Supporting Your Business to be Net Zero
Horsham District businesses play a vital part in reducing the District's carbon emissions and improving our local environment. This page contains useful resources and information to help Horsham District businesses on their way to become net zero by 2050.
The business sector is pivotal to becoming a net zero and climate resilient District. This significant role has been outlined in the District's Climate Action Strategy.
Find out about the Council's wider work in tackling climate change on our Climate and Environment pages.
Horsham Business Climate Hub
Join an exciting new virtual network for Horsham District businesses, to help your business become greener, called the Horsham Business Climate Hub!
Through the Hub you will be able to:
- Connect with other local businesses
- Share your experiences engaging in climate action
- Be notified of funding opportunities
- Access helpful resources
- Explore sustainability events
- And more!
The new Horsham Business Climate Hub is a private group which is free to join and hosted on our wider West Sussex Business Hub.
If you want more information or are having issues joining, please let us know via BusinessDevelopment@horsham.gov.uk
Useful Links
Video Series
You can hear how local businesses are innovating to increase environmental responsibility, cost efficiency and competitiveness in response to climate change.
Episode 1: Hepworth Brewery
Chairman and Founder, Andy Hepworth talks about their incredible commitment to become 85% carbon neutral by 2025.
Episode 2: Tangerines Horsham
Tanya talks about how she is adapting her family business around her customer's demand for locally sourced fresh fruit and veg and minimising waste.
Episode 3: The Flower Shop, Pulborough
Claire Denman showcases her blooming commitment in response to environmental issues. The video highlights The Flower Shop's climate action, including extending the use of materials and introducing an electric vehicle.
Stay Informed via Our Newsletter
We release fortnightly newsletters to support local businesses with general advice, news and resources. Every quarter Business Climate specials are published which offer resources to further your climate knowledge, inspiring stories of climate action and promotion of local networking events/initiatives.
How do Horsham District Businesses feel about climate action? Here's what you told us...
- 75% of businesses surveyed want to increase their climate action.
- The biggest climate impact concern was inflated cost of energy, resources and transportation, followed by supply chain complications.
- Businesses highlighted desires to measure emissions, create targets, attain sustainability certifications and use local/ethical suppliers.
- Lack of investment available was the most common barrier restricting climate action. We will shortly launch the Green LEAP fund allowing up to £5,000 for green business projects.
- Over half of the businesses requested to be invited to the Horsham Business Climate Hub to share knowledge and experiences. The hub will be launched 19 March 2024.
A massive congratulations to our prize draw winners Forget Me Nots Hire and Horsham Sports Injury Clinic who can enjoy a team building experience at Major Mindgames' escape room.
Thank you to all who took time to share your climate ambitions, views on the draft Climate Change Action Strategy and the support you need to become a greener business. These findings will shape the support Horsham District Council can offer businesses in transitioning towards a net zero and climate resilient District.
Other Local Authority initiatives
Below are examples of sustainable projects and initiatives at other local authorities. These are a few notable examples (they are not suggestions or HDC approved initiatives).
A case study from Wandsworth Council on the use of e-cargo bikes for local deliveries.
Regular lighting can be replaced with energy-efficient LED lighting. This switch has been made in HDC car parks.
Some businesses have installed Heat Pumps, as exampled by Wandsworth Council or Wiltshire Council.
Ask for commitments and support from customers with a campaign highlighting your sustainability, similar to Hampshire County Council.
Check out more initiatives and keep updated at HDC's Climate and Environment News.
Glossary of Key Terms
Core Knowledge:
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) – Gases that absorb infrared radiation to contribute towards the greenhouse effect. The main GHGs include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), ozone (O3) and water vapor, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) (IPCC, 2018).
The greenhouse effect – A natural process whereby GHGs in the atmosphere absorb and reradiate the Sun’s energy back onto Earth’s surface and into the lower atmosphere. This process acts like the panes of glass in a greenhouse to raise Earth’s temperature and can be accelerated by human activity generating GHG emissions (British Geological Survey, 2023).
Scope 1 emissions – GHG emissions from direct sources that an organisation owns or controls.
Scope 2 emissions – GHG emissions caused indirectly through the generation and uses of purchased electricity (National Grid, 2023).
Scope 3 emissions - GHG emissions generated indirectly upstream and downstream from the value chain which is outside of scope 1 and 2 (Carbon Trust, 2013).
Ambitions and Targets:
Carbon neutral – Achieving a balance between the greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere and those taken out (One Planet, 2023).
Net zero emissions - Reducing scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions to zero or in-line with the global/sector pathway of limiting warming to 1.5°C by 2050. Then, neutralizing any emissions that are unfeasible to be eliminated at the net-zero target year through the permanent removal and storage of carbon from the atmosphere (SBTi, 2019).
Greenwashing – An attempt to make others believe that your organisation is doing more to protect the environment than it really is for commercial gain (Cambridge Dictionary, 2023).
Tracking Emissions:
Carbon tracking - Organisations can measure their emissions to study their existing sustainability positioning, quantify reductions made over time and set ambition targets.
Carbon calculators – Tools that help you measure your organisation’s existing emissions. This creates a foundation to plan, establish and follow net zero targets.
Emissions Reduction and Removal:
Decarbonisation - The process by which CO2 emissions associated with electricity, industry, and transport are reduced or eliminated (SBTi, 2021).
Mitigation - A human intervention to reduce emissions or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases (IPCC, 2018).
Removal - Measures that organisations take to remove carbon from the atmosphere and permanently store it within or beyond the value chain, such as Direct Air Capture (DAC) and storage, Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) (SBTi, 2021).
Abatement - Measures that companies take to prevent, reduce or eliminate sources of GHG emissions within their value chain. Examples include reducing energy use, switching to renewable energy and retiring high-emitting assets (SBTi, 2021).
Circular economy – A system in opposition to a linear production life cycle, that instead targets eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products/materials (at their highest value) and regenerating nature (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2023).
Carbon offsetting – The financing of carbon reduction or sequestration projects elsewhere, outside of an organisation’s direct operations, in order to ‘balance’ or compensate for emissions (One Planet, 2023).
Carbon insetting - The financing of carbon reduction or sequestration projects that reduce carbon emissions outside of an organisation’s direct operations but within its own supply chain (One Planet, 2023).