NatWest has announced the launch of its Carbon Planner, a free to use digital platform designed to help UK businesses manage their future fuel and operational costs, and reduce their carbon footprint to help them go and grow greener.

NatWest research* revealed that more than 72% of businesses expect their business will face increased difficulty in light of inflationary challenges citing increased costs of energy (56%), increased costs of materials (56%), and increased interest rates (37%) as the most challenging effects of inflation.

Alison Rose, Chief Executive of NatWest Group, said: “Climate change is one of the biggest global challenges we face today, and small businesses have a critical role to play in helping the UK realise its green ambition.

“NatWest Group is committed to supporting its customers to understand and reduce their emissions. The launch of Carbon Planner is an important example of how we are putting tools in the hands of our customers to use their own data to cut costs and carbon emissions.”

The NatWest Carbon Planner is a tailored solution that provides personalised actions based on customer- data, enabling customers to make decisions as part of their plan when looking to reduce their carbon emissions, while outlining the financial impact of adopting such actions. NatWest’s A Springboard to Sustainability report estimated that 55-70% of business cases to reduce emissions will make financial sense for SMEs by 2030.

The platform also provides content, resources and solutions to help businesses make informed decisions so they can put actions into practice.

NatWest suggests that by businesses better understanding the commercial and carbon impact of their business operations, they will be in a stronger position to navigate the current inflationary challenges and make decisions about reducing their carbon emissions. With an ever-increasing focus on climate, the Carbon Planner can also help businesses with the ongoing management of their carbon reduction strategies.

How does it help businesses on their journey to net zero?

The Carbon Planner takes a business through four practical steps to help them take action:

• Inform – lets businesses know their current emission hotspots and suggests alternatives
• Diagnose – helps businesses understand what is best for their business
• Plan – supports businesses in developing a plan of actions
• Deliver – signposting potential options available to help them to take actions that can help their business and have the potential to reduce impact on the environment

The platform was customer-led in design and developed with the support of more than 1,000 businesses.

Register your interest in the Carbon Planner.