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This is a guest article from Andrew Durling, Executive Director of Eastbourne Eco Action Network CIC
Eastbourne Eco Action Network CIC – a small, volunteer-run social enterprise – has been using OnePlanet to develop a community ecosystem that is specially tailored to support local small businesses and community groups.
The work involves helping these organisations on their journeys towards greater sustainability and/or their Net Zero targets, whilst building a story of their journeys as they progress.
To make this possible, a template for SMEs (Small-Medium Enterprises) has been developed in collaboration with Tash Barnes from OnePlanet. This template, if adopted by a local business, makes the task of developing their sustainability journey easier and more impactful. The template contains over 70 possible actions that could be taken by a business, spanning across the 10 One Planet Living principles, including ‘Local and Sustainable Food’ and ‘Zero Carbon Energy’.
As these actions are already laid out, businesses can quickly identify and choose which are most practical to implement within the context of their own local circumstances.
Within the first two weeks of the launch and promotion of this template to the local business community, four businesses started using it! Andy Durling, a volunteer with the Eastbourne Eco Action Network, provided these businesses with ongoing support and the OnePlanet team have been there for further backup as and when necessary.
This ongoing project has been made possible by some generous grant funding secured by the Eastbourne Eco Action Network, enabling local businesses to receive the SME template, and receive support in using it, as a free service.
+ Securing future business:
The ultimate benefit for local businesses, especially SMEs, in using the template on OnePlanet is to increase their chances of securing contracts or funding from larger businesses. This is possible as they can evidence their ongoing commitment to sustainability and access new ideas for implementation, which may make them a more attractive SME over others.
+ Net Zero legislation compliance:
Many larger businesses now must comply with an increasing amount of Net Zero legislation, especially by ensuring that the Scope 3 emissions of their supply chains are steadily reduced to help the UK meet its Net Zero targets, as legally enshrined in the UK’s Climate Change Act. Users of OnePlanet can explore various national policies and understand how they are supporting their delivery, as well as evidencing their compliance.
+ Transparency and promotion of sustainability measures:
OnePlanet plans can be shared publicly. This may help smaller businesses to gain more customers, as an increasingly informed public is often demanding evidence that the products and services they buy are sustainably produced or sourced.
+ A connected business community across sectors:
For Eastbourne, the added benefit of the OnePlanet plans adopted by local SMEs is that the local business community is connected more intimately with the ongoing borough-wide sustainability initiatives. This includes work currently undertaken by the Borough Council, community groups, and other civic society organisations, some of whom now have their own OnePlanet plans within the ‘One Planet Eastbourne’ ecosystem.
+ Opportunities for collaboration:
An exciting area for further work lies in analysing the plans within the ‘One Planet Eastbourne’ ecosystem, to discover areas of new opportunities for collaboration between SMEs and other local organisations. This can thereby help to scale up and accelerate the actions that will help deliver a Carbon Neutral Eastbourne by 2030, as mandated by the Climate Emergency Declaration made by Eastbourne Borough Council in July 2019.
Learn more about Andrew’s work and the Eastbourne Eco Action Network here
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