Salford researchers launch carbon calculator to accelerate region’s net zero goals

Launching later this month, the calculator has been developed by Salford Business School with a core objective to help drive sustainable business practices across the region, reducing the environmental footprint while benefiting the local economy.

Dr Ashraful Alam, Associate Professor for Sustainability at the University of Salford’s Business School, is the lead developer on the project, due to his expertise in sustainable finance. Collaborating with Ashraful to help develop the calculator was MSc Accounting and Finance student, Zeinolabedin Hamdi.

Ashraful commented: “Innovation will be instrumental in futureproofing the UK economy but, for many small businesses, balancing getting ideas to market with reducing carbon emissions and operating sustainably can be a challenge.”

Professor Mandy Parkinson, Professor of Business Innovation at the University, continued: “While we know most small businesses want to prioritise sustainability, it’s often not a key consideration due to budget limitations. We are confident the calculator we have developed will help arm businesses with the tools they need to drive forward their innovations sustainably.”

Helping to quantify the carbon usage across various business functions, including the fuel/electricity consumption of company vehicles, employee travel, product distribution and financial transactions, amongst other areas, the platform helps give a detailed picture of a business’ total emissions to determine its most carbon-intensive functions. This, in turn, will help determine where reductions can be made. 

The sustainability calculator will be freely available to all businesses working with the University’s Centre for Sustainable Innovation and Salford Business School. Affirming the University’s commitment to improving the environment and sustainability, the calculator will provide a holistic view of the carbon footprint of SMEs, enabling them to measure emissions by activity areas such as operations, transportation, supply chain, HR (human resources) management, marketing, and finance, allowing them to make informed decisions about which activities to prioritise in order to achieve net zero targets.

The calculator also facilitates comparisons between quarterly and annual emissions to help track carbon emission trends. In addition, SMEs will be able to assess whether their performance is improving or worsening compared to the wider industry to determine how they fare against competitors. Finally, the tool enables organisations to compare their emissions against government-set targets, showcasing progress against benchmarks.

Ashraful concluded: “We’ve been working on the calculator for some time and are excited to finally bring it to market. We firmly believe it will be instrumental in helping businesses to drive growth through innovation, while ensuring their environmental footprint is front of mind.”