Reports of the demise of sustainability have been greatly exaggerated. In reality, more and more UK SMEs are being asked to provide details of their carbon footprint by clients, in order for those clients to fulfil their procurement requirements with their clients.

And so it continues up the supply chain.

So if you’ve just been asked for your footprint – what now?

Scenario 1: You have no data

In this case, your client is likely to use industry averages to estimate the carbon footprint attributable to the product or service you’ve supplied. These averages rarely reflect your actual operations and are often out of date. If you’ve invested in efficient processes or lower-carbon materials, you won’t get rewarded for your work. You are also likely to lose out to competitors who do have the required information available.

Outcome: Your client may stay with  you in the short term, but you risk being marked down in tenders or replaced by competitors who can provide credible data.

Scenario 2: You have limited data

It can be tempting to think that unless you can dive deep into emissions calculations, there’s no point making a start. That’s absolutely not the case. It’s very common for companies to begin with limited data in the first year. That baseline then helps shape better data collection and greater accuracy in the years that follow.

There are many tools that can help you take that first step, including the SME Climate Hub Carbon Calculator and the Carbon Trust SME Carbon Footprint Calculator.

Once you’ve got a rough estimate, your client is likely to perform a spend-based calculation – in other words, they’ll look at your annual footprint, then consider the proportion that matches what they spend with you. For example, if your total footprint is 100 tonnes of CO₂e and the client makes up 5% of your turnover, they’ll attribute 5 tonnes of CO₂e to their own supply chain.

Outcome: Your client can work with this. They will usually see it as a positive sign that you’re engaging with their requirements, making it more likely you’ll remain a supplier as you build accuracy over time.

Scenario 3: You have got data on your Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions at a per-product or per-service level

This is where the data  really work in your favour, and it can even be calculated in-house if you have the resources. Instead of relying on approximate spend-based or industry-average estimates, your client can use the actual footprint of the product or service they’ve bought from you. For example:

• If you know the emissions linked to producing one unit of your product, your client can multiply that by the number of units they’ve purchased.
• If you provide a service, you can share the emissions linked to delivering that service directly.

This level of detail is considered the gold standard because it gives the clearest and fairest picture of your contribution to their supply chain. And when you have the data, don’t keep it to yourself.

Outcome: Your client is far more likely to value the relationship, as you’re helping them meet their reporting requirements with reliable data. When you have that data, make the client’s decision as easy as possible by sharing your activity and commitment with effective sustainability communications. This is how you position yourself as a long-term partner.

In today’s world, sustainability sells. Measuring your environmental impact will win work, keep clients and give you an edge over competitors – but you have to communicate what you’re doing. Use one of the free UK tools above to get your first estimate – and if you want to take the next step, Brace For Impact can help you turn that data into a clear, credible sustainability story.

Ready to talk about how we can help your business use your sustainability story to win more work?