Problem:
Energy supply accounts for 60% of global greenhouse emissions, of which only 17% comes from renewable sources. With global power consumption expected to double by 2050, sourcing energy responsibly will play a vital role in building a sustainable future.
SMEs (Small and Medium sized Enterprises) account for over 95% of all businesses, resulting in a prominent collective impact on the environment. However, they remain limited in their options to decarbonise and implement sustainable practices due to several issues, particularly a lack of time to research and develop an understanding of these socially/environmentally sustainable practices. Furthermore, small businesses often cannot spare the upfront investment costs to implement these strategies, a problem exacerbated by a lack of financial support from banks and stakeholders.
Proposal:
We aim to promote the switch to cleaner energy by supporting SMEs to implement sustainable practices. Our idea is to design an interactive website to allow business owners to easily learn more about their impact on the environment and suggest ways for them to implement sustainable practices. Key features of the website include:
· A calculator to help calculate their emissions – it would factor in different aspects of the business and give them a rating to compare against other SMEs, as well as projected statistics to show how they could reduce their emissions by making certain changes
· Information on the financial support such as grants and incentives available to businesses to reduce their carbon footprint
· Advice on improving social sustainability by using geographical information to show how to help and empower local communities.
Hi Team 36!
My name is Martin and I am your mentor. I hope you are all keeping safe, sane, and productive.
I’ve taken a read through your design proposal and I am loving the idea. Your summary of both the problem and proposal are very good and extremely exciting in an area of much needed change –Green Energy!
Your targeting of SME’s is a smart move as, as your research shows, they make up a majority of businesses, it may be worth researching how much CO2 is produced by business/industry as whole (I appreciate this may be hard data to find but focusing on a single country may aid you).
As there are so many SME’s out there which do you think will be best to target first? Thinking about the UN’s commitment to “leave no one behind” where equality and non-discrimination -think gender equality and disability inclusion- are at the forefront of sustainable and globally responsible engineering may be of benefit. Your listing of several key features of the website are very good, I think it is worth adding an example on what type of advice will be available on social sustainability. Also expanding on your first key feature on the different aspects of business in which there are emissions will show a further example of your research. It is important to remember the whole range of different specialties of businesses so try to keep it general.
Have you considered how to get information on local areas for anywhere in the world while also keeping it up to date? Information on grants, or even cost of energy can all change quickly so have a think about what is already available to you in most countries. Partnerships with public services, local partners, energy companies can be very useful if the relevant parties can be convinced of the benefits.
Have you reflected on how you will fund the site? There are many avenues to go down ranging from advertising to membership. What would work best for a website like yours? Depending on the route you choose may open up possibilities.
I would be more than happy to discuss any of my thoughts above with you further -or any thoughts that you may have- and I am available to meet most evenings. If you have any questions then please do reach out.
Really good start so far!
All the very best,
Martin