Perseus is supporting UK SME decarbonisation efforts by unlocking green finance from banks and lenders. It does this by automating access to assurable data to support lending decisions and related sustainability reporting.

The Perseus pilot – in which banks allow Perseus monthly emissions information to be used in the decision making process for one or more green loans – represents a huge step towards automating reporting for UK SMEs, bridging the gap between real-world energy data and financial decision making.

We’re speaking to those involved in Perseus – from Banks, Carbon Accounting Providers, non-profits and policymakers – to explore what the pilot means for their business, their customers, and the broader net-zero transition.

In this episode, we sat down with Zarina Banu from Tide, who outlines the company’s role as a digital CFO and business management platform supporting SMEs across the UK, India, and Germany. The conversation reinforced just how vital SMEs are to national and global sustainability targets and why they need continued support to succeed.

Zarina highlights how Perseus is ‘ahead of its time’, noting its potential impact and ability to decode sustainability and net zero practices for SMEs. She also spoke to the importance of cutting through the noise—reminding us that while business priorities may shift, the urgency of tackling climate change remains unchanged.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction to Tide and Zarina’s role

01:00 – Key financial and sustainability challenges for SMEs: Discussion on how energy efficiency and cost-cutting are closely tied to emissions reduction and financial stability.

01:35 – Current product offerings and net zero plans: Zarina explains Tide’s current carbon insights product and outlines ambitions to deepen their net zero solutions for SMEs.

03:00 – The challenge of decoding information for SMEs: Insights on how the abundance of sustainability information causes friction, and the role communications and partnerships play in helping SMEs.

04:15 – Introduction to Perseus and Tide’s involvement: Zarina discusses how Tide got involved with Perseus through B4NZ and why it aligns with their SME-focused mission.

06:15 – Value points of Perseus & the pilot: Positioning SMEs as critical stakeholders, and the expected impact of the pilot program.

08:40 –Potential hurdles: staying committed to net zero and silencing the noise: Emphasis on staying committed to the climate mission despite distractions, and how Tide is doubling down on net zero with a dedicated lead.

10:55 – Integration of Perseus into Tide’s platform: Exploration of how Perseus might fit into Tide’s offerings depending on pilot outcomes and scalability.

11:45 – Uniqueness of Perseus in the market: Zarina reflects on how Perseus stands out due to its reach, potential impact, and early-adopter hurdles.

13:05 – Final thoughts on business case advocacy: A call to keep making the business case for Perseus repeatedly to keep it front of mind for decision-makers.

Transcript: 

Ross: So yeah, I think, can we just start really by you giving a brief overview of Tide and your and your role at tide?

Zarina: Yeah, sure. So Tide is a business management platform. We’re live in the UK, India and Germany, and we’re on a very proactive international expansion plan. We currently have over 1 million members. Those are customers in those three markets. And what we do is, we are their CFO. So we manage and receive payments. We manage business expenses in the app, create invoices. We do accounting. And this is all served by a number of services. So small businesses are very time poor. So tide acts as their fundamentally their finance function. And we are expanding into business management as well very actively.

Ross: Yeah, that’s great to hear. So the small businesses there, what do you see? You know, is their main challenge when it comes to their targets for sustainability and, you know, broader challenges, financially.

Zarina: Essentially, the reduction of emissions goes hand in hand with energy efficiency. So cutting waste, optimizing supply chains and lowering electricity and fuel costs, many of tides business owners are energy dependent. So that’s very key for them. And in the long run, of course, sustainability efforts can drive financial savings. So there’s a huge upside there.

Ross: Yeah that’s great. And with that knowledge what kind of products do you offer SMEs?

