Cleantech startup Greener has launched Greener for Business, a new initiative aimed at supporting Australian businesses in their efforts to reduce emissions and achieve net zero. As part of the announcement, the company also announced a partnership with Origin Energy.
Gleaner said the initiative provides companies with a systematic approach to achieving net zero. Recognizing that implementing sustainable practices can be resource-intensive, we provide a framework aimed at simplifying the transition. This includes energy, waste, electrification, packaging, logistics, etc.
The company says its aim is to provide small and medium-sized businesses with a central repository of viable solutions and government incentives to drive environmental initiatives and potential cost savings.
In addition to Origin, we also partner with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), Sendle, Mr Yum, Better Packaging Co and several city councils.
According to an image provided by Greener, the platform provides businesses with a checklist of things they can do to become more environmentally friendly. Each item is given a difficulty rating, as well as a percentage rating of how much the change will reduce emissions and potential savings.
Examples include recycling organic waste, replacing lighting with LED lighting, switching to electric cars, and installing solar panels.
A snapshot of the Greener for Business platform that provides a checklist. Image: Greener.
Some of these measures lend credence to the debate being made about the costs of going green. Recycling waste and replacing it with LED bulbs is a relatively small cost towards net zero. And the latter can result in energy savings costs of about $2,300 a year, Greener said.
Any resource that helps Australian businesses become more sustainable is a win. It's free for Greener For Business.
“Australia's small and medium-sized enterprises make up 98% of Australia's businesses and are the backbone of the economy, but many are cash-strapped, time-poor and under tremendous pressure in this tough economic climate. “Sustainability is not a top priority,” Greener founder Tom Ferrier said in an email. smart company.
“Greener is changing all that with a simple platform that helps you save money and the planet, all at the same time. We are starting by partnering with Origin to switch to 100% green power.”
A platform is more than just a checklist. Gleaner said the joint aim is to provide a central location to provide solutions to small businesses and facilitate government incentives to become more environmentally friendly, with the potential to also reduce costs. states that there is.
And partnerships like the one with Origin mean Greener can provide solutions to its users and directly to its partners.Greener also confirmed smart company Some partnerships operate under incentive arrangements.
“We work with different partners in different ways to build partnerships that align with our values. But one thing always remains the same: Partnerships must be win/win. Hmm. Otherwise, we won't embark on it because it's not sustainable,” Ferrier said. smart company.
“For some partners, this means offering members special offers and discounts to help them switch to products and services that help reduce emissions, and paying a small fee to Greener to support the platform. For other partners, we will work together to build partnership structures that align with business and climate change goals.
“Our ultimate goal with the partners we work with is to make it easier for businesses to save money by taking action on climate change, while at the same time building on our commitment to put Green for Business into the hands of as many small and medium-sized businesses as possible. and to ensure that we do so in order to extend that impact as much as possible.”
our view
While this is great, it's worth noting that not all of the advice on the platform is particularly cost-effective for businesses in the short to medium term.
For many businesses, getting a platform to tell them it's a good idea to replace their car, install solar panels, or upgrade their hot water system may be easier said than done. yeah. Especially when Mr Gleaner's own press release makes the claim that his 43% of Australian small businesses are in the red and 48% go bankrupt within their first four years.
As a reminder, the cheapest EV in Australia is the recently announced BYD Dolphin at $38,890. As of this writing, he only has five EVs under $50,000 in Australia.
When it comes to solar panels, they cost on average between $4,000 and $15,000 to install before government rebates apply.
Of course, being able to provide net zero related advice and resources in one place, especially for free, is invaluable for some small businesses, especially those with very few employees but who want to do the right thing. Helpful.
However, it is a little frowned upon to push the narrative that “small and medium-sized enterprises are in dire straits'' while proposing a number of very expensive “solutions.''
But perhaps it's indicative of a larger problem – making sustainable choices in Australia often doesn't come cheap, even when subsidies exist. Especially if some people are at risk of being removed prematurely.
