Could your business costs be telling you something?
Your accounts show what your business spent.
We're testing a new way to use that information to find costs worth looking at more closely.
The Sustainability Savings Review starts with your accounting data. We look for changes and costs that raise questions, then talk with you about what's happening in the business.
We're looking for two businesses to test the first version at no charge.
You'll receive an initial review and findings summary.
In return, we'll ask for your honest feedback.
We're starting with the numbers
Your profit and loss statement might show that electricity has increased from $18,000 to $24,000.
It doesn't tell us why.
Maybe electricity prices went up. Maybe you're using more power. Perhaps operating hours or equipment changed.
We'll start with approximately 12 months of accounting data and identify costs worth asking about.
Depending on the business, that could include energy, fuel, materials, waste, freight, water or other operating costs.
We don't assume there's a saving. We investigate whether there is one.
What happens in the pilot?
We'll start with your accounting data and talk with you about what's happening behind the numbers.
From there, we'll narrow the review down to the areas worth a closer look and give you a short summary of what we find.
01
We review your numbers
We review approximately 12 months of accounting data and look for costs or changes worth investigating.
04
You get the findings
You'll receive a short summary explaining what we found and what you could do next.
Where there's enough information, we'll also estimate the potential financial or resource saving.
02
We talk about your business
We'll spend 30–45 minutes with you understanding what's behind the numbers we've identified.
03
We look into the opportunities
We'll identify up to five areas that may warrant action or further investigation.
Is your business a good fit for the pilot?
We're looking for small businesses that have been operating long enough to have useful accounting data and are interested in understanding what's behind some of their operating costs.
You don't need to have a sustainability plan or know where the opportunities are.
That's part of what we want to explore with you.
You might be a good fit if...
You've noticed some costs increasing
Electricity, fuel, materials, freight, waste or another operating cost may have increased, and you'd like to better understand what's driving it.
You suspect there are costs you could manage differently
There may not be an obvious problem. You might simply wonder whether you're spending more than you need to in parts of the business.
Your business uses physical resources
If you operate premises, vehicles, machinery or equipment, or regularly purchase materials and dispose of waste, there may be several areas we can investigate.
You run a service business
The pilot isn't limited to businesses with factories, workshops or large energy bills. Service businesses have operating costs and resource use too. The areas we investigate will simply be different.
You don't need to be a sustainability expert
You don't need a carbon footprint, sustainability report or environmental management system.
And you don't need to know which costs we should investigate before we start.
We'll use the accounting data and our conversation with you to work out where it's worth looking more closely.
What we do need from you
The pilot will work best if you're willing to share the accounting information we need, explain how your business operates and answer questions about the costs we identify.
We'll also ask for your honest feedback once the review is finished. We're testing the service, so knowing what wasn't useful is just as important as knowing what was.
A higher cost gives us a question, not an answer
Say electricity increased by 25%. That could be caused by price increases, higher usage, different equipment or changes in the business.
We'd first work out what's driving the increase.
If increased consumption appears to be part of it, we can then look at what could be changed and whether the potential saving justifies the cost of doing it.
Sometimes we'll find an opportunity. Sometimes we'll find that the cost makes sense.
Both are useful to know.
What could we look at?
The accounting data will determine where we start.
For one business it might be electricity. For another it could be fuel, materials, freight or waste.
Waste is a good example of why we want to look beyond the obvious cost.
The waste collection invoice tells us what you paid to have something taken away. It doesn't tell us what the business paid for the materials that ended up in the bin.
That may be a much more useful number.
What will you receive?
If you're selected for the pilot, we'll:
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review approximately 12 months of your accounting data;
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have a 30–45 minute discussion about your business;
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investigate up to five areas that stand out; and
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give you a short findings and next-steps summary.
Pilot fee: $0
We're developing this into a paid SustainableLedger service. For these first two reviews, we're asking for your feedback instead of a fee.
There is no obligation to buy anything afterwards.
What will we need from you?
We'll need access to the accounting information required for the review and enough context to understand what sits behind the numbers.
You'll also need to allow around 30–45 minutes for a conversation about your business and answer reasonable follow-up questions.
At the end, we'll ask for honest feedback on what was useful and what could be improved.
We'll explain the information we need before you agree to take part.
What isn't included?
This first review isn't a technical energy audit, engineering assessment or carbon accounting engagement.
If we find something that needs specialist advice, we'll tell you.
For example, we might identify that electricity consumption deserves a closer look and help establish whether further investigation makes financial sense. A qualified energy specialist may then be needed to assess equipment or recommend a technical solution.
Why is the pilot free?
We're developing the Sustainability Savings Review into a paid SustainableLedger service and want to test the first version with real businesses before we finalise it.
For these first two reviews, we're asking for your time and honest feedback instead of a fee.
We want to know whether the review finds useful areas to investigate, whether the findings are useful to a business owner and what should change before we offer it more widely.
There is no obligation to purchase further work
About The SustainableLedger
The SustainableLedger helps businesses look at sustainability through the practical decisions they already make about costs, resources and operations.
This pilot is testing whether accounting data can provide a useful starting point for finding opportunities to reduce unnecessary cost and resource use.
If the review identifies an opportunity worth pursuing, The SustainableLedger can help work through the next step and bring in specialist advice where it's needed.
Interested in being one of the first two businesses?
Tell us a little about your business and what made you interested in the review.
We'll contact suitable businesses for a short conversation before confirming the two pilot participants.
Submitting the form is an expression of interest only. It doesn't commit you to taking part or guarantee a place in the initial pilot.