FSB Scotland were delighted to take part in the joint UK and Scottish Government conference on Your Business Journey to Net Zero. Our brilliant member Ken McKenzie of Highland Farm Café and Highland Farm Cottages joined us to talk about all things sustainability and small business.
Our Head of Policy Barry McCulloch began by talking us through the current climate for small businesses and their views on Net Zero. In the last 18 months, smaller firms have suffered from reduced trading and increased uncertainty. Our research shows small businesses have accumulated more than £4bn in debt.
Despite the Covid crisis, business owners’ minds are focused on the environment, with 58% listing it as their top issue in our recent polling. This is more than those who raised traditional issues like tax, infrastructure and access to finance. It is clear that businesses feel a responsibility to make a positive impact on the environment. We know, though, that getting started on the journey to net zero can be particularly challenging for small firms.
We were lucky to have such a great example of a sustainable small business on hand as Ken explained the steps he had taken to reduce his emissions.
Despite starting with little knowledge in the area, when Ken was getting started around 12 years ago he knew that going green was the right thing to do – and that it made sense from a business perspective.
Ken explained that he had had to be creative and open in his approach to getting his projects financed. When it wasn’t possible to fund the scale of project he wanted at the time, he came up with a workaround. For him, it was important to be collaborative with consultants, contractors, lenders and everyone else involved in the project to make it a success.
Based near Dingwall, Ken spoke about the particular challenges associated with running a sustainable business in a remote or rural location. For example, Ken stressed the importance of sourcing materials locally – not only does this benefit the local economy, it means that if you run into any difficulty with your products help is near at hand.
Ken has enjoyed great feedback from customers over the years for his sustainable efforts. Guests enjoy great service and feel good about the lack of carbon footprint their trip will have. When we asked him what one piece of advice he would give to businesses starting out on the journey to net zero, his answer was keep an eye on the simple things. Rather than coming up with complex schemes to develop new initiatives, look at what you’re already doing and think about how you might be able to improve.
We're very grateful to Ken for his time, and for everyone who attended. To learn more about what the FSB is doing to help businesses on their journey to Net Zero, you can check out our Sustainability Hub and Facebook Group.