In 2019 the UK Government set a hefty target: 'Net Zero Carbon' by 2050.
2050 sounds a long way off. But there are many steps along the way. It can't happen overnight.
Welsh Government have set an additional target for a net zero public sector by 2030.
UK Government set Carbon Budgets every 5 years. These are targets of how much carbon we can emit to keep to national and international commitments.
Like all budgets, it's all about the numbers.
So. Many. Targets. How do they affect you?
The outcome of this is that businesses will need make year-on-year reductions of carbon.
"I'll just recycle more or occasionally catch the bus". If only.
We all need to have a plan to reduce carbon but that plan also needs to be measurable. Public sector organisations are required to report on and reduce their supply chain emissions.
To trade with them, you will have to show how you can help achieve this.
A Carbon Reduction Plan can't just be a set of good ideas.
It requires you to measure the impact of your business: the energy you use, how you travel, what you buy, what you throw away; anything we can measure.
These all have a carbon footprint, a measurable carbon value.
Once you know and understand your carbon values, you'll agree to targeted and measurable improvements each year.
We'll help you out with a compliant plan and achievable targets. We can even help with hosting the plan on your Website, so your clients can see how well you are doing.
get in touchReducing your carbon footprint is as simple as recycling more, using a reusable coffee cup and remembering to turn the lights off right?
All of those things can have an impact yes. But it is quite likely that these things won't actually be responsible for the majority of your emissions. So reducing them, whilst great, won't have the impact you might hope.
Once we help you measure where what you do is releasing carbon emissions, we can identify that tasty low hanging fruit and target those emissions that will actually have the biggest impact.
And surely going digital with all of your marketing is better than printing off flyers? Yet again, it's all about the numbers. We won't make assumptions about what is best for you but use the actual numbers to help you make informed decisions. We can assess what you currently do and calculate the impact of changes to determine if you need to make a big change or just tweak your existing processes.
Why do the wrong thing righter, when you can do the right thing, right?
So. Much. Data. Are you worried you won''t know where to start?
We recognise that, whilst there are some things that will be pretty consistent across all businesses, you are unique, and you will have your own way of doing what you do.
First up we will have a proper chat to understand exactly what it is that you do and where your emissions might be coming from.
We do need data from you, but we will make that process as simple and as easy as possible for you.
We will help you find the info you need; you have it to hand, you just might not know where.
That's what we are here for.
Where you might be unsure of some things, we will work with you to see if there is a way to work it out or agree to use industry benchmarking data.
Some of the things we will need to talk about:
Your energy consumption
Your waste
Your travel
Your consumables
Your digital footprint
We then use methodology aligned to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol with UK Government emissions factors to calculate your annual carbon emissions.
We'll give you a report that shows you your emissions and how well you are doing.
We will use benchmarking to determine a red, amber green (RAG) rating for each emissions area and set a measurable, achievable and realistic target for reducing your emissions.
get in touchDon't worry we know it can be hard to change lots quickly.
Your report will also have a step- by-step plan looking at the next 12 months and how you can start to make some reductions.
You will probably see some big names saying they're carbon neutral because they have offset their emissions with trees.
And you might think, well, I definitely emit less carbon than an airline so surely I wouldn't have to buy too many trees to offset my emissions and be carbon neutral.
But. It might be helpful here to explain the difference between being carbon neutral and net zero carbon.
Both these terms focus on balancing emissions released with emissions captured.
But whereas carbon neutral is just buying carbon credits to offset your emissions, net zero is focused on reducing emissions as much as possible and then offsetting what is left as a last resort.
If you do want to get to zero you may have to purchase carbon credits.
It is important to know that there are various offsetting schemes globally and some are more legitimate than others.
Whilst planting trees to offset emissions can be a good thing, some schemes are actually damaging to the local ecology and biodiversity.
In the UK, the Woodland Carbon Code manages, assesses and accredits carbon credits and use a well respected methodology to do this.
However, each carbon credit can only be used to offset emissions once.
So without first reducing your annual emissions as much as possible, you could inadvertently be taxing yourself quite heavily just to say you've got to zero.