All SMEs rely on both energy and water. Regardless of their product or service, both are used throughout the supply chain in manufacturing processes, transportation, product usage, and product end-of-life. Energy scarcity (a lack of available energy) is becoming a prominent issue throughout global supply chains, with companies drawing large quantities from unsustainable energy sources, such as solid fuel burning or gas-intensive energies. This affects nearby communities by limiting access to energy. Simultaneously, this increases pollution through contributions from emissions. Additionally, supply chains utilise water-intensive processes for their operations, reducing the availability of clean water for domestic usage to nearby communities. As clean water is a limited resource, a lack thereof harms communities and surrounding ecosystems through issues of drought and water pollution, as discussed in further guides. Together, these physical building blocks in the natural world greatly affect businesses if not managed effectively.
<aside> 💡 What does it mean in practice?
This means that the SME examines their use of water and energy by measuring their own performance to determine areas where sustainable alternatives can be made. This includes swapping processing methods for those that require less energy and less water.
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As SMEs account for 99.4% of all enterprises in Wales, they play a huge role in their ability to limit local environmental impact through mitigating intensive resource use.
The UK government has implemented new taxing incentives to increase renewable energy use in businesses, creating opportunities to save money.
Energy and water-saving initiatives create opportunities to engage staff by building leadership, skills and transparency within the SME.
Using water and energy resources in ways that do not exploit the local environment enables consistent use of the resources for future use. This leaves continuous access for companies and communities to meet their water and energy needs while ensuring no resource availability gaps throughout the supply chain.
Installing water and energy meters can measure consumption from direct use. The values can be compared against government targets and the performance of similar SMEs.
It may be difficult for SMEs to control the international processes within their supply chains due to different laws and legislations, including a lack of transparency. However, establishing a baseline of resource use with contracted producers and suppliers allows for a clearer picture. This creates valuable opportunities to engage suppliers to question performance on renewable energy use, energy and water efficient technologies in the workplace, and opportunities for sustainable alternatives to be incorporated within the supply chain.
<aside> 💡 Did you know?
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Both the Welsh and UK governments have targets for energy consumption, notably to have all SMEs reach Net Zero (no greenhouse gas emissions) by 2050. A valuable place to begin is by pledging emission cuts—a target of 50%—by 2030, which will allow for changes in energy usage (a shift from non-renewable sources to renewable sources).
In water resources, the UK government targets reducing overall domestic and business water usage by 20% by 2038—an achievable baseline target for most SMEs.
In the Office
In the Supply Chain
In the Office
In the Supply Chain