Zarina: At present we offer only carbon insights. But you know we’re very much in sort of deep dive mode at the moment. So what we’re doing is we’re looking at net zero for members. Tide is a net zero business itself via carbon removals. And as this year rolls out, we are looking at a much deeper product offering for our members because we do know that, you know, net zero. For example, in the UK it’s written into law that the UK is going to get to net zero by 2050 and there is no path to net zero in the UK and dare I say it, in other markets that Tide exists in, without this path to net zero cannot exist without SMEs. So the path to net zero is entirely dependent on the success of SMEs to get to this themselves. I think one of the challenges for SMEs is to really to decode this huge amount of information out there. For example, this is causing friction for SMEs. So we know from our insights, we know from our data that SMEs want to get to net zero. And they really do want to do this. The motivation is there, the desire is there, but this huge amount of information and how to decode it for them is currently a huge friction point for them. So I think one of the solutions, well, from a comms point of view is, you know, what are the steps it takes to get SMEs on the path to net zero? So people on my side of the fence in the comms industry, we can offer practical tips, advice, insights, one stop shops for SMEs to get to net zero, which is of course, you know, updated all the time because it’s an ever changing landscape, you know, which throws up different challenges all the time. And fundamentally, SMEs are very, very time poor. They’re busy. They’re focused on running their business. So, you know, let’s not forget that many of them are in sort of survival mode, or those that are in growth mode are still super, super busy. And so sustainability for them is a sort of an add on that they just don’t have the brain space all the time to, look into deeply. And so this is where Perseus can come in and where Tide, you know. And partnerships like this can play a key role in simplifying the journey for SMEs. 

Ross: That’s great. I’m glad you brought Perseus there. So I dont need to segue myself. 

Zarina: I’d be a bad PR person if I didn’t. Right?

Ross: Yeah. Can you talk about mainly how you started to get involved with Perseus? I know you’ve been on board for a while.

Zarina: So this goes back a couple of years when we were involved with Bankers for net zero, which is now B4NZ, and Perseus is obviously an offshoot of B4NZ, and, you know, it is entirely aligned with our business. Tide is entirely focused on small businesses. We serve small businesses with no finance function and about 0 to 9 employees. So we’re entirely aligned and fundamentally on the same mission right here to support SMEs to get to net zero. So from about two years ago we got involved with the Icebreaker team. They presented the proposition, it was very, very exciting. And, you know, if Perseus can scale this nationally, you know, who knows where this can go. And certainly I think the potential is huge. And also to get it on the map at the top table because currently the net zero and SME sort of alignment is not really being discussed at the top table of government. So I think it’s really important that you know, we jointly keep pushing this in front of the right stakeholders, both on the business side, you know, amongst Perseus’s various members and also at the governmental side, you know, this is kind of mission critical.

Ross: Yeah. No, that’s that’s really good that you brought that up the the government’s role because I know, there can be a lot of emphasis on bigger businesses, and I wonder whether they, not that they ignore it, but they don’t see the impact that smaller businesses can have given that they’re, you know, they make up the larger businesses, supply chains. Yeah, I think can we move mainly into obviously the Perseus pilots coming up, but I wanted to just get your overview on the key, you know, value points of Perseus.

Zarina: Well, I think, you know, number one is the decoding of international best practice and UK best practice. You know, what do SMEs, what do businesses adhere to and really how to decode the noise and make the path simple to net zero. So that’s one thing. The second thing is really to understand that SMEs are part of the solution, and it is how we get them on the journey, how we get external stakeholders on the journey. Business as well as government as well as, you know, public private to understand that, you know, in the UK, for example, SMEs form about 6 million businesses and they employ multiple amounts of people. So really it is really about how to push this conversation front and centre for SMEs and to understand that we need more representatives from this sector early on the discussion points. And then lastly, the impact of the pilot. I think the pilot is going to be a huge milestone for Icebreaker, for Perseus and also for this conversation, because once business fundamentally and SMEs – both time poor, really want to get to the end point very quickly – can see how it’s actually working. And to understand that this is a thing that is going to be real and especially for big business, if you like, internally how to scale this across our customer base. So I think there’s those three points there that I’ve outlined.

