Green Accountancy are uniquely qualified in both accountancy (Chartered Certified Accountants) and environmental conservation (Diploma from Oxford University).

We provide small businesses, freelancers and contractors with VAT, payroll, management and year-end accounts. Taxation services include returns and tax planning. We are specialists in financial forecasts, tax minimisation, business strategies, shares and share options.

We also help businesses consider the environment and assess, target and reduce business impacts. Environmental advice includes five-step-plan for small businesses, environmental taxes, carbon foot-printing, carbon accounting, environmental policy statements, procurement procedures and supply chain reviews.

Our many years experience in accountancy is based entirely on working with small businesses. Our managing director was a partner at a seven partner Oxford practice for four years and technical director at a national firm for two years.

Our practice is operated with as little environmental impact as possible (see the environmental policies on the website). We are environmentally and people friendly.

We offer guaranteed response times for all queries and work. All fees quoted and agreed in advance. All our clients benefit from free unlimited telephone and email support.

Business vision

Our vision is to be at the forefront of 'green' business advice to the owners of small enterprises, as they become a leading force towards environmentally friendly and ethically based business practices in the UK. Green Accountancy will create a step change in advice to small businesses that will benefit those receiving our advice and the environment.

Business aims

Our aim is to help and encourage small businesses to reduce their environmental impacts. In doing so, those businesses will benefit from growth, reduced costs, tax savings and significantly improved employee morale.

Business philosophies and beliefs

We believe that climate change, pollution and habitat destruction are the greatest threats to wildlife and biodiversity. These destructive events are caused by human activities, especially businesses.

Small businesses contribute over 50% of GDP in the UK. This implies that small businesses are having a significant affect on the environment.

By taking the environment into consideration, small businesses can play an important role in reducing the causes of climate change, pollution and habitat destruction.

Business Values

Our key values are honesty, accuracy and prompt and reliable service.

We pride ourselves on connecting with the people behind businesses by listening and understanding them and by providing practical advice.

Business Information

Date established:: 1 August 2007
Contact details: David Wilsdon Director david@greenaccountancy.com 0845 478 6346
Business structure Help Basic business structures under UK law include: sole trader, partnership, private company limited by shares, private company limited by guarantee, community interest company, public limited company, private unlimited company, and franchise.: Private Limited Company.
Address of company headquarters: 21 High Street Eynsham OX29 4HE
Countries of operations: UK
Countries where goods and/or services are sold: UK
Size of workforce: 5
Financial year Help The 12 months used as a company's accounting period. This may or may not be a calendar year.: 1st July to 30th June
Turnover (last financial year) Help Income that the business receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. Also known as total revenue, total sales or the top line.: No information submitted
Profit (last financial year) Help Gross profit is the total turnover minus cost of sales. Net profit is the turnover minus all expenses, including payroll and tax. Businesses are asked to state gross profit, net profit or both. This field can be left blank.: No information submitted
Details of owners: David Wilsdon owns 100% of the company.
Directors' other business interests Help Businesses are asked to list other directorships held by their directors and company secretary: No other trading companies or business activities.

Goods and Services

Start up and registrations
Advice on starting a business, grants & funding
Business plans, setting up a bank account etc.
Registering with HMRC, VAT, PAYE and CIS registration
Limited company formations (fixed fee GBP 95+VAT)

Annual services
Accounts and tax computations for self employed, partnerships, limited companies and landlords
Personal, partnership and company self assessment tax returns
Annual returns and Form 42
Advice on audit of a branch
Payroll year end and P11Ds

Monthly and quarterly services
Review and update of your bookkeeping spreadsheet or data file
VAT returns, dividends, payroll, CIS bureau
Management accounts

Freelancers, contractors and consultants
Inclusive package for freelancers (GBP 50 to GBP 75+VAT per month)
Employment status and IR35 advice
IR35 Contract reviews (GBP 95+VAT per contract)

Accounting software
Selection, installation, training and maintenance of software packages such as KashFlow, Sage, MYOB, QuickBooks and Access Accounts
Data file error checking for any of these packages

Tax planning
Business and personal tax planning
Capital allowances including retrospective claims
Car and property purchase and leasing decisions
Taxation of companies compared to sole traders

Taxation advice
Capital gains tax, overseas, national insurance, stamp duty, inheritance tax and investment income
Employment tax, termination payments and benefits in kind
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) and VAT issues including property elections, error disclosure and inspections
Tax enquiries and penalty negotiations

Company regulation
Limited company formations (GBP 95+VAT)
Companies Act and Companies House (all forms)
Dormant company accounts
Allotment, amendments, transfers and purchase of own shares
Companies Act 2006 advice

Special projects and corporate finance
Incorporation and company restructuring
Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) share option schemes
Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)
Projections: cash flow, profit and balance sheet
Profitability review
Debtors, credit control and cash collection
Share and business valuations
Succession planning, exit and retirement strategies
Strategic planning and business development
Closing a company including capital distributions
Sale of business, goodwill and company property

Envirotax
Car related envirotaxes
Energy and water efficiency capital allowances
Advice on climate change levy, landfill tax, aggregates levy, transport tax

Environmental management framework
Discussion on why to reduce environmental impacts
Assessment, targeting and reducing environmental impacts
Business carbon emissions calculations and recording
Environmental policies and statements

Business Responses

return to topics

Environment

Does your company set targets to reduce 'scope 1 and 2' carbon dioxide emissions?

