The Chamber Low Carbon programme has launched a new scheme to help Lancashire businesses act on a Government initiative in 2019.
2018 saw the Government designate 2019 as the Year of Green Action as part of its 25 year Environment Plan. The aim is to engage as many different people and organisations as possible in environmental initiatives on waste reduction, cleaner air and other aspects of pro-environmental behaviour. Involving the business community is a key aspect of the year’s activities.
Chamber Low Carbon is already providing support to businesses with guidance in reducing carbon emissions through the introduction of energy efficiency measures, improved waste, resource and water management, and assistance in installing on-site renewable energy generation.
The Low Carbon team is responding to the Year of Green Action with the launch of Chamber Green Rose which helps businesses develop and implement an environmental management system (EMS), and is free to eligible Lancashire SMEs.
An EMS enables organisations to identify and control the environmental impact of their activities, allowing them to continually improve their environmental performance. With many organisations now looking at environmental awareness in their supply chain it could open the door to new opportunities for those businesses that implement an EMS, as well as improving efficiencies which could also reduce costs.
Chamber Green Rose will be carried out over a six-month period and will be made up of an initial environmental audit, 6 masterclass sessions and an assessment at the end to see where a participating organisation has got to compared to recognised environmental standards such as ISO 14001, BS 8555 and EMAS. All of this is backed by ongoing support from the Low Carbon team and peer-to-peer network.
