Green Element Group: driving business success with sustainable solutions

As supply chain pressure and legislation increases, businesses face mounting pressure to comply with evolving client demands and reporting standards [1]. While many organisations are committed to addressing these challenges, navigating this complex transition can be challenging due to budget limitations, knowledge gaps, and time constraints [1]. With over 20 years of expertise in environmental management, Green Element Group bridges this gap by combining its leading environmental consultancy services with its innovative carbon management software, Compare Your Footprint^TM. According to the Group, this powerful combination helps businesses to reduce the cost of environmental compliance, meet supply chain pressure and make carbon management a strategic differentiator in a cost effective and easy to use way.

Industry overview: challenges and opportunities

Small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), which constitute 99.9% of the UK’s business landscape with 5.6 million entities in 2023 [2], face distinct challenges in reaching sustainability goals, and larger enterprises are struggling to measure the footprints of their supply chains (which often include a lot of SMEs)

Unlike larger corporations, SMEs have limited financial and human resources [6]. They often lack the finances to hire a dedicated Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) lead and do not have the necessary resources to execute an effective strategy [6].

Another significant challenge for SMEs is a limited understanding and knowledge of green practices [7]. Many businesses find it hard to understand how to get started on their carbon reduction journey [7]. Carbon management can be technical and complex to understand, particularly when measuring and reducing scope 3 emissions. Scope 3 emissions cover the carbon emissions generated from a company’s supply chain [8] such as purchased goods and services, business travel, employee commuting, freight, and digital networks [8].

Additionally, there is a common belief that companies must choose between business growth and sustainability [9]. While a 2021 study by Accenture showed that 98% of CEOs recognise their responsibility to make businesses more sustainable [10], many remain concerned about the potential impact on short-term profits. The up-front costs can make organisations of all sizes wary of implementing necessary carbon reduction solutions [11]. Without the assessment capability to make data-driven decisions, sustainability is frequently viewed as a trade-off to business growth [9].

According to a recent SME Climate Hub survey, SMEs taking climate action gain early mover advantages. Nearly 62% saw improved reputations, 53% stood out from competitors, 40% reported branding benefits, and 30% won new customers due to emission reductions (15).

Green Element Group’s Founder, Will Richardson, argues that ‟We are on a mission to enable more than 7,000 companies to grow their revenues while reducing their emissions. Currently, 74% of our client base have grown revenues over the last 3 years and nearly two thirds of those did so while reducing their relative emissions. Our business model proves that a sustainable business can also be a successful business″.

The UK government’s commitment to tackling climate change has led to stricter environmental regulations for larger organisations, driving demand for consulting services to navigate these complex and evolving standards [4]. Additionally, SME suppliers of goods and services face increasing pressure from enterprise clients that must report on their Scope 3 emissions.[18] And the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) legislation in Europe will compel ~7,000 of Europe’s largest firms to report on their supply chain (scope 3) emissions.[19]

It is estimated that to meet this demand, the UK environmental consulting and carbon accounting software markets will multiply in size to reach in the next few years. nearly £5Bn by 2032 [16,17]. The UK environmental consulting market was valued at $1.96bn in 2023 and is projected to grow to $3.26Bn by 2032 at a CAGR of 5.5%. The UK Carbon Accounting Software Market is valued at £1.53Bn and is expected to reach $4Bn by 2031, growing at an average CAGR of 17.6%.[16,17].

The carbon management software market struggles with high costs, data standardisation challenges, and a demand for skilled professionals to interpret emissions and drive sustainability for businesses [18]. Green Element Group has positioned itself as uniquely equipped to address these issues, offering a flexible approach that can deploy more technology, or more consultancy, based on a client’s needs.

In the last four years, Green Element Group reports that it has quadrupled the size of its business and achieved a 93% software retention rate.

Introducing Green Element Group

Will Richardson, Green Element’s founder, has been passionate about addressing climate change since he was 15, inspired by his environmentally conscious family and personal experiences witnessing the impacts of climate change during his global travels. This early passion motivated him to become an environmental management consultant and later to establish Green Element environmental management consultancy in 2004.

