Retailers offered a free digital carbon planner to help reduce energy bills and reduce carbon
NatWest has created a free to use digital platform designed to help businesses reduce their energy costs, while also reducing their carbon footprint.
Making a business case for sustainability investment is seen as a key barrier for companies looking to take action on their climate impact, yet NatWest’s A Springboard to Sustainability report, published in November 2022, estimated there is a potential opportunity. £175bn of revenue available to the UK economy through decarbonisation and the drive to Net Zero.
The report, commissioned in partnership with McKinsey, also found that with rising energy costs, the business case for decarbonization is stronger than ever. For example, installing a heat pump pays for itself today in half the time it would have taken in 2021, while high energy prices also mean that installing solar panels today could pay for itself almost 25% faster than the estimate in 2021.
The launch of the new Carbon Planner The tool follows the broadest line of the bench. commitment to lend £100bn to businesses in Climate & Finance and Sustainable Finance by 2025. The latest financial results published by NatWest show the cumulative contribution made to date now stands at £26.2bn.
the NatWest Carbon Planner provides personalized actions based on user data, allowing users to make better-informed decisions when looking to reduce their carbon emissions. Businesses can benefit from vital information, such as the potential savings from adopting sustainability measures and the time it will take to realize a return on investment. About two-thirds of companies that register with NatWest Carbon Planner use the tool to create a transition action plan.
Solange Chamberlain, Director of Operations, Commercial and Institutional, NatWest Group says: “Retail businesses of all sizes are under increasing pressure from rising energy costs. Our Carbon Planner tool is designed to help navigate these challenging conditions by providing a clear case for sustainability investment by equipping companies with a greater understanding of high-carbon, high-energy consumption areas.
“The tool can help companies invest to save by switching from volatile commodities to renewable sources with predictable prices, and help retail companies take steps to measure, assess and act to reduce their climate impact. We must support UK businesses through today’s challenges without being left behind in taking sustainability measures that will ultimately lead us towards a cleaner and greener future.”
How do you help retail businesses get to net zero?
Carbon Planner takes a company through four practical steps to help them take action:
- Inform: allows companies to know their current emission hotspots and suggests alternatives
- Diagnose: Help companies understand what is best for their business
- Plan – supports companies in developing an action plan
- Delivery – Signposting possible options available to help them take steps that can help their business and have the potential to reduce their impact on the environment.
NatWest engaged with environmental management consultancy, Green Element, to develop the questions, actions, and model. The bank also worked with other third parties to develop the tool, including consultancies and academic experts.
The platform design was customer driven and developed with the support of over 1000 companies. 77% believe Carbon Planner will be “extremely” or “very” valuable to their organization.
Will Richardson, CEO of Green Element says, “Working with NatWest on this project has been a phenomenal experience. Being part of the solution and solving problems is at the core of what Green Element does. Having worked in this space for over 20 years, to see a large banking group push the boundaries and help with the 1.5 degree target that we are all trying to achieve is just great to be a part of.”
John Bamford, Head of Advisory, Northern Europe, EcoAct, an Atos company, adds: “Achieving a company-wide transformation plan to reach net zero requires clear direction from leadership. So, we’re excited to see NatWest take clients on their net-zero journey by facilitating a tailored data-driven tool to support their transition to a low-carbon economy.
“From identifying priority areas and actions to reduce emissions and tracking progress, to connecting companies with the funds needed to deliver their net-zero emissions transition plans, NatWest’s Carbon Planner will help unlock some of the the barriers companies face in determining which low-carbon options are worth doing while building collective climate action.”
