RBizz Corporate Accountants - Resources #Sustainability

5 key ways to lower your reliance on fossil fuels

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:54:08 +1000

5 key ways to lower your reliance on fossil fuels

As small businesses, we’re still heavily reliant on fossil fuels to run our operations. Small businesses represent 90% of all companies and generate 60%-70% of industrial emissions.

We use petrol and diesel to fuel our vehicles. We use international flights and aviation fuel to transport our goods to other countries.

A meaningful chunk of our electricity is still produced using coal-fired power stations. There’s the impact of producing plastics and petrochemical derivatives to consider.

With climate change such a pressing concern, it’s important for small businesses to do their part in achieving Net Zero. And with the Middle East currently so unstable (and oil in short supply), finding alternatives to fossil fuels is becoming business critical, rather than just a green policy.

Let’s look at five important ways you can make your business less reliant on fossil fuels.

1. Decarbonise your vehicles and logistics

Replace your petrol and diesel vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs). This eliminates tailpipe emissions and reduces your exposure to spikes in fuel prices, while also lowering the long-term maintenance costs for your delivery vehicles or service fleet.

2. Switch to renewable energy

To make your energy usage more sustainable, install solar panels or small-scale wind turbines on site to generate your own electricity. If you rent, switch to a ‘Green Tariff’ provider that guarantees your power is sourced from 100% renewable assets.

3. Reduce your overall energy consumption

Reduce your demand on the electricity grid by upgrading to energy-efficient alternatives. This could include moving to LED lighting, high-performance insulation and smart thermostats. Eliminating your energy wastage is the fastest way to reduce your need for coal-fired power.

4. Localise your supply chain

Try sourcing from local suppliers to cut down on the carbon in your supply chain. This drastically cuts your use of aviation and the heavy-fuel oil consumption required for international shipping. It also minimises your exposure to logistics disruptions caused by rising fuel prices.

5. Ditch plastics and move to bio-materials

Reduce your reliance on petrochemicals by replacing plastics with bio-based alternatives or recycled alternatives. Using circular packaging models lowers the demand for oil-based materials and helps you align more closely with global Net Zero standards.

Helping you to create a workable ESG strategy

If you’re concerned about your organisation’s reliance on fossil fuels, our team can help you create a forward-thinking environmental strategy as part of your ESG reporting.

Helping You Reduce Your Company’s Carbon Footprint

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 13:41:21 +1100

Helping You Reduce Your Company’s Carbon Footprint

The recent COP30 climate conference stressed the importance of focused climate action – especially from the world’s smaller and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Energy usage and carbon emissions is a major responsibility and makes up a key part of your environmental, social and governance (ESG) planning, management and reporting.

Let’s look at climate action, Australia’s Net Zero goal and three simple steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint as a small business.

To do our part in combating this trend, the Australian Federal Government recently announced its Net Zero plan, with a five-point focus for achieving 62-70% emission reductions by 2035.

The Australian Government is focused on 5 priorities:

Clean electricity across the economy.
Lowering emissions by electrification and efficiency.
Expanding clean fuel use.
Accelerating new technologies.
Net carbon removals scaled up.

Steps for cutting your carbon footprint

You might not think that your business can make a tangible difference to climate change. But when 98% of Australian businesses are small businesses, there’s real power in the small business community taking action to combat global warming and climate change.

Here are some simple steps you can take:

Talk to Us About Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

If you’re concerned about your company’s carbon emissions, come and talk to us about practical ways to reduce your energy use and environmental impact. We can help you set clear reduction goals, track your emissions, and identify the right strategies, grants, and investments to support your sustainability journey.