Question 1

Climate/Sustainability Action Plans

Accepted Answer

Create and regularly review a climate/sustainability action plan. Consider the areas below:

Net Zero Emissions: Net zero means measuring and reducing the greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted through operations and activities (both direct and indirect), and then, for those emissions which can be eliminated, offset to achieve net zero. The plan should outline how you will achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050 in the short-term and medium term.

Assessment and reports: Log your business's emissions from direct energy consumption (fuel) and indirect energy consumption (electricity), commonly known as Scope 1 and Scope 2, respectively. Find guidance on how to do this here.

Watford Environmental Manager's Network: This is a free network where you can gain insight into how other businesses are achieving their sustainability goals and share practices. To join the network please email: sustainability@watford.gov.uk

Wenta Net Zero: Wenta provide Free support to help businesses in reduce their carbon footprint. Find out more and access free support here.

Business with more than 50 employees should also consider the below areas:

Assessment and reports: Log your businesses indirect emissions from the supply of goods and services (supply chain), commonly known as Scope 3. Please find guidance on how to do this here.

Setting targets: Have a trajectory towards achieving Net Zero emissions aligned with capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius. Find guidance on how to do this here.

Identify ways to reduce energy: For example
 
Travel Planning: Promote and encourage staff to explore environmentally friendly alternatives for community to work, and reduce travel emissions. Find guidance on how to do this here.

Promote alternatives to driving to work: such as walking, cycling or using public transport

Incentives: Provide incentives for employees who choose sustainable travel options, such as subsidies for public transport passes or bike-share memberships.

Install provisions: These could be electric vehicle charging stations at the workplace

Alternative working arrangements: Encourage remote working to reduce the need for daily commuting and/or flexible work hours to allow employees to avoid peak commuting times, reducing congestion and emissions.

Switch fleets: Invest in electric vehicles or cargo bikes wherever possible.

ModeShift: This is a membership organisation offering to support travel delivery. Find out more here.

Natural Environmental Ecosystems: Implement strategies to reduce food wastage, minimise air pollution and conserve water resources, while promoting the integration of green spaces as natural environments, where feasible.

Improve local biodiversity: This can be done by identifying ways and taking actions to incorporate nature into your business-operated premises - plant trees or a wildflower patch, create a mini pond, log shelter or hedgehog corridor.

You can use the below resources to help you achieve this:
		How to help wildlife at work - The Wildlife Trust 		
		Biodiversity Benchmark - The Wildlife Trust

Identify and take action: This is to minimise pollution to the local area, such as light and air pollution. This both improves local biodiversity and human health.

Use the below resources to help you achieve this: 
		International Dark Sky Association - Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting  
		World Economic Forum - 5 Ways Businesses Can Clear Up Air  
		International Day of Clean Air

Office-based activities: Identify ways and take actions to reduce water usage for office-based activities, as well as any industrial processes. Install water-saving devices and increase staff awareness around water-saving behaviour.

Use the below resources to help you achieve this:
		Water Saving Tips - Affinity Water

Nature and natural environments: Explore ways to incorporate these into your businesses. For example:

Designated areas: These can be gardens, green roofs, or outdoor seating surrounded by plants and trees

Maximise natural light: Indoor through large windows, skylights, or glass walls to reduce reliance on artificial lights

Use of plants: Plants can be enhanced indoor air quality

Meetings: Hold meetings in outdoor green spaces

Minimise pollution: Identify ways and take action to minimise any pollution impacts your business may have on the local area, such as light pollution, air pollution, land pollution and water pollution.

Responsible resource use: Adopt waste reduction and resource conservation measures to promote sustainability and responsible management. For example:
 
Identify and action: Find methods to reduce water usage for office-based activities, as well as any industrial processes. Methods include:

Source sustainable materials: This will be for use in the production and operations

Certifications: Source materials and products that are certified as sustainably sourced or produced

Prioritise sustainable sourcing practices: This can be done by selecting suppliers and partners who adhere to ethical and environmental standards

Procurement: Embed sustainability in procurement policies and encourage or require suppliers to do the same

Single-use plastic: Reduce the use of single-use plastic and opt or reusable alternatives

Packaging: Reduce packaging and encourage the use of reusable materials and containers

Digital documents: Implement digital document management systems and encourage electronic communication and documentation to reduce paper usage

Printing: If you do need to print documents, ensure the printers default settings are to double-sided, encourage printing only when necessary, and use recycled paper to minimise paper use

Waste Management:

Reduce waste going to landfill: Produce a 'waste hierarchy' which conveys the principles or reduce, reuse, recycle, recover - then landfill

Policies: Be ready for the new trade waste recycling policies being implemented in 2025. For guidance and information please go here or visit Watford Council - Simpler Recycling

Food waste: Identify ways and take action to reduce food waste and promote plant-based alternatives

If you provide food either to employees or customers:

Plant-based food: Ensure that there is at least one plant-based menu option. Plant-based food contains no animal meat or by-product, such as meat, fish, dairy, eggs, gelatine or honey.

Use the below resources to help you achieve this:  
		The simple formula to cut your diet's carbon footprint - BBC Food 
		Plant-based recipes - BBC Food

Minimise food waste: Any leftover catering to be donated to be homeless shelters, food banks and food charities

Businesses with more than 50 employees should also consider the below:

Carbon implications: Provide information on the carbon implications of your food choices. This requires the emissions of each food choice to be calculated and then clearly displayed. Examples can be found at restaurants like Wahaca, Churchill College and Camille Thai

Adapting to change:

Demonstrate adaptability to embrace sustainability changes, ensuring a resilient and environmentally responsible approach to operation

Climate change presents a severe risk to how we operate, both in the short and long term. For instance, we are seeing warmer, wetter winters in the UK, with increased flooding. This can impact how we travel, access to services and the price of commodities. Businesses need to be aware of these increased risks and opportunities to alleviate or mitigate them.