Question developed with Christian Aid

Rationale for question

Carbon dioxide emissions are a significant component of greenhouse gas emissions, which are identified as highly significant contributors to climate change. All greenhouse gases should be reduced, but this question concentrates on carbon dioxide because the methodology for reducing it is presently the most developed.

As shown in the Christian Aid report, Coming Clean, the latest science suggests that emissions must be reduced at a rate of around 5% per year globally to tackle accelerating climate change. Targets must be tighter than previously thought because the impact of indirect emissions is now estimated to be greater than originally expected. According to the World Resources Institute, China has now superseded the USA as the world's largest emitter, though it remains at barely a quarter of US emissions per person.

There is ever-growing regulation and legislation at the national and international level, but businesses have the means to go beyond these minimum requirements. Many voluntary and government bodies offer standards and tools to assist organisations in the process of calculating and reducing direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions (please see 'Resources' for some of these tools) but this is a complex and challenging topic. Businesses should be as comprehensive as possible in taking account of their total emissions from all sources (please see 'Defining Terms' for types of emissions).

Nonetheless, companies are increasingly viewing the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions not as a burden, but as an opportunity. Benefits include:

achieving cost savings through reduced energy bills;
improving operational efficiency;
responding to consumer and investor demands;
taking advantage of financial incentives, such as tax breaks and grants; and
avoiding the potential compliance costs of future legislation

The primary cause of carbon dioxide emissions is the use of non-renewable fossil fuels for energy, including electricity generation. For many companies, the main step to reducing emissions is therefore to increase energy efficiency. This allows a business to run its operations and accomplish the same tasks but with less energy. It may be achieved through simple means such as switching to alternative technologies that require less energy, turning off equipment when it is not in use, changing an energy tariff or improving insulation so that a building requires less heating.

It is good practice to establish company targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, to implement practices and policies to achieve these targets, to regularly monitor and evaluate their impact, and to measure the improvements achieved, both for cost and environmental reasons. Although admittedly difficult, targets should ideally include scope 3 emissions.

Some companies set intensity targets rather than absolute targets to reduce their CO2 emissions. So, rather than cutting by, say, 25% by 2012 in absolute terms, they are reducing emissions per unit of production or square foot of shop floor or member of staff. The weakness of this approach is that it doesn't guarantee reductions. In the case of a rapidly growing retailer, for instance, cutting the emissions per GBP1 of turnover might in fact mean increased emissions overall.

Defining Terms

When calculating emissions, companies may include the following types of emissions, as established by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol:

Scope 1: Direct emissions
Direct emissions come from sources controlled or owned by the company, such as onsite heating or emissions from a company's own vehicles. Examples would be boilers in facilities and cars or vans leased or owned by the company.

Scope 2: Indirect emissions
Indirect emissions come largely from the purchase of electricity from the grid. These emissions are indirect because although they take place as a result of the demand generated by the company, they occur as a result of the activities of the power generating utilities.

Scope 3: Other indirect emissions
All other emissions are counted as scope 3. These include the transportation of goods by third-party companies, such as road freighting by hauliers, the emissions generated in the supply and production chain of products before they reach the company, and those generated during the consumption of the company's products and services. It can be difficult to estimate scope 3 emissions, but they are often the most significant sources of greenhouse gases.

Primary and Secondary answer requirements

ANSWERING YES

Companies must:

state the accounting year used and which agreed published methodology and standard, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, has been used to calculate all scope 1 and 2 carbon dioxide emissions;
state the targets for reducing scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, and say if these are absolute or intensity targets;
describe the practices or policies in place to meet these targets; and
explain how performance is monitored and evaluated.

Companies may:

state whether they also calculate and set targets to reduce scope 3 emissions;
describe how they are acting to reduce other greenhouse gases where possible; and
indicate where they publish their emissions data, reduction targets, practices and policies and other relevant information, and provide hyperlinks if available.

ANSWERING NO

Companies must:

explain why they do not or cannot set targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, listing the business reasons, any mitigating circumstances or other reasons that apply.

Companies may:

describe any steps, beyond the minimum requirements, taken to reduce carbon dioxide emissions;
describe any actions to reduce other greenhouse gases; and
mention any future intentions regarding setting targets to reduce emissions.

DON'T KNOW is not a permissible answer to this question.

NOT APPLICABLE is not a permissible answer to this question.

NO ANSWER YET is only permissible under extraordinary circumstances and then for only a limited period.

Green Accountancy

YES

Our financial and carbon accounting year end is 30 June. Our emissions per GBP 1,000 turnover are:
• Scope 1 Car emissions 0.47kg per GBP 1,000 turnover
• Scope 1 Gas Heating – replaced with renewable source electricity.
• Scope 2 Local Bus 0.89kg per GBP 1,000 turnover
• Scope 2 Trains 1.16kg per GBP 1,000 turnover
• Scope 2 Electricity Nil (purchase 100% certified renewable)
All figures calculated on actual basis from individual journey data, actual energy and actual deliveries collected as part of our accounting system.

We calculate emissions of carbon dioxide on an absolute basis, tracking all transport, delivery and energy use. We use conversion factors (kg CO2 per km, per delivery or per kWh energy) obtained from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. We are also guided by The Princes Accounting for Sustainability report. Our calculation system is available to other businesses HERE on our website.

Our targets are to reduce emissions per GBP 1,000 turnover (intensity targets) for transport and heating by 90% by introducing our own waste vegetable oil processor, and wood burner water and air heating system. Other emissions will reduce relative to turnover as our business grows.

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