For every £1 protecting nature, £30 degrades it
There is a number we have not been able to shake this week. A UN report found that for every pound the world spends protecting nature, around thirty are spent degrading it. Thirty to one, against the very thing every business and every one of us depends on.
You might expect a conservation organisation to lead with despair at a figure like that. We are choosing not to, and the reason matters. As one of the report's authors pointed out, this is not a story about there being no money. The money exists. It is a choice about where it goes, and a choice is something that can be changed. The same tipping points working against nature can be made to work for it, and in a world that lopsided, every pound moved to the right side of the line now counts for far more than it used to.
Why measuring your business carbon footprint comes first
There is still time to tip this back, and for a business it begins in a surprisingly ordinary place, with a number. This month we published our own [impact report], and with it our carbon footprint in full, grouped into the standard Scope 1, 2 and 3 categories. Not the flattering half, the whole picture, including the parts we are not yet proud of.
We did that because none of it begins until you know where you stand. You cannot change a number you have never measured, and working out your own is the first real act of agency there is. It is the moment your impact stops being a vague worry and becomes something you can take hold of and improve. If you have been meaning to understand your own position, the simplest place to start is to [measure your business carbon footprint] with our free calculator, which asks very little and gives you a first honest number to build from.
From footprint to action: reduce, then restore
A number on its own changes nothing. Once you can see where your emissions sit, the honest order is to reduce what you can, and then deal properly with what is left. That is where real land comes in. Through [corporate tree planting], including trees in return for purchases, you can help create genuine new woodland on our reserves. It is something you can point to, visit and watch grow, which is exactly what a credible commitment should be.
How your business can start
You can read our impact report and run the free carbon calculator to find your own number. If you own or manage land, talk to us about a [landowner partnership] and what is possible on it. And if you would like somewhere near you to support and visit, we can point you to the [reserve nearest you]. Whatever the first step, we are happy to help you make sense of it.
None of us can turn the whole thirty to one around on our own. But each of us can tip our own corner of it the right way, and enough of those tip the whole.
Frequently asked questions
What is a business carbon footprint? It is the total greenhouse gas emissions your organisation is responsible for, usually grouped into Scope 1 (direct), Scope 2 (purchased energy) and Scope 3 (everything else in your value chain). Measuring it is the first step towards reducing it.
How do I measure my business carbon footprint? Start with a calculator that covers all three scopes to get a baseline, then refine it with real data over time. Our free carbon calculator gives you an honest first number to work from.
What can a business do about the emissions it cannot yet reduce? Reduce as much as you can first, then support genuine nature restoration, such as real woodland creation on land you can actually visit, rather than abstract credits.