Ross: No. I definitely agree. Yeah. It will be a huge milestone. I’ve started to see some of the demos of what the pilot will actually look like. And I think that actually solidifies in your mind that, you know, it’s happening and it’s, you know, going to be quite easy for SMEs and banks to use. Where do you see the main challenges with Perseus coming? As we want to expand, as we want to get in front of people? What are the hurdles, really, that we could think about now and avoid in the future?

Zarina: I think it’s important to remain focused on the long term. You know, climate change is not going anywhere despite the noise out there. And it’s really, really important to focus on that. So you know the UK has got its 2050 target. But the fact is that there is a huge amount of noise distracting, for a lot of people. For others, perhaps it’s an excuse to take a detour. But at present, you know, unless the science proves otherwise, net zero is not going anywhere. I mean, for Tide, we will continue to be a net zero business, we’re working on offering net zero solutions to our small businesses across our markets. And so I think that is the challenge. You know, stay true to the mission. Stay true to the need to reduce climate change. And in amongst all the noise, do what people feel is principled and right.

Every business has its own imperative and its own challenges and its own strategy and its own stakeholder base. But definitely at Tide, you know, we are actually, funnily enough, doubling down on this. We’ve hired a net zero lead who’s come in and is doing a deep dive on net zero, not just for Tide as a business but also for our members, our customer base. So, yes. No, absolutely. For the long term, you know, we’re committed. And there’s no change there. What it will look like might be slightly different. But, yes you know, we’re a  committed business. And I think it’s really important to understand as well, as a finishing point, that many other businesses remain committed to net zero. It’s just if you look at it from a PR perspective, the news that creates the noise is the news that’s likely to be picked up. So those people who are just getting on and just getting on with the business aren’t likely to make the headlines.

Ross: I was thinking there, once the pilot is operational and we move forward. Will Perseus make up, you know, part of what you offer SMEs like on your site, they’ll be able to go to the site and use Perseus as a tool. I was going to ask how it fits in with Tide’s offerings?

Zarina: I think that’s a great question. It’s definitely something that we can bring back into the business and really at the moment, and I think what we’ve done really well with Perseus, Tide as a business, is to continue to keep the conversation open and to really fundamentally, we are here for our members and we’re here to make life easier for them. And, you know, if the Perseus pilot and the impact of that is going to be able to be scalable even if we start small, then that’s definitely something that Tide would certainly be interested in having a conversation. And, you know, Perseus is best placed to do this at at present. I can’t see anyone else doing it, so we absolutely have to keep the conversation open.

Ross: Yeah. No. Amazing. Are you part of any of the projects like Perseus or is it quite unique?

Zarina: I actually don’t know what’s out there, to be honest Ross, call me ignorant, but I can’t see anything else out there that has the reach, the scalability and the involvement from the right people. Personally, I think it’s way ahead of its time, which is potentially sometimes what’s the challenge with adoption of both of the membership and potentially of the pilot? Because it is way ahead of its time, people are potentially finding it a challenge to understand its potential impact right? So its early adopter phase, people don’t quite know what it is. They don’t know how it’s going to affect them. They don’t know how it’s going to drive up or drive up in the right places and drive down in the right places, revenue, both on the business side and on the member side.So, you know, I think it’s genuinely a trailblazing product.

Ross: Yeah, that’s great to hear. That’s actually that’s actually most of my questions. But if you wanted to there’s anything more you wanted to add then feel free. 

Zarina: I think I’ve said this before. I think it’s really important that, you know, the business case is made continually and strongly. Just because the business case was made, say, 18 months ago, doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be made again repetitively. So at the end of the day, people who are making the decisions on the membership side are very, very busy executives. So I think it’s always of value to continue to put that forward, to make the case, to provide clarity and to always, always demonstrate the business case.

Ross: Yeah, absolutely. That’s hopefully where work like this comes in as well.

Zarina: Yeah, absolutely. If you don’t put it down, how are people going to know about it?