Address the climate and ecological emergency in your business risk register
		UK Climate Risk Register - Climate Change Committee
		Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk - UK Climate Risk 
		Climate Adaption Toolkit - Local Partnerships
		How to develop a climate risk register - NI Adapts

Risk register: Include environmental and climate risk within your business risk register, business continuity plans and include actions to mitigate and adapt

Staff development: Offer staff training and education programmes to employees to raise awareness and build capacity for sustainable practices

Embrace change: Be innovative and adaptable to stay ahead of emerging sustainability trends and regulations

Goals: Regularly monitor and report progress towards sustainability goals, encouraging transparency and accountability

Resources:

Question 2

Governance and Organisational Commitment

Accepted Answer

Governance and Organisational Commitment: Implement policies and measures to ensure accountability, transparency and commitment to environmentally sustainable practices, integrating them into the company mission, vision and values. Examples of how to do this:

Identify a representative: This is someone from the business to lead on sustainability. This could be a unique job role or an additional responsibility for someone, with clear responsibilities set out and understood by the individual.

Sustainability leadership: The Council have designated a team member to lead sustainability efforts. This role ensures a dedicated focus on sustainability, continuous progress, and accurate data capture. Our sustainability leader drives initiatives, monitors advancements, and integrates sustainability practices into our daily operations. Our Sustainability journey is shared with internal staff.

Relevant information: This information and knowledge is to be shared with employees in a clear and accessible way, with workplace initiatives to encourage staff support.

Senior representatives: Identify someone from the business to lead and report on sustainability. This signals to staff, suppliers, customers and clients that sustainability is a priority for the business and helps to embed sustainable practices throughout the organisation.

Goals: Regularly monitor and report progress towards sustainability goals, encouraging transparency and accountability.

Policies: Implement policies and measures to ensure accountability, transparency and commitment to environmentally sustainable practices, integrating them into the company mission, vision and values.

Sustainability considerations: Embed sustainability considerations into core business strategies and decision-making processes.

Staff development: Offer training and education programmes to employees to raise awareness and build capacity for sustainability practices.

Acknowledgements: Secure an organisational accreditation or form of recognition to environmental sustainability.

Question 3

Champion and Promote

Accepted Answer

Champion and promote: Tell your clients and customers about your sustainability commitments and ask your suppliers and contractors about their sustainability commitments. Examples of how to do this:

Website: Include information clearly on your website about what you are doing, how and why

Review contracts: Organise meetings with your suppliers to review your contracts and ensure sustainability is a priority

Sustainability communication: The Council actively share our sustainability journey with new prospects, demonstrating our commitment and progress. By communicating our initiatives and achievements, we aim to inspire others and contribute to a broader culture of sustainability.

Collaboration: Collaborate with stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers and communities to gain support and input for sustainability initiatives in the workplace and business operations about outside of the workplace to.

Branding: Link your sustainability activities and credentials with your brand, to make customers, competitors and investors aware of your ethos.

Businesses with over 5 employees should also consider the below:

Collaboration: Investigate collaborative working with other companies, key stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers and communities to gain support and input for sustainability initiatives in the workplace and business operations, and outside of the workplace too.

Procurement: Embed sustainability requirements in your procurement policies and supplier contracts and monitor how they are delivered. Up to 90% of a business's environmental impact can lie in the supply chain.  For example Watford Council enhanced requirements around sustainability and social value in its procurement strategy - Watford Borough Council Procurement Strategy

Other resources include: 
		The 1.5 degree supplier Engagement Guide - Exponential Roadmap 
		How to be a good supplier - The Carbon Trust 
		Cutting carbon from the supply chain - The Carbon Trust

Resources -

Question 4

Further Information and Resources

Accepted Answer

Watford Environmental Managers Network: Watford is committed to working with communities and businesses to achieve our aim to be carbon neutral by 2030. The Watford Environmental Managers Network is a place for you to express your views on making Watford a cleaner, greener town. Yo join the Network, please email sustainability@watford.gov.uk

Sustainability Hub: The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) have an area on their website dedicated to sustainability and Net Zero. Click here to find our more.

UK Business Climate Hub: This Hub provides net zero advice for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK. Click here to find out more.

Visitor economy businesses: Visit Britain have created a step by step guide for measuring your emissions. Click here to find out more.

Accreditations: 
The ISO 14001 is an accreditation for environmental management. Click here to find out more.
B Corp accreditation. Find out more here.

Science-Based Targets initiatives (SBTi) Guide for SMEs: These are targets that are in line with the latest climate science deems necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement - limiting global warming to 1.5c above pre-industrial levels.

Targets: Create science-based targets with clearly defined pathways for companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this helps prevent the worst impacts of climate change and future-proof business growth. For more information please click here.

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol: Apply the world's most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards and guidance. Offer tools and resources enabling companies to develop completeness and reliable inventories of their GHG emissions.

Guidance for businesses making environmental claims: Green claim codes: making environmental claims - Gov.uk

KNOWLEDGE HUB

Find valuable information to help your business act responsibly across the five commitments of the Watford Business Pledge.

The Knowledge Hub has a plethora of resources and general business support and provides information to assist you with your Watford Business Pledge application!

Climate/Sustainability Action Plans

Governance and Organisational Commitment

Champion and Promote

Further Information and Resources