21 February 2011 | Luca Del Buono
Carbon, Climate Change, Energy, Europe, North America

 

A UK-based green certification service, Planet Positive, hopes to help small and medium sized businesses become sustainable by making certification easier.

They are launching an online facility that allows companies to input their own energy data – allowing the business to avoid the costs of consultant assessments.

Planet Positive believe these costs have kept small and medium enterprises (SMEs), despite having a desire to, from measuring and reducing their carbon footprints.

“The aim really is to remove this barrier to SMEs,” explained Henry Simonds, Planet Positive’s Communications Manager.

Companies enter their heating, electricity and vehicle usage data into a website and agree a reduction plan with Planet Positive.

Eventually they can then benefit from the accreditation of being committed to environmental sustainability.

Through the Green Deal the Government also intends to encourage businesses to become more energy efficient.

Businesses would be able to undergo energy efficiency measures without having to pay for them upfront.

But the scheme has proved controversial - the CBI, the UK business lobby, called for clarity on the plan this week.

Through certification providers like Planet Positive, companies are already able to act on sustainability and carry a mark to prove it to their customers.

There may be concerns that online services like this could be open to manipulation and businesses being marked as green without earning the credit.

Simonds spoke to Climate Action about the service and said the process is rigorous despite their relatively “hands-off” approach.

“We have a team here who assist with the input and verification of the carbon footprint, so they will double check with our client that they’ve entered the data correctly.

“We review each report and ensure that 1 in 3 business carbon footprints are audited”.
 
Planet Positive is a profit-making enterprise but 10 per cent of the certification fees goes to community sustainability projects run by their non-profit foundation.

Simonds believes this part is a unique selling point over other certification and energy management services.

For further information:

Planet Positive

CBI report on the Green Deal

Front page image: aeu04117 | Flickr

Above image: Planet Positive

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