Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the finding of the November 2021 report by the British Business bank on the proportion of SME businesses that have started to measure their carbon footprint and take steps to reduce carbon in their business, what specific steps his Department taking to increase awareness of net zero among SMEs.
The former Net Zero Business Champion led the Race to Zero campaign targeting small and medium businesses, which has attracted 2,730 UK small business commitments to date, constituting approximately 80% of global signups.
The Government has also developed the UK Business Climate Hub, where business can receive sector-specific guidance on how best to reduce their carbon emissions. This page
attracted an average of 3,000 visitors per day, or 90,000 per month in the months leading up to COP26.
The Government has worked with businesses themselves and a wide range of Business Representative Organisations, sector-based trade associations, Devolved Administrations and local and regional organisations to raise awareness of the campaign and the race to net zero.