Christian Arno

Green Budgeting: preparing your business for 2030

4 min Read
Landscape looking down an empty road surrounded by green hills and a cloudy sky

Last year, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) recommended that the UK government submit a new NDC committing the UK to a 68% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. In December, the government did just that, which means we only have 9 years to rearrange our country into the version of itself that’s been promised.

In light of this, business leaders must plan for and embed green ambitions into policies and budgets. This is business-critical; the NDC demonstrates the government’s commitment to transitioning to a Net Zero nation. Soon businesses will have no choice but to get on board.

In this article, I’ll look at how businesses can prepare for the changes coming over the next 9 years, with a particular focus on what to consider when reviewing policies and budgets, and what financial support might be available from the government.

Prepare for...

1. Innovation

Massive investment is forecast for low-carbon technologies. Businesses should prepare to invest in solutions that emerge; if an existing desire to reduce the company’s carbon footprint doesn’t drive this, society (customers, shareholders, employees, talent) will.  

For example:

2. Office upgrades

To incentivise the move from gas to electric, the government is increasing gas and freezing electricity rates from 2022 under the Climate Change Levy (CCL). Furthermore, they’ve added a third flexible allocation of Tariff Guarantees on the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme (NDRHI). All to encourage businesses to install heat pumps or biomass boilers, which are energy-efficient.

Out in the car park, start thinking about how you can support employees as they transition to EVs over the next decade; WoodMac expects 43% of all passenger vehicles in the UK to have a plug by 2040. In terms of support, the government will provide £500m for electric vehicle charging infrastructure over the next 5 years. As part of this, businesses can apply for the Workplace Charging Scheme, which provides a £350—per socket, up to 40 sockets—towards the installation of EV charge points. This brings us on to...


3. EVs

Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of governmental support/incentivisation emerging in this space. For example:

The upfront cost of low/zero-emission vehicles isn’t small. Businesses should (if they haven’t already) start budgeting for the transition.

Interestingly, on the subject of EVs vs petrol/diesel, our scientific advisor, Mike Berners-Lee says, ‘‘...keep your old car for as long as it is reliable, unless you’re doing high mileage or the fuel consumption is ridiculously poor [then swap to an EV if you can afford to]’. Only half the carbon impact of driving comes out of the exhaust pipe (and a bit from the fuel before it’s burned). The rest comes from the embodied carbon of manufacturing the car.

Nevertheless, driving high emissions vehicles is only going to become more expensive in the coming years. Preparing for the change now is vital.  


4. New taxes

I’ve summarised a selection of environmentally-focused tax changes below. For in-depth insight into green tax announcements, take a look at pg. 96 - 98 of the 2020 HM treasury budget. 2021’s budget will be out in early March.


5. Green travel incentives

In the CCC’s most recent carbon budget, it’s clear that travel demand must drop by 2030 if we’re going to meet our Net Zero target. Businesses have a responsibility to facilitate this shift, through schemes that encourage low carbon commuting and travel. Some interesting ideas include:

Top tip:

According to research commissioned jointly by the Scottish Government, Defra and the 2020 Climate Group, ‘Low carbon initiatives are most extensive and sustained in their effects when they build on shared values between organisations and employees.’ My recommendation is that you ask your people how they think low carbon travel should be incentivised in your organisation—buy-in will be much higher if people feel included in the decision making.

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The next nine years will see rapid scaling of green policies, as the government works to achieve carbon targets. Businesses’ support is vital to success, which means policies and schemes will continue to emerge as a means of streaming action in the right direction.

Being an early mover in the green revolution comes with a host of benefits—altruism need not be the only reason to explore the options I’ve listed above. From increasing investment opportunities to attracting and retaining top talent to winning customer loyalty, you’ve heard them all before. Now it’s time to act.

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