Start-ups are the engine of the new economy. The World Economic Forum reported that start-ups are now on par with a G7 economy, with funding in 2021 exceeding $600 billion The US, China and India have the largest number of start-ups in the world, with 61,400 recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in India and more than 40,000 in the Zhongguancun region of China alone[ii].
Yet, traditionally, innovation had often been perceived as incompatible with sustainability. From Joseph Schumpeter’s 1949 adage that entrepreneurship is “creative destruction” to the view, prevalent into the end of the century, that being environmentally responsible was a “nice to have”, sustainability was only seen as worth pursuing once a business is stable and profitable[iii]. This has changed radically as a new generation of leaders has emerged. The number of start-ups leading the charge against climate change has exploded, with Larry Fink of Blackrock predicting that the next 1,000 ‘unicorns’, start-ups valued over $1b, will be all about decarbonisation[iv]. Entrepreneurship has become ecopreneurship. Even where sustainability is not the business focus, small businesses are now leaders in sustainability[v]. Myriad examples show how decarbonising helps small business thrive.
Arguably, start-ups have a particular challenge decarbonising due to their dynamic nature. For all other businesses, the recommended first step in decarbonisation is to measure the current footprint, usually for the previous year. This then forms a baseline for future reductions. For a start-up, it is rare to have data for a year, and even when it is, unlikely that it will remain the same for the following year. Instead, the best approach is to measure individual actions.
As a start-up, the Zero Carbon Academy has many of the same challenges other start-up enterprises need to address. Growth during the first six months was dramatic, with staff numbers increasing exponentially. However, in the world of hybrid working, and as a technology company rather than bricks-and-mortar, the Academy did not see a commensurate increase in office space. This meant that the carbon footprint remained low, and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future, certainly in terms of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions as defined by the WRI/WCBSD GHG Protocol[vi]. This is indicative of many start-up companies.
Source: IEA[vii]
An analysis of emissions of the Academy in year one of operations showed that the highest area of energy use was business travel, albeit now much reduced through videoconference and virtual communication tools like Teams and Zoom. Calculating this was also not trivial. For example, the team met face-to-face in March. Carbon emissions came from travel to the meeting and venue, and transport data was collected on a spreadsheet. Train travel was easy to find as the distances are public, but data for those that travelled by car was harder to include. Not every individual could provide actual fuel use, so mileage and fuel type (petrol, diesel, electricity) were used as a proxy for actual emissions where this was not available. This was then converted into carbon emissions using conversion factors provided by the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS)[viii].
Source: ZCA
These factors enabled the inclusion of a range of greenhouse gases as defined by the Kyoto Protocol, including methane and carbon dioxide. The carbon footprint data for meetings was provided by the University of Cornell,[ix] This is the equivalent of one person flying from New York to Washington DC.
Although measurement is the critical first step in managing carbon, achieving net zero is more than simply recording data. Lessons learned from the exercise were collated. For example, staff selected low carbon options where they were available, which means choosing venues with electric charging facilities and good access to low carbon public transport is important. Similarly, if there are venues that provide carbon data, as they have a lower carbon footprint than the norm, it is worth seeking these out. Finally, communicating who has the lowest carbon emissions is a good way to encourage a positive form of competition and encourage staff that are demonstrating integrity in their low carbon lifestyle. In a start-up, the competitive edge is often very powerful.
[i] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/05/how-startups-help-drive-economic-recovery-and-growth/
[ii] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/china-booming-startup-ecosystem/
[iii] Schumpeter, Joseph. 1949. The Theory of Economic Development, London: Oxford University Press
[iv] https://www.businessinsider.com/blackrock-larry-fink-unicorns-sustainable-companies-green-energy-capitalism-2022-1?r=US&IR=T
[v] Link to Cost of Living Crisis: SMEs Still Investing in Sustainability Even with Financial Pressures
[vi] Covid & Carbon Series: As We Adjust to the ‘New Normal’ In Terms of Work Behaviour, How Have Carbon Emissions & Their Subsequent Reporting by Businesses been Impacted?
[vii] You, too, can master value chain emissions | Greenhouse Gas Protocol (ghgprotocol.org)
[viii] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-conversion-factors-for-company-reporting
[ix] https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/109990/Hotel%20Sustainability%20Benchmarking%20Index%202021.pdf
Simon’s background was originally in satellite imagery, working in a world of spies and rocket scientists, and it was there that he first saw the effects of climate change. He undertook his first net zero programme in 2006 and since then has helped numerous organisations in the private and public sector achieve zero carbon, picking up over twenty awards in the process. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the University of Nottingham, a successful entrepreneur in low-carbon technologies and part of the development of the University of London’s External Programme. “The Zero Carbon Academy brings together all the threads of my work story and enables me to offer back to the growing community of people in business who are striving to create low-carbon transformation.”
