The Low Carbon Business Network has developed three short online courses with the needs of smaller business in mind.

·      Introducing Environmental Awareness to SMEs

·      Environmental Accreditation for SMEs

·      Value Mapping for Pro-Environmental Business

Find out more about all three courses below. To sign up and get access to each course for free, your business will need to be eligible. Register your interest by emailing lowcarbonbusiness@derby.ac.uk and identify which course you wish to access, your company name and which employees wish to be enrolled.

Introducing Environmental Awareness to SMEs

The impact that humankind is having on our environment is of increasing relevance to businesses in every sector. This environmental awareness short course is designed to help staff in smaller firms gain a better understanding of why the environment matters to their business as much as profit and staff development.

This course will help staff:

  • Identify how your business activities cause environmental change
  • Identify actions to minimise adverse environmental change
  • Understand some of the opportunities presented by ‘pro-environmental’ business practices.

The course is aimed at micro and small businesses, that commonly find the costs of staff awareness training prohibitive. It is offered in a single Unit that will take no more than 5 hours to complete.

Environmental Accreditation for SMEs

Suitable environmental management accreditation (EMA) can help smaller firms attract new customers, by differentiating your offer to the market and bring success in tendering to larger organisations, like councils and corporate businesses.

This short online course will:

  • help you understand the benefits of environmental accreditation.
  • provide the knowledge and awareness to help you choose the right environmental accreditation for your business.
  • signpost where you can find credible (and often free) support to help you achieve this.

The course is aimed at micro and small businesses, that commonly find the costs of environmental management accreditation prohibitive. It is offered in a single Unit that will take no more than 5 hours to complete.

Value Mapping for Pro-Environmental Business

https://youtu.be/3DlxYdiLjs0

What environmental value does your business create for customers, society and other stakeholders?

On this course, we show you how to map the environmental value of your business by introducing tools that support business modelling for environmental management and sustainability. We will look at the business benefits of environmental management and help you to better communicate your value proposition. We will use two well established environmental business tools: the value mapping wheel and the value proposition canvas. On successful completion of this course you will be able to:

  • describe your pro-environmental value proposition
  • undertake and apply a value mapping exercise
  • use these two tools to help you create a value proposition canvas

 

To sign up and get access to each course for free, your business will need to be eligible and register with our Business Club. Register your interest by emailing lowcarbonbusiness@derby.ac.uk and identify which course you wish to access, your company name and which employees wish to be enrolled.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible to join the Business Club your business must:

  • Supply low carbon or environmental goods or services
  • Be a member of the Low Carbon Business Network
  • Be within the D2N2 (Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire area)
  • Have fewer than 250 employees
  • Turnover less than €50million
  • Have a balance sheet of less than €43million
  • No more than 25% of your organisation is owned by an enterprise that in itself is not an SME

 

#ERDF