SMES FEEL THEY NEED MORE TRAINING TO TRANSITION TO NET ZERO.
A new survey from the SME Climate Hub has revealed that most SMEs want to reduce their environmental footprint and improve climate resilience, however over two-thirds do not believe they have the right skills and knowledge in place to do so in-house. With 90% of businesses around the world being SMEs, and jointly contributing to half the global carbon emissions in the private sector, it is detrimental that they receive the training and upskilling required to actively reduce emissions.
The results were published on the 22nd of February after a survey polled decision-makers at 194 of the Hub’s member businesses last summer. Encouragingly, eight in ten respondents said reducing emissions across their business’s value chain is a “high priority”, with six in ten having already developed plans to reduce emissions. Most businesses (82%) reported that they already have plans to improve energy efficiency and reduce waste, while half are planning to upgrade facilities and equipment in a way that brings environmental benefits in the short term.
Moreover, most businesses reported that taking climate action is not only the right thing to do from a moral and ethical standpoint (96%), but that it will improve brand reputation (73%) and will help their business stand out from its competitors (61%). In other words, the mindset in which environmental sustainability and profitability are at odds is becoming less prominent.
Even though the results of the survey were positive, it did highlight that there is a significant gap in the skillset and knowledge needed to make long lasting changes that will positively effect the environment. The biggest barrier that was identified that needs addressing is a lack of in-house skills and knowledge, which was raised by almost two-thirds (63%) of those surveyed.
Key gaps include the measurement of a business’s baseline emissions across the value chain and the development and delivery of science-based pathways to reducing emissions. There are also knowledge and skills gaps pertaining to the climate risk and resilience side.
The second most common barrier revealed in the survey was funding. This was raised by half of the respondents. Seven in ten businesses stated that they will need some level of external funding to deliver their sustainability ambitions, yet only 33% said they have been able to access an incentive scheme using public finance, and just 8% report having received support from their banks.