Over the years, Will and fellow environmental pioneer, Emma Littlewood, noticed that many organisations would love to be greener but were held back by other budget and time priorities.

To help these organisations get started on their environmental journey, Will and Emma created, Compare Your Footprint ™ , a comprehensive and trusted carbon calculation software, to significantly reduce the cost of carbon emissions assessment and empower organisations of all sizes, industries and geographies to get started.

Green Element Group was one of the UK’s first certified B Corporations and is dedicated to balancing purpose with profit, for itself and for its clients.

Will Richardson is also the founder and host of the Sustainability Solved Podcast—boasting over 195 episodes since its launch in 2018—and a complementary online Resource Hub.

In the last year Will has brought in an experienced CEO, Nathan Wimble, with a strong track record of growing technology and consulting as well as carbon reduction businesses to propel the group on the next phase of its growth journey.

In 2024, Green Element was named one of the UK’s Top 50 Sustainability Consultancy Firms, ranking alongside global leaders such as Accenture and McKinsey[13] and in a report published in March 2024 on the Global Carbon Accounting Software Market Compare Your Footprint™ was named a key player. The Group is also a founding member of the Carbon Accounting Alliance, a coalition of 500 members across 45 countries. This alliance brings together industry experts to tackle key challenges, share best practices, and drive the development of rigorous carbon accounting standards [14].

What does the company do?

Green Element Group enables companies to understand their carbon impact and create effective strategies to reduce it in a way that strengthens the business, helping their clients be both more competitive in today’s market and unlock cost efficiencies too. As a result of its rare combination of fully integrated technology and expertise it has a fully flexible business model where clients choose how they work with Green Element Group based on their knowledge, available time and budget:

• Do It For You: a full consultancy service
• Do It With You: a hybrid approach
• Do It Yourself: a fully self-service option

The Group has a a suite of products and services, including carbon reduction and net zero strategies, Product Life Cycle Analysis, ESG management systems, climate risk assessments, compliance support, and coaching. Clients can

Compare Your Footprint is positioned as a trusted carbon accounting software designed to enhance the accuracy, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of carbon-emissions assessments. According to the Group, the software focuses on offering a more accurate carbon footprint measurement tool with the greatest coverage of scope 3 emissions available on the market.

The software calculates the carbon emissions generated by an organisation’s business operations and supply chain. Compare Your Footprint is aligned with global GHG (greenhouse gas) reporting and reduction standards, and Science Based Target initiative, which Green Element asserts helps clients manage their environmental impact effectively.

Organisations using Green Element’s Compare Your Footprint software—whether through the Hybrid or Self-Service model—benefit from an online Knowledge Hub offering step-by-step guidance on carbon footprinting and software navigation.

If they require further support, they can contact the help desk and for more complex topics the consultancy team. In the complex and ever-changing world of carbon emission reporting support is never far away.

The software is being used for enterprise and small business clients alike and covers 65 countries and a comprehensive range of industries[20].

Businesses can seamlessly upload their activity and spend data across key emission areas, including energy, water, waste, travel, freight, manufacturing, materials purchased, and cloud hosting providers. The platform then generates detailed Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions reports, providing real-time insights into carbon hotspots. Results are visible in the online dashboard and reports are available for download in both Excel and PDF formats.

With an accurate carbon footprint baseline, organisations can set reduction targets, track year-on-year progress, and monitor sustainability efforts more frequently. Designed for enterprises and small businesses alike, the software supports all industries and geographies, making carbon reporting and action planning more accessible than ever.

Next steps

Green Element Group is looking for the right investment partner to join them on this journey. To help them facilitate this fundraise, they have chosen to use Floww’s innovative infrastructure to facilitate its funding efforts and help it achieve its future goals.

*Floww Markets Limited is a company authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Firm reference number 980098.

The information contained within this article does not represent the opinions of Floww. Floww does not have a view on opinions provided by Green Element Group in this article and elsewhere where they may be expressed and is not responsible or liable for the information within this article.