Harriet Hodgson-Grove on the accounting profession's role in the UK's £105 billion net zero economy. This week on The Responsible Edge, why accountants are uniquely placed to unlock SME decarbonisation, and how embedding carbon reporting in standard practice could transform the journey to 2030. Sponsored by truMRK. New episodes every week.
The UK's net zero economy has grown to £105 billion and supports 1.1 million jobs. SMEs account for thirty-seven percent of UK greenhouse gas emissions. And accountants already hold most of the data needed to help those businesses start their sustainability journey.
In this episode of The Responsible Edge, host Charlie Martin speaks with Harriet Hodgson-Grove, Audit Partner and National Head of Sustainable Business Services at UHY Hacker Young, about an ICAEW article making the case for a bigger role for the accounting profession in the net zero economy.
Harriet's argument is practical and specific. Scope 1 and 2 emissions can be estimated from spend data already collected for the accounts. Energy, fuel, travel: it is all there. "To do their basic Scope 1 and Scope 2, we have all of that data already," she says. "We're collecting it to be able to do their accounts." The next step is making that calculation standard across management accounts rather than a bespoke sustainability add-on.
The conversation covers why framing sustainability as resilience opens doors that the word sustainability sometimes closes, how AI tools are accelerating the move from spend-based to activity-based emissions data, and what the internal confidence-building work looks like inside a mid-tier accountancy firm doing this well.
The ambition is clear. "If we had all SME businesses beginning that journey now, imagine what a difference it could make by 2030."
The profession has the entry point. The data is there. The client relationships are there. This episode is about what happens when accountants decide to use them.
If your work touches accountancy, SME sustainability, or the practical mechanics of the net zero transition, this episode is worth your time.
#NetZeroEconomy #SustainabilityAccounting #SMESustainability #CarbonReporting #AccountingForClimate #TheResponsibleEdge
