Tools and Resources

The SME Climate Hub is here to help small businesses deliver on their climate goals.

The SME Climate Hub has developed free, practical resources specifically tailored to support SMEs on their net zero journey through strategic emission reductions and opportunities for climate leadership. Businesses can calculate their emissions with the Business Carbon Calculator, learn how to take action with the Climate Fit education course and access support through the Financial Support guide and 1.5°C Business Playbook.

The SME Climate Hub has also partnered with Oxford University to provide SMEs with a library of external tools that offer additional support to small businesses taking concrete steps towards climate action.

• Commit and set a target

  The SME Climate Hub supports SMEs to meet international climate targets — halving emissions by 2030 and providing climate solutions which help society move towards net zero.

  • Make the SME Climate Commitment – The SME Climate Hub opens the doors for small- and medium-sized businesses to join the globally recognized United Nations’ Race to Zero campaign. If you’re not already on board, make the SME Climate Commitment today. View additional details on the commitment and what it means to achieve net zero emissions and discover further information on the Race to Zero starting line criteria.
• Measure and report emissions

  Businesses can more effectively reduce emissions when they understand their baseline and largest sources of emissions. Start measuring your business emissions and report publicly on progress.

  • Start measuring – Calculate your business emissions to identify a course of action. The Business Carbon Calculator was developed by Normative with the support from Google.org. Use it to estimate your company’s full carbon footprint and find quick-win actions to reduce emissions.
    Report on emissions- When you make the SME Climate Commitment, you will be required to report progress after the first 18 months. The SME Climate Hub will provide a simplified tool, designed specifically for SMEs, to create a report summarizing your annual greenhouse gas emissions. The tool is being developed using the simplified SME Climate Disclosure Framework, which can also be applied directly in your reporting
  • Receive further guidance – The Emission Possible guide from WWF includes a broad overview of reporting protocols and the terms most commonly used, such as Scope 1, 2 & 3, as well as sector-specific recommendations.
• Develop your business strategy

  Taking climate action makes business sense. By staying ahead of the curve in the new net zero climate economy, companies will be able to manage business risk and gain a competitive advantage.

  • Set a strategy and move to action – The 1.5°C Business Playbook provides guidelines to set a climate strategy and move to action. The Playbook highlights key actions to reduce emissions in your business and throughout your value chain, integrate climate in your business strategy and contribute to climate action in society.
  • Learn how to take action – Take a free course on small business climate action. ClimateFit is a practical, step-by-step course that guides small businesses through every step of the climate journey. The course is free, available online globally and self-paced for accessibility to businesses committed to the SME Climate Hub.
  • Access financial support – The Financial support guide is designed to help you find the most appropriate financial support for your company’ journey to net zero, and ensure you can reap the business benefits of climate action.
• Reduce own emissions

  These are emissions directly related to your company, like office electricity and heating or employee transport and business travel. Your own emissions may represent a small part of your total emissions but can normally be reduced more easily since they are under the company’s direct control.

  • Start today — The UK Business Climate Hub highlights several steps businesses can take to cut emissions starting today.
  • Pursue energy efficiency projects — Carbon Trust’s SME-specific guide introduces how SMEs can finance energy efficiency projects, which help reduce emissions and drive down business costs.
  • Leverage remote working — Flexible workplaces are an important way to reduce emissions from commuting and office space. Use EcoAct’s guide to measure work from home emissions and explore ways to reduce these emissions using recommendations from Carbon Trust’s report.
  • Reduce travel emissions — For businesses which rely on vehicles to transport goods, or with significant commuter emissions, the Energy Savings Trust offers a Fleet Management Toolkit to reduce road transport emissions.
• Reduce value chain emissions

  Value chain emissions include emissions that are part of the company’s supply chain, but outside its walls. These emissions normally represent the largest share of a company’s total footprint, and include emissions created by your suppliers, or resulting from the use of the products you sell.

  • Set a strategy & move to action — The 1.5°C Business Playbook– Pillar 2 helps companies to set a strategy and move to action to reduce their value chain emissions. The guide highlights key actions to reduce emissions from materials, transport and the use of products.
  • Supplier engagement – The 1.5°C Supplier Engagement Guide provides practical guidance that any company can utilize to work with suppliers to set and implement a 1.5°C aligned target and move to action.
  • Manage energy and carbon outputs — The ‘How to be a good supplier’ guide from Carbon Trust helps SMEs with their energy and carbon management.
• Contribute to climate action in society

  Becoming a climate leader means using your company network and wider sphere of influence to support and accelerate climate action in society.

  • Share your commitment — Encourage other SMEs in your network to join you in the Race to Zero by making the SME Climate Commitment. Spread the word with our communication resources.
  • Share your story– Get recognized for your work and inspire other SMEs by sharing your examples of climate action.
  • Invest in nature based solutions – As a complement to reducing emissions and providing climate solutions, you might consider investing in nature based solutions or projects avoiding emissions (often referred to as offsetting projects) from organizations such as Gold Standard, South Pole or Go Climate.
  • Encourage employee climate action — Climate Hero’s Carbon Calculator helps individuals calculate their carbon footprint in 5 minutes, and Net Zero Pensions Guide for SMEs provides guidance on how to contribute to climate action through your pensions.
  • Advance climate justice– The Climate Justice Playbook for Business provides insights, guidance, and case studies of companies that are seeking to advance climate justice in their operations, supply chains, and in the communities they impact.

Find additional tools and resources in our extensive library below, including guides, case studies, webinars and reports. These are updated  on a quarterly basis to continuously simplify  SMEs’ path to climate action. As a small business, you are welcome to provide feedback through the form below the library, or recommend a tool through this form.