Methods for embedding micro-businesses in change for Net Zero
•• Phase 2 ••• Phase 3
What is the project doing?
MicroSEM was a project led by a team at the University of Sussex Business School, which aimed to understand how to better engage with the UK’s smallest businesses, micro and small businesses (up to 49 employees), for supporting their transition to Net Zero.
In the UK, small and medium size businesses (from zero to 250 employees) collectively emit around half (43-53%) of UK’s business sector carbon emissions, however 76% of SMEs are yet to implement decarbonisation strategies with only 3% having measured their carbon emissions to set reduction targets. The existing literature on SME and Net Zero argues that 34% of businesses are more likely to not be prepared for transitioning to Net Zero, suggesting these are often the smallest businesses.
Current academic discussions on SME decarbonisation in the UK suggest that micro and small businesses (up to 49 employees) remain an understudied area of research. Outputs of this project including a video and tools for better approaching micro and small businesses in relation to Net Zero are available on the Aspect Member Platform.
Contact
Ralitsa Hiteva, Senior Research Fellow, University of Sussex
r.hiteva@sussex.ac.uk
Franco Gonzalez, Research Assistant, University of Sussex
fg90@sussex.ac.uk
Engaging small and micro businesses with net zero
Report and Step-by-Step guide that helps to understand and accelerate engagement of micro and small businesses with Net Zero.