However, the long-term implications of not committing to decarbonising action now could be even costlier as SMEs could be excluded from the supply chain if they are unable to demonstrate green credentials to customers.
Andy Parkinson, CEO of Lampada Digital Services which carried out the market research, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with Aura to deliver this exceptional opportunity to be part of the Humber’s leadership in understanding the particular challenges faced by SMEs on the Net Zero journey.
“This is a timely piece of market research as we approach the UN’s COP26 Conference in November. Over 99.9% of businesses in the UK are SMEs and they account for over half the country’s turnover.
“If we do not unlock the potential of this large group of businesses to reduce the country’s carbon emissions, we will not meet the 2050 Net Zero targets set by Government. They are a power house of innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly here in the Humber where some 90% of SMEs are made up of less than 10 employees.”
The complexity of the funding landscape acts as a major barrier to SMEs as they seek to finance business processes changes to lower carbon emissions.