This article was originally published on 31 August 2023. The article was republished on 8 February 2024.

With the recent increases to energy and fuel costs, now is a great time for businesses to think about how they could take action to reduce their emissions and enjoy the potential associated cost savings.

To help businesses, we launched NatWest Carbon Planner in September 2022, and since then the free-to-use digital platform has helped thousands of UK organisations take action to reduce their emissions.

James Close, our Head of Climate Change, says: “NatWest’s Carbon Planner is a digitally enabled platform that aims to empower our customers to measure, manage and reduce their climate impact, alongside identifying operational efficiencies.

“As well as presenting risks, the transition towards greener economies will create significant opportunities. The Springboard to Sustainable Recovery Report found that, with the right support, the vast majorities of SMEs will benefit financially by reducing their carbon footprint. In the current economic environment, every business should consider how cutting carbon could also reduce costs.”

Read more about the Springboard to Sustainable Recovery Report.

Step 1: Once you’ve signed up, we’ll ask you a set of data-led questions about your day-to-day business activities. From this, we’ll estimate your company’s carbon footprint, and show you where your emissions are highest.

Step 2: Set your targets and browse suggested actions to build an action plan. We base the actions on the answers you’ve given us, so you can make the changes that matter most to your business.

Step 3: Explore products and resources that could support you with your actions to reduce carbon emissions, cut costs, and help you to achieve your targets.

Step 4: Share the insight gained from the tool within your organisation, and get everyone on board with your de-carbonisation journey.

We’ve introduced new technology which allows Carbon Planner integration with your accountancy software as an optional feature, to automate the calculation of part of your carbon footprint. If you are a Sage or QuickBooks user (functionality is on its way for other accountancy platforms), you can:

• Access increased functionality, enabling you to refine part of your footprint at the click of a button, with no need for any manual input.
• Improve the accuracy of your existing carbon footprint.
• View new actions which could help you reduce your costs and emissions across your entire supply chain.

The information you need to answer the questions asked by Carbon Planner is normally available in your company records and accounts, but for some questions it might be a good idea to consult colleagues or suppliers. Here is a checklist of some documents you might need, and conversations it might be helpful to have:

Business travel and commuting

1. Company travel policies and expense reports
2. Fleet management records
3. Fuel bills or accounts
4. Accounting or reporting systems that record fuel costs
5. Commuter data from employee questionnaires

Freight

1. Data from freight reporting systems
2. Freight bills and supplier accounts

Fuel and electricity

1. Meter readings and bills from providers
2. Reports from past or current energy audits

Materials

1. HVAC maintenance records (noting system leakage)
2. Consult the supplier which services your HVAC system
3. Talk to your property management team

Waste

1. Site reports
2. Consult waste disposal partners or check invoices
3. Speak to colleagues who manage waste systems

For more information, you can download our Where to find data for Carbon Planner (PDF, 450KB) guide.

With the financial and time pressures business owners and managers face, they could be forgiven for overlooking sustainability for more immediate concerns. Carbon Planner is aimed at supporting businesses to identify potential costs and carbon savings. Businesses can use the tool to measure their estimated carbon footprint and then be presented with tailored actions to start building a plan that could help them reduce their emissions.

James Close adds: “UK businesses have told us they need support to tackle climate change and Carbon Planner is a great starting place to learn about their carbon footprints and the actions they can take to reduce them.”