Your net zero plan

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Understand your business emissions

1) What causes emissions

Direct carbon emissions produced by the fishing industry:

refrigeration of goods
lighting and heating in buildings
pumping water and aeration on fish farms
bottom trawling – releases carbon from seabed sediment into the water
general waste – when it isn’t recycled and ends up at landfill sites
transport – using fishing vessels and vehicles which run on petrol or diesel

2) Calculate your emissions

Use a carbon calculator to work out your business’s carbon footprint. This is measured in tonnes, over a year.

3) Estimate the cost of your emissions

Once you have your carbon footprint, you can calculate how much your emissions are costing you. This will give you an idea of potential savings you can make by taking action.

4) Sign up to the SME climate commitment

Make a climate declaration to show customers you are committed to reducing emissions.

Get support

1) Support in your sector

Grants are available from the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme.

You can also learn how to run your business in a more environmentally friendly way by hiring a sustainability consultant

2) Support in your region

The following grants, schemes and loan programmes are available in South West England:

Clean Growth UK (South West Hub) offers SMEs funding, coaching and grant application support
Low Carbon Dorset gives SMEs up to £40,000 in matching funds for renewable energy and efficiency projects – must be located in Dorset, Bournemouth or Poole
West of England Green Business Grant gives SMEs up to £15,000 to improve energy efficiency and install solar panels – must be located in Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire

Actions you can take right now

1) Save energy at your work building or office

Quick, low-cost measures include:

lighting – use LED bulbs for greater efficiency
heating – put your thermostat on a timer and seal your windows for extra insulation
office equipment – try to turn off and unplug devices when they’re not being used

2) Do an energy walk-round

Walk around your buildings and see where energy is being used:

Prepare a checklist. Look at lighting, heating and refrigeration systems, as well as ventilation and water heating.
Identify wasteful energy use and maintenance issues.
Check at different times of day and compare day and night time use.
Monitor over a period of a week for accurate average figures.
Make sure equipment is checked and cleaned regularly to ensure maximum efficiency.

Learn how to reduce emissions caused by refrigeration

Train your workforce

You can train your team to be aware of energy efficiency in the workplace. Find a course

3) Change your energy tariff

Switch to a green energy tariff with your energy supplier. This will reduce your reliance on energy produced by fossil fuels.

4) Switch to a smart meter

This will allow you to see and control how much energy you use. Find out more

5) Manage your waste

Recycle waste to prevent it being taken to landfill sites where it takes longer to break down and causes more emissions.

Longer term actions

1) Improving energy efficiency on fishing vessels

If you own a fishing vessel there are a number of measures you can take to reduce emissions:

reduce the speed of your vessel
fit an exhaust-gas cleaning system
use control systems for the efficiency of on-board machinery
install energy-efficient technology such as propulsion devices or contra-rotating propellers

2) Making changes to your work buildings

There are a number of long-term measures you can take to improve energy efficiency at your office and work buildings.

Check planning permission guidelines before you go ahead with any structural changes to the property.

Improving insulation and windows

You can make long-term savings on energy bills by insulating your buildings and replacing old windows.

Installing renewables

You can also make significant savings by installing renewable sources of energy.

For example:

heat pumps for heating and water
solar panels or a wind turbine for electricity

3) Reducing transport emissions

Over a quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions are caused by transport. You can take measures to reduce the impact.

If you have employees you could introduce a cycle-to-work initiative or encourage them to take public transport.

Electric vehicles

If you use a work vehicle, you can reduce emissions by switching to an electric vehicle (EV). You would be exempt from road tax, congestion charges and parking fees in certain areas.

For easy overnight charging you could install EV chargers at your home or workplace. A government grant scheme covers up to £350 per charging point.

Find out more about reducing the impact of transport

Transporting refrigerated goods

Learn how to reduce emissions when transporting refrigerated goods

4) Sustainable product packaging

Replace plastic with recyclable or compostable substitutes.

Types of sustainable packing include:

plant-based packaging
edible packaging – made from seaweed extract
compostable and biodegradable plastic alternatives
plantable packaging – which is made from seeds and can be buried in soil

Find sustainable packaging companies

Indirect emissions

To reduce indirect or ‘supply chain’ emissions you need to consider what happens before and after your business provides a service or makes a product.