ABL has partnered with sustainable tech platform Eevery to help small businesses implement initiatives that tackle climate change and promote social responsibility.
The partnership will help businesses identify ways to introduce more sustainable business practices and then access so-called green finance facilities to fund them.
Alex Beardsley, joint managing director at ABL Business, said: “A recent survey of SMEs by NatWest found one in six businesses intends to generate onsite green energy by 2023, and one in three plans to invest in electric vehicles and charging points by 2022 [1], clearly demonstrating that small businesses are increasingly aware of the impact of their operations on the environment and want to take action.
“Our partnership with Eevery will help them to do just that, by working with them to measure where they are currently on their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) journey and where they want to be, and then arranging the most suitable green finance facility to fund the required improvements.”
Alex said businesses should also be aware the need to improve their ESG practices, and how not doing so could impact efforts to raise commercial finance in the future.
She said: “There is potential for banks and other lenders to turn away businesses that can’t show they are working towards ESG goals or taking action to improve, potentially impacting future lending. We want to highlight the importance of small businesses looking at their ESG strategies sooner rather than later.
Tech platform Eevery lets organisations measure their baseline ESG performance using a scoring model developed specifically for small and medium-size businesses, and then identifies key improvements and practical steps that can be implemented to improve their ESG credentials over time.
Dominic Buch, founder at Eevery, said: “Small and medium-size businesses are responsible for more than 50% of business CO2 emissions in the United Kingdom.
“However, even where small businesses are aware of their environmental and social impact, they have often lacked the resources and finance needed to take action. Findings from a recent survey by the SME Climate Hub stated nearly 50% of businesses cited funding as the second most common barrier to reducing their carbon emissions [2].
“Our partnership with ABL Business exists to change this, by giving businesses access to the technology and finance they need to make real progress with their ESG initiatives, all in one place.”
[1] Businesses increase investment in green energy as energy prices pinch | NatWest Group
If you want to find out further information about this topic you can get in touch with Alex via email or call her on 07903 769037 to talk through your options.