The power of we: sustainability consultant Will Marshall on building back better

When COVID-19 brought business to a standstill back in 2020, many panicked. Whole industries became irrelevant overnight. Many closed their doors. Others came out the other side with a vastly changed business. Sustainability consultant Will Marshall saw an opportunity.

Attending a circular economy session at Lancaster Management School in 2021, he had two revelations. First, that we now had an incredible opportunity to 'build back better'. And secondly that, contrary to what we might assume, all the SME leaders in the room genuinely cared about sustainability, but that legislation and regulation weren’t keeping up.

Despite this, caring about sustainability doesn’t always translate into ESG action. Not because SMEs are scared of change, but because they don’t always know what actions they need to take to make their company more sustainable and which changes will be most impactful. And sometimes their teams lack knowledge about climate science and don’t really understand the urgency of the climate crisis, making change an uphill battle.

Helping SMEs take meaningful action

It was this realisation that drove Will to set up Bright Sustainability, a carbon consultancy and carbon literacy training provider based in Manchester. Approaching sustainability from the point of view that every business is different and has unique sustainability challenges, it helps its clients develop and implement sustainability actions that really make an impact, rather than just tick an environmental compliance box.

But the climate crisis won’t be solved by one business alone. Bright Sustainability hopes its clients will go on to champion sustainable action and help other companies change. Will says, ‘I realised that businesses had both an opportunity and a responsibility to drive change and could take other businesses, consumers and rule-makers on the journey with them in a way that's harder to achieve as an individual!.’

From sustainability consulting to the ABCs of carbon

From service providers to manufacturers, Will feels all businesses can benefit from learning about sustainability. Sustainability affects all business types, from global multinationals with teams all over the world to sole-trader weekend warriors bringing a passion project to life.

Although I’ve considered myself fairly switched on when it comes to minimising waste in my own microbusiness, I’ve often felt like any green initiatives I adopt are a drop in the ocean. But big, small, or micro, we all create emissions and need to take corporate responsibility for them.

As well as sustainability consultancy, Bright Sustainability also offers carbon literacy training sessions and I had the pleasure of joining one of these courses back in November. The two-day course refreshed, consolidated and added to my knowledge of key climate concepts like scope emissions and carbon footprints.

I personally found it very helpful that the sessions were held in a small group, so we had ample opportunity to link what we learned back to our businesses, big and small, before making carbon commitments, an essential step in officially becoming carbon literate.

Will says, ‘The great thing about our open Carbon Literacy sessions is also hearing from others about where they are on the journey, and taking ideas. I'm yet to have an attendee (even sustainability experts) go through a session without taking something new away.’ I found Will’s idea that we should all adopt carbon budget and decide how to spend it particularly refreshing.

Making sustainability business as usual

When Bright Sustainability consults with its clients certainly they don’t believe in just taking a look at the business, providing a plan, and disappearing with a cheque. Instead, they aim to instil cultural change within the organisation so companies can continue to create an impact long after the partnership takes place.

If you run an SME that you want to make more sustainable, Will recommends making a commitment to change first. After that, he says you should take the time to really understand where your business is creating negative environmental impact by looking at the calculations. Look beyond the visible low-hanging fruit, says Will, ‘understand the different touch points where your business creates carbon emissions or waste, especially examining your supply chain. Having someone from outside the business walk around your operations (in-person or virtually) can really help you avoid blind spots, it doesn't need to be a paid sustainability consultant; a friend, family member, or someone from a neighbouring business can help!”

Busting the carbon offsetting myth

The sustainability world abounds in myths. As a sustainability consultant, which one annoys Will the most? ‘I have a huge bee in my bonnet about carbon offsetting! There's loads of negative press because of problems with regulation, and in particular additionality, in the carbon offset market. And certainly not all carbon offsets are equal (or of any value!). But I believe we need to fix the systematic problems and get regulation right rather than just abandoning the concept as they can be a key bridging strategy for many SMEs over the next 5-20 years as they approach net zero.’

You can read more about why carbon offsetting isn’t the answer on Will’s blog here.

Want to know more about how you can make an environmental impact assessment and then take steps to reduce it? Bright Sustainability’s free carbon calculator is a great way to start, as is booking yourself on to a carbon literacy course. And you can also give Will a follow on LinkedIn for more on sustainability and carbon literacy.