.svg)
Heat, efficiency, fleet and logistics
After electricity, the reductions worth making are in how you heat your site, how much energy you waste, what your vehicles burn and how your goods move. Ranked here by effort and impact for a manufacturing or distribution business.
What should a supplier reduce after switching electricity?
Four areas, in the order most suppliers should look at them: heat (gas or oil for space and process heating), efficiency (energy you use and do not need to), fleet (your own vehicles) and logistics (freight you pay others to move). Electricity was the quick win; these take more planning and more money, and together they are most of what remains in Scope 1 and the largest part of Scope 3 that you control directly.
Where do I start?
With the figure. Your footprint tells you which of the four is largest, and the largest is where a change moves the number. A workshop heated by gas has heat at the top; a distributor has fleet and logistics; an office has efficiency and travel. Then check cost and payback for each. ClimateMate builds a free ranked plan for a business like yours from real-world case studies, which is a faster way to this list than working through it alone, and the SME Climate Hub action plan does the same from a short questionnaire.
| Area | Lower effort | Higher effort | What changes in your footprint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | Boiler service and controls, insulation, lower set-points, heat recovery from process | Heat pump, electrification of process heat, biomethane | Scope 1 falls; electrified heat moves to Scope 2, where renewable electricity covers it |
| Efficiency | LED lighting, compressed-air leak repair, motor controls, switching off out of hours | Variable-speed drives, equipment replacement, building management system | Scope 2 and Scope 1 fall, and the bill falls with them |
| Fleet | Route planning, driver training, tyre pressure, fewer journeys | Electric vans and cars, electric forklifts, charging on site | Scope 1 falls; vehicle electricity moves to Scope 2 |
| Logistics | Fuller loads, fewer shipments, consolidated deliveries, rail or sea instead of road or air | Carriers with lower-emission fleets, local sourcing, packaging that fits more per pallet | Scope 3 (freight) falls, and you can ask your haulier for the per-shipment figure |
Heat: what is worth doing?
Start with what you already have. A serviced boiler with working controls, a lower set-point in areas nobody occupies, and insulation on pipes and roof together often cut gas use noticeably for little money. Process heat is harder: recovering waste heat from compressors or ovens to warm the building is a common first project. The larger step is a heat pump or electrifying process heat, which moves the emissions from Scope 1 to Scope 2, where renewable electricity takes care of them. That is a capital project and the paying-for-it guide covers grants that often exist for it.
Efficiency: what pays back fastest?
Lighting and compressed air, in most workshops. LED lighting is a short payback and a visible change. Compressed-air leaks are usually the most expensive waste on a factory floor and the cheapest to fix. Switching equipment off out of hours costs nothing. An energy audit, which some national schemes fund for small businesses, puts numbers on all of this and is worth doing before any capital spend. Japan's subsidised energy audit for SMEs and Finland's energy audit programme are two examples. The UK Business Climate Hub lists free tools and sector guidance for UK businesses.
Fleet: when do electric vehicles make sense?
When the vehicles do predictable daily mileage that an overnight charge covers, which describes most vans and forklifts. Running costs are usually lower; the purchase or lease cost is higher. Replace at the normal end of a vehicle's life rather than early, and put charging in before the vehicles arrive. Where electric does not fit yet, route planning and driver training cut fuel without new vehicles.
Logistics: what can I change if I don't own the trucks?
More than it seems. Fuller loads and fewer, larger shipments cut freight emissions and freight cost together. Moving from air to sea or from road to rail where lead times allow is a large cut per tonne. Ask your haulier for its emissions per shipment; many now provide it, and it is the figure that turns your freight line from an industry average into measured data. Packaging that fits more units per pallet is a logistics reduction as much as a materials one.
Your customer will accept: a short list of the actions you have taken or planned in each of the four areas, with dates. They are not expecting a full engineering programme from a small supplier; they are looking for direction and evidence.
