The national research initiative, supported by the Government, large corporations and business groups, is set to serve as a definitive benchmark to guide policy and stimulate change, according to its organisers
Businesses are being encouraged to take part in a major new census that will track the private sector’s progress towards the UK’s net zero target by 2050.
This national research initiative, supported by the Government, large corporations and business groups, is set to serve as a definitive benchmark to guide policy and stimulate change, according to its organisers. The UK Business Climate Hub and sustainability certifiers Planet Mark said the aim is to gather the data every year to monitor the proportion of businesses taking action.
The first-ever census, which was launched on Wednesday, asks businesses 10 multiple-choice questions about setting targets, measuring carbon footprints, and prioritising net zero. Organisers are urging as many companies as possible to provide data, regardless of their current progress.
Edward Lockhart, from the Broadway Initiative which manages the UK Business Climate Hub, said the census will “give Government, business leaders and the financial community a richer dataset than we’ve ever had before to take stock of progress and what more needs to be done”.
Andrew Griffiths, Planet Mark’s director of policy and partnerships, highlighted that the census stands out from other net zero business surveys due to its partnership approach involving many different businesses and organisations. The British Chambers of Commerce, the Confederation of British Industry, NatWest, BT Group, the Institute of Directors and the National Grid are among dozens of partners teaming up on this project.
“This is the most ambitious survey ever undertaken on the state of UK business’ progress to achieving net zero,” Mr Griffiths said. “It’s all mutually reinforcing because the census will reinforce the content and the content will reinforce the census, and hopefully this will be something that can really grow and develop over time,” he explained.
Businesses of any size across the UK have until June 30 to submit their answers, either through an online form or by downloading a word document. The data will then be analysed over July and August, with plans to release the results on September 10.
The figures will be categorised into regions, sectors and business size, the organisers revealed. While a firm’s individual responses won’t be published, it can choose to be listed in the report as a contributor, they added.
Mr Griffiths acknowledged concerns that the dataset could be biased towards companies taking action or that businesses could inflate their net zero ambitions. For a more comprehensive approach, a polling company was hired to survey a representative sample of UK businesses using the same questions, to offer a benchmark for the voluntarily completed polls.
He added ratio would be maintained through volume: “The more businesses the better the data.” The Net Zero Census can be found at netzerocensus.co.uk.