Supporting your business to be carbon neutral
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 carbon neutral by 2050.
Video series: coming soon
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The Sustainable Business Hub
We are exploring options to establish a network where businesses can meet to share their initiatives and experiences moving towards becoming carbon neutral. If you are a large business or organisation in Horsham District and would be interested in joining, please email BusinessDevelopment@horsham.gov.uk
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.
Useful links
Networking and commitments
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).