Together teams up with energy and sustainability consultancy Inspired

The lender has signed a three-year agreement with Inspired, who offer advice and monitoring services to over 3,500 companies and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Inspired will advise Together on measuring emissions and cutting the business’ carbon footprint.

It will also look to drive emission reduction in Together’s supply chain to meet the government’s 2050 net zero target.

Together has committed to reduce its own direct carbon emissions by 70 per cent over the next four years, and halving direct energy consumption and becoming net zero by 2030.

It has also pledged to be net zero in relation to all emissions by 2050, which includes indirect emissions such as the energy performance in its loan book.

Paul Moran, head of sustainability at Together, said: “We’ve made a commitment to work towards reducing our impact on the planet and we’re excited to partner with Inspired to work with us as we take our next steps on our net zero journey.

“As a property finance business, we’ve focused our targets on the areas we feel will have the biggest impact – energy usage and carbon emissions – and we’re proud to name the UK’s leading energy consultancy as our ‘Net Zero Partner’ to help us achieve our sustainability ambitions.”

He added: “Inspired will also be measuring emissions which are not directly controlled or owned by Together but are an indirect result of our business operations. For example, this could be colleagues commuting to work, emissions caused by producing and sending letters, or the energy performance of properties in our loan book.

“It’s expected that these will account for more than 90% of our total carbon footprint and it’s therefore important for us to understand and work to reduce these emissions.”

Laura Davies, optimisation manager at Inspired, said: “UK businesses have a crucial role to play in helping to protect the planet. We are delighted to support Together in reaching their net zero goal and achieving their long-term sustainability ambitions.

“With the threat of climate change and rising utility costs, now is the time to take control of utility consumption, costs and carbon emissions.”