About Go Climate Positive
The Story Behind Go Climate Positive
Hi, I’m a business owner who wants to do my bit to help alleviate the climate emergency rather than contribute towards it.
When I started to look into it, I found lots of conflicting advice and a lot of noise about “green” initiatives that would, at best, have a tiny effect and at worst, actually make things worse.
“Go Climate Positive” was born from my desire to take an objective look at the climate impact of my business, to focus on doing the things that will reduce that impact the most and to tell my customers about my commitment transparently and honestly.
If you have any questions, I would love to hear from you.
Please send me a message or give me a call on 0333 344 5890.
Eoin McQuone
Chief Carbon Coach & Founder
Our team
Our Solutions
Our approach
Our portal
Our vision
The way in which we work and live today is destroying the very environment we depend on to live. We are polluting the atmosphere causing health problems and irreversible changes to our climate, we are driving species to extinction at an ever-increasing rate and we are using-up the world’s limited resources.
It doesn’t have to be this way!
We aim to bring about a transformed economy that regenerates the environment, replenishes human dignity and enables business to thrive.
Our purpose
We believe that small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) are a major source of employment opportunities, economic prosperity and human fulfilment but … they risk being disproportionately disadvantaged as the world transitions to net zero.
Go Climate Positive exists to make it easy for SMEs to measure, reduce and report their carbon footprint, enabling them to participate in the low-carbon economy.
Our Values
Education: we share our knowledge freely, teaching businesses how to be sustainable and coaching them through change; we keep our own skills, knowledge and methods up to date.
Optimism: we believe we can change the future for the better and aim to do more good, not just less bad.
Transparency: we are open and honest and share both the good and the bad news.
Partnership: we create long-term relationships to achieve a win-win-win for us, our partners and the environment.
Action: we have the courage to make a start and learn from our mistakes.
Inclusivity: we strive to make our services and opportunities accessible to all.
We know we are not perfect, but we strive every day to live up to these values, and we truly believe that our business is better for it.
Why do we care?
Climate change is the biggest issue of our age. Since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 the science has become increasingly clear that global warming is real and that our actions are driving it faster and further than the human race has ever seen.
The correlation between the average temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide is very strong.
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 30% higher than at any other time in the last 800,00 years. For a sense of scale it’s worth bearing in mind that our species, homo sapiens, has only been around for 200,000 years.
We are currently on track to reach a global temperature rise of around 3°C, compared with pre-industrial levels. Yet, the IPCC has painted a stark picture of what is likely to happen if temperatures rise by just 2°C:
- Large, robust and widespread regional differences are expected for temperature extremes
- Heavy precipitation events on a global scale, with an increase in the number of tropical cyclones
- Higher probability of extreme drought, precipitation deficits, and risks associated with water availability
- Risk of damage to natural systems (including terrestrial, freshwater, wetland, coastal and ocean ecosystems) and to human systems (including food production, human health, tourism, energy systems and transportation)
- Loss of species and higher risks of extinction
- An increase in flood hazard in some regions
- At least one sea-ice-free Arctic summer is expected every 10 years
- Global mean sea level rise (GMSLR) is projected to rise by around 0.3-0.93m
- Risks to global economic growth, with the largest reductions for low- and middle-income countries and regions (the African continent, Southeast Asia, India, Brazil and Mexico)
- Greater proportions of people both exposed and susceptible to poverty in Africa and Asia
This illustrates that human prosperity, equity and health are intimately connected to the state of the planet and the health of our natural systems.
Climate change is an issue of business risk, as well as one of social justice, human wellbeing and our stewardship of the natural world. We owe it to ourselves and the next generation to do something about it.
"Real success can only come if there is a change in our societies and in our economics and in our politics."
David Attenborough
Learn more
Check out the following topics to learn more about climate change and carbon footprints
What is climate change and how will it affect my business?
Why is it a climate emergency?
What is my business carbon footprint and how can I reduce it?
How can my business go carbon neutral?
What does climate positive mean?
What does net zero mean and why should I consider it?
Why do focus on small to medium sized businesses?
Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are crucial to the economy, contributing significantly to employment, economic growth, and innovation.
