged the audience to have an open dialogue around climate action, to include it on the agenda of team meetings; to s’tart asking yourselves what ‘small steps’ you can take to make a difference, because if the collective small steps add up to make a powerful impact, globally.
We also were delighted to welcome the Lord Mayor of Dublin City Caroline Conroy as our guest of honour. As a Green Party member the area of Climate Action is one that is very close to her heart and she alluded to the Climate Action Plan as Dublin’s commitment to change. She commended B4b for being a proactive in addressing climate action and encouraged business owners to start asking the tough questions of their suppliers, what they are doing to support climate action? She added that businesses ‘should avail of the number of state supports available for implementing sustainable practices’
Our chairperson Robert Murphy provided a real-life example of his own business where through a change in behavioural attitude spurred on by the energy crisis, he has reduced his energy bill significantly by upgrading his refrigeration and assigning responsibility to a staff member to switch off lights and equipment when not in use. It’s all about the small steps! The meeting concluded with a Q&A session and there was a lot of engagement from the audience followed by closing comments from our vice chairperson Joanne Gallagher, AIB. Afterwards people hung around to enjoy some lovely food prepared by he Boiler House Café.
What SMEs can do to reduce their carbon footprint? Here are some useful tips on how to reduce carbon footprint as a company
- Measure your carbon footprint
- Apply the three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle
- Choose renewable energy
- Choose sustainable web hosting
- Travel greener
- Reduce road travel emissions
- Promote greener commutes
- Get involved in environmentally-friendly projects
- Engage your employees
Special thanks to Hans Zommer, CEO GAP, Lord Mayor of Dublin Caroline Conroy, Ed Coleman and Roger Warburton Rediscovery Centre and the B4b steering committee for pulling it all together.
Useful links:
https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/Productivity/Build-a-green-sustainable-Business/GreenStart/
https://www.localenterprise.ie/green?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3fij_N_w-gIVh7HtCh3sPAJmEAAYASAAEgKNvfD_BwE
https://www.seai.ie/business-and-public-sector/business-grants-and-supports/
