Business and climate change
The Council continues its journey to carbon neutral by 2040.
We want to encourage businesses in Darlington to reduce their energy emissions. Check back here from time to time for any new links for help.
NEW: Fully funded consultancy support and up to £2,000 grant funding, alongside tools, webinars and workshops.
Carbon emissions
The Energy Savings Trust [external link] can offer advice to any business wanting to reduce emissions and become more sustainable.
Non-executive directors can join Chapter Zero [external link].
This is a free network to engage and share experiences with other businesses.
Free materials are also available to download from the Chapter Zero website.
Business in the Community is supporting organisations to take action. Their website includes information on their seven steps for climate action.
If you are a small or medium sized enterprise (SME), check out the SME Climate Hub [external link].
You can find similar businesses, who are making a commitment to tackle climate change.
If you are looking for help on saving energy, have a look at the SME Energy Efficiency Scheme [external link]
You can also check this guide on reducing your carbon footprint [external link].
To find out if your business must report carbon emissions, have a look at the Environmental reporting guidelines [external link].
And check out the UK Business Climate Hub [external link].
For support in calculating and reporting carbon emissions have a look at BringAbout [external link]
Preparing for severe weather
We also want to help businesses be more resilient, so we have produced a Business Resilience Manual.
It sets out questions to ask, lists tools and gives useful contacts.
Business Resilience Manual [pdf document].
Climate Action North has developed a Business Action Toolkit to assist small businesses to identify risks, build resilience and take action to reach net zero.
British Business Bank has produced a guide to building business resilience, [external link] especially for smaller businesses.
Sustainable business
Read our sustainability blog pages for information about what Going Green Together can offer.
Visit the Going Green website [external link].
Business and IP Centre North East’s green business guide [external link] can help you cut through the jargon around sustainability.
The UK Business and Biodiversity Forum [external link] is a hub that helps businesses understand the value of biodiversity and how to integrate it into business strategies.
Ecoprod has produced a free guide to saving water in your business [external link].
The Enterprise Made Simple has courses that will give practical tools to improve your business processes.
Green Street has developed their Planet Friendly Guide to help develop greener British high streets, particularly in the retail and hospitality sector.
Accreditation
If you want to demonstrate what your business is doing to be more sustainable, you could look at an accreditation scheme. British Business Bank has put together a list with links to the most common schemes available in the UK. Most of these links have free resources.
Other news
We also support the recently created Northeast of England Climate Coalition.
This is England's first regional climate coalition and is open to organisations from all sectors.
For more information, please see the NEECCo website [external link].
Invest in Darlington has advice and guidance for business concerned with rising energy costs. Invest in Darlington - Cost of living business support [external link].