Business in the Community (BITC), the responsible business network, has implemented Carbon Literacy throughout the organisation. We strive to ‘walk the talk’ and be an example for our member organisations. This case study describes both our environmental performance and those of the organisations we work with across a number of key environmental initiatives
About Business in the Community
Business in the Community stands for responsible business. Set up in Northern Ireland in 1989, we are the largest business-led coalition dedicated to corporate responsibility and, in Northern Ireland, our 270+ members employ more than 40% of the working population.
A registered charity and membership organisation, we exist to support and challenge business to be a force for good in society. We have a presence in all parts of the UK and a sister organisation in the Republic of Ireland, and our network comprises companies of all sizes and from all sectors.
Our vision is to achieve a world where responsible business is at the core of every organisation, and our purpose is to inspire and support business to be a force for good.
The issue
Business in the Community (BITC) works across People, Planet and Place. The Environment Team focuses its efforts under the Planet heading and strives to encourage our staff and our members to incorporate responsible environmental action into their business activities.
BITC considers Carbon Literacy a top priority, understanding that there is a general lack of awareness of climate and environmental issues within many organisations and that education is the first step to addressing this void.
Our commitment to this endeavour became evident in 2020 when we embarked on our Carbon Literacy journey internally and across our membership base. This deliberate step has allowed us to deepen our internal understanding of carbon emissions, climate change, biodiversity, and the measures we can take to improve our environmental footprint.
What Business in the Community did
It would be wrong for us to encourage companies to act responsibly without proactively ensuring that our own impact on our People, the Planet, and the Places where we operate is as positive as it can be.
We pride ourselves on setting and achieving high standards, and we constantly challenge ourselves to do more — to inspire and encourage others. Our commitment to protecting the planet is demonstrated through the certification of our Environmental Management System.
Business in the Community’s values commit us to being focused, passionate, pioneering, collaborative, and to act with integrity. We strive to ensure that what we do internally is fully aligned with the expectations we place on our members.
As part of this, Business in the Community has signed the Climate Action Pledge – a public commitment to reduce our absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, and to work towards measuring and reporting our scope 3 emissions. You can view our ambitious Carbon Action Plan here.
For more detail on how we implement these commitments, please see our latest Walk the Talk Report. One of our goals is for 100% of our workforce to be trained as Carbon Literate. To support this, all staff — including placement students — take part in Carbon Literacy Training as part of their induction. Staff have told us they’ve really valued the opportunity to learn more about the climate and how to take meaningful action both within the organisation and in their personal lives.