Do this week: pick the largest of the four from your footprint and write down the lower-effort actions for it. Ask your haulier whether it reports emissions per shipment.
What should I do next?
Lower-carbon materials and packaging covers what you buy. Paying for it covers grants and finance for the capital items above. If your customer uses DitchCarbon, claim your profile and record the actions so they appear against your figures.
Where to get help
- ClimateMate: a free decarbonisation plan builder, backed by real-world case studies, that ranks heat, efficiency, fleet and logistics actions for a business like yours. Free.
- SME Climate Hub action plan: practical steps from a short questionnaire. Free with registration, also in Arabic, Spanish, Swedish, French and Portuguese.
- SME Climate Hub Action Space: guides by topic, including renewables, buildings, transport and finance. Free with registration, also in Arabic, Spanish, Swedish, French and Portuguese.
- PRE-SME training handbook: UNEP and UNIDO worksheets for cutting energy, water, materials and waste in a small factory (2010, still practical). Free.
- GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard: how the freight you pay others to move is counted in your Scope 3. Free.
In your country
Local calculators, grants and advice for this guide, where we have them. See all countries →
Austria
- klimaaktiv: Unternehmen (klimaaktiv for business): Federal climate ministry (klimaaktiv). Guidance, tools and funding on efficiency, renewables and mobility. In German. Free.
Canada
- RETScreen: Natural Resources Canada. Clean-energy and efficiency project analysis software. In English and French. Viewer free; Pro paid.
Chile
- Giro Limpio (Clean freight programme): Agencia de Sostenibilidad Energética. Freight fuel-efficiency certification for carriers and shippers. In Spanish. Not stated.
- Guía de implementación ISO 50001 (ISO 50001 implementation guide): Agencia de Sostenibilidad Energética. Step-by-step energy management system guide (2018). In Spanish. Free.
Egypt
- GEFF Egypt Technology Selector: EBRD. Pre-qualified efficient equipment you can finance. In English and Arabic. Free.
Finland
- Energiakatselmustoiminta (Energy audit programme): Motiva. Subsidised voluntary energy audits for smaller energy users. In Finnish and English. Subsidised.
France
- Agir pour la transition: Entreprises (Act for the transition: businesses): ADEME. ADEME business portal: advice, programmes, grants, training. In French. Free.
Germany
- Bundesförderung für Energieberatung im Mittelstand (Federal energy-advice funding for SMEs): IHK Lüneburg-Wolfsburg (BAFA programme). Explains the subsidised SME energy audit and savings plan. In German. Subsidised.
Hong Kong
- Practical Guide on Carbon Audit and Management: Environmental Protection Department. Nine sector guidebooks on audit steps and reduction measures. In English and Chinese. Free.
India
- SIDHIEE (MSME energy efficiency portal): Bureau of Energy Efficiency. Efficient technologies by cluster, case studies, a diagnosis tool, helpdesk. In English. Not stated.
Indonesia
- Buku Pedoman Implementasi Model Bisnis UMKM Berkelanjutan: Aksi Mitigasi (MSME sustainable business guide: mitigation actions): Bank Indonesia. Technical guide for MSMEs moving to lower-emission practice. In Indonesian. Free.
Ireland
- SEAI: Small and medium business: SEAI. SME energy training, briefings and an SME energy guide. In English. Free.
Italy
- ENEA: Servizi per le imprese (ENEA services for businesses): ENEA. Energy-efficiency information, energy audit guidance and incentives for firms. In Italian. Free.
Japan
- 省エネ最適化診断 (Energy optimisation audit for SMEs): Energy Conservation Center Japan (METI-funded). Subsidised on-site energy audit with a renewable energy proposal. In Japanese. Subsidised.
Kenya
- Kenya National Cleaner Production Centre: KNCPC. Cleaner production audits, energy efficiency and training. In English. Some services charged.
- Centre for Energy Efficiency and Conservation: Kenya Association of Manufacturers. Energy and water audits, training and awards. In English. Subsidised / paid.
