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Friday 5
SMEs & NetZeroNow: Full steam ahead
5 November, 2021
Yesterday, we spent the day up in Glasgow at our event focusing on small and medium sized businesses and their role in helping the world meet its net zero targets. At this year’s COP you can’t seem to move for claims and comms around Net Zero, so it was great for NetZeroNow to get its moment to dig into what this means for SMEs in practice.
The guiding principles of the event were Collaboration, Urgency and Action, so while touching on the current challenges faced by SMEs, most of the day was dedicated to discussing solutions and provoking change.
In light of a recent report which concluded that SMEs globally will require as much as $50trn of investment alongside resources and knowledge sharing from both the public and private sector to reach net zero, it was great to see a strong presence from both sides at the event.
Andrew Griffith, the Minister for Net Zero, gave a call to arms for SMEs to start on the road to Net Zero and talked of the support that government will provide in helping them achieve that mission, while representatives from Coca-Cola, Pernod Ricard and Natwest (among others) spoke about how they could support the SME sector throughout their value chains.
The event was supported by Music Declares Emergency and beer brand Toast, so we also enjoyed a climate-first beer festival and a couple of great bands to remind us that achieving Net Zero doesn’t have to be dull!
Overall, the message was clear. Don’t let the dominant 2050 narrative create complacency, let’s start achieving Net Zero NOW.
Click here to view content from the day, and if this sparks any thoughts, questions or ideas, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
By Jessie Smith