Guidance on going green for SMEs

Science-based targets
Intertek has long been committed to helping enterprises promote green technologies, carbon management and energy management. Tommy Cheung, Intertek’s Product Manager, said the company, as an independent third-party verification and evaluation agency, provides low-cost services for SMEs. The verification services for low-carbon manufacturing include using the project's assessment scope and fuel emission benchmarks to design simple online tools to help SMEs and product manufacturers establish comprehensive data records that comply with international carbon audit standards.
Mr Cheung said the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) is an indicator that can provide tools to help companies quantify carbon reduction. SBTi can help companies set carbon reduction targets in a more scientific way to work towards the global goal of limiting global warming to 2°C.
For example, the three-part SBTi target has a carbon budget – the total amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted to keep the global temperature rise at 1.5°C and well below 2°C – and an emission scenario, determining the size and timing of emissions reductions, along with allocation methods to determine how carbon budgets are allocated to companies.
Mr Cheung said: "SBTi's method is based on achieving the total carbon emissions of controlling the global warming trend within 2°C. Through scientific methods and impact calculation, it can evaluate specific industries and companies in the context of the global carbon budget, with reasonable emission reduction credits to help companies set short-term to long-term greenhouse gas reduction goals.”
He also referred to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations, which comprise 17 goals and 169 sub-targets. The 17 goals cover environmental, economic and social aspects and can help enterprises move towards sustainable development.
Carbon reduction data
Giving the example of a mobile phone company in Hong Kong, Mr Cheung said the brand had actively used solar power in its production supply chain in recent years, gradually reducing its consumption of traditional energy and helping to achieve carbon neutrality. Some lighting producers are also using renewable energy in the production process, while well-known apparel companies require their upstream fabric suppliers to reduce water use.
“Actually, we have encountered many corporate customers requesting assistance in formulating carbon-reduction plans. Environmental protection data, such as electricity and water consumption, not only help companies understand how to collect data, but also formulate emission-reduction targets at different stages from the production line,” Mr Cheung said.
“As a third party, we understand that companies encounter problems in the process of collecting this data. There are many difficulties – for example data collected on the production line is too fragmented – so we will provide training or audit services for enterprises to let them understand how to provide quantifiable and consistent data.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the production and marketing architecture of global enterprises but the goal of moving towards green production remains unchanged. Mr Cheung said that in response to the pandemic, the HKMA has provided remote online evaluation services for enterprises to promote green production and avoid greenwashing.
“After we complete the evaluation for the enterprise, we will provide corresponding energy-saving and environmental protection suggestions so the enterprise can reduce electricity consumption while reducing carbon dioxide output and emissions,” he said. “For example, it is recommended that enterprises install Internet of Things sensors and set up KPIs for specific production lines to understand the carbon reduction performance of related production lines and determine whether there is room for emission reductions.”