Case study
Building competitive advantage through carbon measurement and reduction
Accounting
SME
Rayner Essex is a full-service accountancy firm providing expert tax, audit, and advisory services to businesses and individuals across the UK. As a founding UK member of INPACT—an international association of over 160 accounting practices in over 70 countries—they assist clients with international business establishment and help foreign clients set up in the UK.
At a glance
About Rayner Essex
With offices in London and St Albans, Rayner Essex has built a reputation for delivering practical, transparent advice with a personal touch, grounded in their values of being a responsible firm that acts ethically towards clients, employees, and the community.
Location
UK
Company size
90+ fte
Industry
Accounting
Use case
Carbon footprint measurement, emissions reduction strategy, supplier engagement, future client service expansion
Services used
Carbon footprint, carbon credits
The issue
While carbon reporting isn't yet mandatory for a business of Rayner Essex's size, they recognised the increasing focus on sustainability was creating both risks and opportunities. Many of their clients and associates were being called to report on greenhouse gas emissions or actively asked to work only with sustainable suppliers, advisors, and employers. Without taking action, Rayner Essex risked being left behind, which could have a detrimental impact on their business and their ability to serve clients effectively.
The challenges
The firm faced a complex web of challenges as they embarked on their sustainability journey. From a competitive standpoint, they needed to stay relevant as clients increasingly required sustainable business partners. However, they had limited visibility into their actual emissions across energy usage, office waste, business travel, and supply chain impact.
A particular pain point was their procurement data—much of it simply wasn't available, forcing them to rely on spend-based estimates that provided lower accuracy than they needed for meaningful action. As trusted advisors, they also recognised an opportunity to expand their services to include comprehensive carbon reduction advice for clients, but first needed to build their own expertise and credibility in this space. Without a clear baseline understanding of their carbon footprint, they couldn't identify where to focus their efforts for maximum impact.
The solution
Partnering with Ecologi, Rayner Essex conducted a comprehensive carbon footprint analysis that covered all key emission sources, giving them the clear baseline they needed to take meaningful action. The detailed assessment examined energy usage, office waste, business travel, and supply chain impact, while also identifying data quality issues that needed addressing.
The analysis revealed some eye-opening insights. IT & Tech emerged as a major contributor, representing 34% of their total footprint through software subscriptions and equipment purchases. This finding led them to prioritise energy-efficient solutions and implement a "refurbished first" policy for equipment procurement. Meanwhile, their procurement strategy needed a complete overhaul—they began re-evaluating data collection processes and categorising suppliers to improve accuracy for future reporting.
Recognising that change required engagement across their entire supply chain, Rayner Essex implemented a supplier engagement tracker and began systematically requesting emissions data from their partners. They also embraced hybrid working and virtual meetings to reduce business travel emissions, while identifying electric vehicle transition as a future priority once local charging infrastructure improves. The firm committed to an ambitious 50% carbon reduction by 2030, with annual carbon footprint reporting and public GHG data publication to ensure accountability.
The results
The partnership with Ecologi has transformed Rayner Essex's approach to sustainability, delivering both immediate insights and long-term strategic advantages. By committing to a 50% carbon reduction target by 2030 with annual reporting, they've positioned themselves ahead of regulatory requirements and client expectations.
The identification that 34% of their emissions come from IT & Tech has given them a clear focus area for reductions, while their transition from spend-based to actual emissions data is dramatically improving reporting accuracy. This enhanced data foundation is enabling more precise targeting of reduction efforts and better tracking of progress.
From a business perspective, the initiative has strengthened their competitive positioning by proactively addressing client demands for sustainable business partners. It's also opened up a significant service expansion opportunity—building the expertise needed to offer carbon reduction advisory services to their own clients as trusted advisors. Their systematic approach to supplier engagement is creating ripple effects throughout their supply chain, while their commitment to annual public reporting demonstrates the transparency and accountability that modern businesses expect from their professional service providers.
"Going on this journey has reinforced our belief that every business can make a difference. Working with Ecologi has helped us turn ambition into action, and we are proud to be taking meaningful steps towards a more sustainable future."
Rayner Essex
