Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage SMEs to join the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's Race for Net Zero.

In May 2021, ahead of COP26 the Government launched the Together for Our Planet Business Climate Leaders campaign. The aim of the campaign is to encourage as many small businesses as possible to join the “Race to Zero” by making the SME Climate Commitment on the SME Climate Hub. To date, 2,670 UK small businesses have made the SME Climate Hub, constituting around 80% of global signups.

The Government has also run several initiatives in conjunction with trade associations, local authorities, businesses such as BT, NatWest and Royal Mail. For example, the “Heroes of Net Zero Competition” invited all British businesses with less than 50 employees, who had joined the Race to Zero, to share their innovative green actions. As part of the campaign, a new UK Business Climate Hub has been developed to provide guidance on how to reduce emissions, including sector-specific advice.