Businesses in Renfrewshire asked for their views on the climate emergency

Renfrewshire Council is seeking the views and opinions of local businesses on the climate emergency as the area works towards becoming net zero by 2030.

Businesses are being asked to complete a survey that will outline their current waste habits, energy efficiency and transport methods, and what the current barriers are to switching to more greener approaches.

It also asks their general views on how climate change is impacting, or will impact, their business, as well as any emissions targets they’ve set and how they plan to reach them.

Further questions aim to find out how aware they are of forthcoming changes to legislation in Scotland, including the deposit return scheme, extended producer responsibility and single use plastic products responsibility.

Launched in partnership with Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce, Chief Executive Bob Grant is encouraging local businesses to have their say.

Bob said: “As we work towards becoming net zero in Renfrewshire, our businesses will play a key role in making the radical changes required to reduce our emissions and support the significant culture change the area needs to adopt.

“I would encourage all Renfrewshire businesses, large or small, to take part in the survey, and outline what would be required to support them to make reductions year-on-year as we all work together to tackle the climate emergency.”

Renfrewshire Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and agreed to work towards achieving net zero emissions for Renfrewshire by 2030, taking the Scottish Government’s 2045 target a step further.

A £1million Climate Change Action Fund has funded projects and initiatives across Council services and in the community which aim to reduce emissions now and in the future.

One of the projects supported by the fund is the allocation of £100,000 to support small and medium sized businesses in Renfrewshire to apply for net zero business grants, which can provide up to 50 percent funding – up to £10,000 – to make changes to their business premises and operations to reduce their carbon footprint.

The Renfrewshire Climate Panel has been set up to hear the views of a representative section of the community, and the Net Zero Network brings together key partners and businesses from across Renfrewshire.

Councillor Jim Paterson, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Planning and Climate Change Policy Board, said: “Reaching net zero by 2030 cannot be achieved solely by the Council’s actions, so we need everyone to come on that journey with us and we plan to lead from the front.

“Every decision we take as a Council considers the impact it will have on our climate as we work towards becoming a net zero organisation – and we want our businesses to follow suit.

“Firstly though, we want to find out their current situation, identify areas that we can support and use their feedback as part of our Plan for Net Zero that will set out how the area will reach its ambitious aim.

“If you own or run business that employs one or two people, or one that employs thousands, we want to hear from you all as it’s only together that we will reach our ambitious targets – so please fill out the survey and have your say.”

The council will take a leadership role in Renfrewshire, striving to reach net zero as an organisation and providing the support required for businesses, partners, and communities to reduce their emissions towards net zero by 2030.

It has set out phase 1 of its Plan for Net Zero which outlines the five key themes and actions that the Council will focus on, which are clean energy, sustainable transport, circular economy, connected communities and resilient place.

A previous business survey formed a key part of the development of the Plan for Net Zero and continued engagement will help shape the direction of the future iterations of the plan.

Businesses can fill out the online survey at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/business-climate-survey, with a closing date for responses of 30 October 2022.