Almost six in 10 SMEs (59%) are unclear on what is required, and do not feel ready, to reach net zero despite large businesses making progress on sustainability goals, says a new study.
The UK has a net zero knowledge gap which must be closed if it is to meet its 2050 net zero pledges. The majority (99%) of the UK business community is made up of SMEs yet almost two-thirds (63%) do not have a climate impact reduction plan in place, according to research commissioned by myCSO.
The report into the understanding of sustainability and the progress of SMEs on their net zero journeys was commissioned by Rimm Sustainability, a global B2B sustainability solutions provider to launch its new online tool, myCSO.
myCSO Starter – a completely free tool – is designed to help companies begin their journey, with AI-generated materiality maps, basic assessments and a simple performance dashboard. This membership allows companies to begin to understand what types of data are important to collect and how to start thinking about their sustainability initiatives.
myCSO Essential gives an organisation the ability to produce its first sustainability report. Features such as a carbon calculator let businesses easily calculate emissions, create auto-configured assessments aligned to international standards and produce an auto-generated sustainability report.
The Founder of Rimm, Ravi Chidambaram, realised the need for a tool to help SMEs unable to take on a full-time Chief Sustainability Officer and is determined to help companies around the world reach their net zero goals.
Ravi Chidambaram, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Rimm Sustainability, said: “Without significant change, the UK and the rest of the world will not meet net zero targets. We cannot afford for this to happen and we have a collective responsibility to change our fortunes while there is still time. To make starting and understanding sustainability, ESG and the road to net zero easier we have created a single platform which small businesses can use in the place of a Chief Sustainability Officer.
“We have worked extensively with sustainability teams at large and small companies all over the world to create a comprehensive suite of tools that will support businesses in all industries measure, benchmark and move towards a sustainable future. We have considered everything from functionality, simplicity, productivity and cost when putting the platform together and we believe that myCSO can make a genuine and immediate impact on the sustainability efforts of the UK’s 5.5 million SMEs.”