Key Contributions of SMEs
- Economic Backbone: SMEs represent 99.9% of all businesses in the UK, accounting for over 52% of the private sector’s total turnover, which amounts to approximately £2.18 trillion annually. This makes them a fundamental component of the UK economy.
- Job Creation: SMEs employ around 16.3 million people, which is about 60% of private sector employment. This substantial employment rate not only reduces unemployment but also supports regional equality by providing job opportunities across various areas, including rural and urban communities.
- Driving Innovation: SMEs are often at the forefront of innovation, developing new products and services that challenge larger corporations. Their agility allows them to adapt quickly to market changes and consumer demands, fostering a competitive environment that benefits the economy as a whole.
- Local Economic Impact: SMEs play a vital role in local communities by keeping town centers vibrant and contributing to the local economy. When consumers shop at local businesses, more money circulates within the community, leading to increased economic activity and further job creation.
- Contribution to GDP: Collectively, SMEs contribute approximately 25% of the UK’s total GDP. This significant contribution underscores their importance in driving economic growth and stability.
- Impact on Climate Change: Collectively, SMEs account for 50% of business related GHG emissions, making them crucial to the fight against climate change.
Our Carbon Footprint
We believe that transparency is the best defence against “greenwashing” so we publish our carbon footprint and ask members of our certification programme to do the same.
Our Net Zero Roadmap
We are by no means perfect, but we do try to “walk the talk” and have committed to reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2030.
We support the Sustainable Development Goals
Go Positive is an approach to doing business that places equal emphasis on people, planet and prosperity. We understand that the long-term sustainability of our businesses and our society depend on the extent to which they add value to all 3 of these assets. This is more true today than it has ever been, with the looming climate emergency, continued social injustice and growing economic inequality.
This is why we wholeheartedly support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and believe that we need to achieve all of them, if we are to achieve any of them.
Of the 17 goals we have a particular impact on the following:
Goal 13: Climate Action
We are committed to reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2030 but our biggest impact on Goal 13 is in our work to help other businesses to calculate and reduce their greenhouse gas emission.
Our dream is to help eliminate, reduce, substitute or compensate over 1 million tonnes of CO2e.
Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
We aim to give equal opportunties to people with disabilities and are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible. We also design and price our services to ensure that even the smallest of businesses can have access to help to reduce their impact on climate change.
Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Our own use of the words resources is low, but have a positive impact on Goal 12 by encouraging our clients to change to source and use materials more responsibly; including increasing the use of renewables and reusing and recycling more material that would otherwise go to waste.
Proud to be a certified B Corp™
Go Climate Positive is a certified B Corp, which means that we have been independently assessed to have demonstrated high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
B Corp Certification looks at everything we do and assesses how we run the business, how we treat our workers, our customers and the environment as well as our community involvement. The certification process is rigorous; we had to provide evidence on performance in the assessment areas. We also had to legally embed our commitment to purpose as well as profit in our company articles.
We are proud that Go Climate Positive is now part of a growing community of over 9,700 companies globally that are reinventing business for the benefit of all people and our shared planet.
"It’s not enough to help other businesses to be greener, we also need to make sure we run our own business in line with our values. I identified B Corp certification early on as the best way for us to do that and I’m thrilled to have reached the first stage in that journey.."
Eoin McQuone, Founder of Go Climate Positive
What’s next?
Whilst we are delighted to have achieved B Corp certification, we recognise that the work doesn’t stop here. All B Corps are committed to continuous improvement, and this is just the first stage in our journey. We are looking forward to implementing the new B Corp standards, improving our social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability in time for our recertification in 3 years.
We are a Living Wage Employer
We think it’s important that everyone is paid at least a real living wage, regardless of the job they do, including our apprentices. Our people are important to us and the last thing we want is for them to be worrying about money.
To help us do this we have become an accredited Living Wage Employer, as the real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate that meets the cost of living.
Disability Confident Committed
We are a Disability Confident Committed Employer.
We have committed to:
- Ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible
- Communicating and promoting vacancies
- Offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job
- Anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments as required
- Supporting any existing employee who acquires a disability or long term health condition, enabling them to stay in work
- Doing at least one activity that will make a difference for disabled people
Make a start today
If you would like to learn more about how your business can help tackle climate change, we would be delighted to give you a free carbon review.
Why not book a time in the diary now? It only takes 30 mins.
