eBay UK has teamed up with Climate Partner to launch a new Carbon Academy that aims to equip businesses with the skills to reduce the carbon impact of their operations.
The Academy will feature a series of interactive training modules, each designed to tackle the skills and understanding gap that SMEs state is holding them back from taking greater action to reduce their emissions.
The programme is available through eBay’s online academy, making them easily accessible to eBay sellers.
The training covers seven modules, with topics including climate strategies for businesses, carbon accounting, and communicating climate action. Businesses will also have the opportunity to purchase Climate Partner’s carbon impact report at a discounted rate, which will break down the impact of the products each seller lists on the marketplace.
“Most small business leaders know that reducing their carbon impact should be a priority; becoming a more environmentally conscious business will ultimately help all businesses to become more commercially sustainable in the long run,” said Eve Williams, general manager at eBay UK.
“But in reality, when you are a small team, it can be really difficult to know where to start and to navigate some of the jargon. The Carbon Academy has been designed for small and medium businesses to help them overcome these challenges by providing practical guidance and bitesize modules to get them started on their climate action journey.”
The resale platform has already set an ambitious greenhouse gas reduction target approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) through which it aims to reduce its own scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 90% by 2030.
The Carbon Academy forms part of its efforts to go further, supporting the wider small business ecosystem on the road to net zero. Currently, more than 200,000 small businesses use eBay in the UK alone.
“Small businesses have the potential to make a huge impact. After all, 99% of businesses in the UK are SMEs, so they have a critical part to play when it comes to reducing carbon emissions,” Eve tells Edie.net.
“We see our role as an enabler to support small businesses build the skills and knowledge they need to take action.”