Mexico
- CONUEE (National Commission for the Efficient Use of Energy): CONUEE. Energy-efficiency programmes and a free efficiency assessment. In Spanish. Free.
Morocco
- Efficacité énergétique et énergies renouvelables (Energy efficiency and renewables): CGEM. Efficiency and renewable options for Moroccan firms. In French. Free.
Netherlands
- Energiebesparingsplicht (Energy-saving obligation): RVO. The legal energy-saving duty and its reporting rules. In Dutch. Free.
South Africa
- National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC-SA): CSIR for the dtic. Free or subsidised energy, water and materials efficiency help. In English. Free / subsidised.
South Korea
- 중소·중견 에너지 효율혁신 선도프로젝트 (SME energy efficiency leading project): Korea Energy Agency. Free energy audit, factory energy management support, better loan terms. In Korean. Free audit.
Sweden
- Effektiv energianvändning: Företag (Efficient energy use: companies): Energimyndigheten. Guides, rules, training and financial support for company energy efficiency. In Swedish. Free.
Switzerland
- EnergieSchweiz: Unternehmen (SwissEnergy for companies): Swiss Federal Office of Energy. SME advice, federal funding and a free info line. In German, French and Italian. Free advice; grants.
Tunisia
- Industrie: Utilisation rationnelle de l'énergie (Industry energy programmes): ANME. Energy audit programmes and industrial decarbonisation support. In French. Subsidised audits.
US
- Better Plants: US DOE. Voluntary manufacturer programme for energy goals, with technical support. In English. Free.
- SmartWay: US EPA. Freight and fleet tools to cut transport fuel and emissions. In English. Free.
- Energy Efficiency Toolkit for Small Business: ENERGY STAR (US EPA). Small-business energy-saving workbook and sector tip sheets. In English. Free.
- Industrial Training and Assessment Centers (ITAC): US DOE. No-cost energy and waste assessment for small and mid-sized manufacturers. In English. Free.
- ITAC: find a centre: ITAC Field Manager (DOE-funded). Find your nearest university assessment centre by ZIP code. In English. Free.
- 50001 Ready Program: US DOE. Free self-paced route to an ISO 50001-style energy management system. In English. Free.
Eastern Partnership (regional)
- RECP Clubs: peer-based coaching for resource-efficient SMEs: UNIDO (EU4Environment). How small manufacturers cut material, waste and cost through a six-module programme. In English. Free.
Mediterranean (regional)
- SwitchMed: Industrial resource efficiency (MED TEST): SwitchMed (EU, UNIDO, UNEP). Resource-efficiency method and case studies for Mediterranean manufacturers. In English and French. Free.
Looking for another country? See free help by country.
Common questions
How can a small manufacturer reduce its carbon emissions?
After renewable electricity: service and control the heating, fix compressed-air leaks and switch to LED, plan routes and move to electric vans at replacement, and consolidate freight. Start with whichever is largest in your footprint.
What is the cheapest way for a business to cut energy use?
Switching equipment off out of hours, fixing compressed-air leaks, LED lighting and heating controls. An energy audit, often funded for small businesses, puts numbers on each.
When should a small business switch to electric vans?
At the normal replacement point, where daily mileage fits an overnight charge. Running costs are usually lower; put charging in before the vehicles arrive.
How can I reduce freight emissions if I don't own the trucks?
Fuller loads, fewer shipments, rail or sea instead of road or air where lead times allow, and asking your haulier for emissions per shipment so the figure is measured rather than averaged.
Does a heat pump reduce a company's carbon footprint?
Yes. It moves heating from Scope 1 (gas) to Scope 2 (electricity), where a renewable supply covers it. It is a capital project and grants often exist for it.
Get help
Email suppliersupport@ditchcarbon.com and hear back within two working days. Free, whether or not your customer uses DitchCarbon.
Free, takes about 30 seconds, and is where your customer reads your answer from.
