Carbon Footprint
Measure, manage and reduce your contribution to global warming
“SCI can audit businesses to establish their carbon footprint and help them to reduce and offset their impacts”
Despite the push for renewable energy in recent years, around 90% of the UK’s energy demand is still derived from fossil fuels and hence the link between energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions is as strong as ever. The focus of attention on global warming gas emissions and the requirement to demonstrate greater corporate social responsibility is driving many companies to understand and quantify their carbon emissions (i.e. their carbon footprint) with a number of objectives in mind, specifically:
· Bottom line energy, and hence cost, savings
· Differentiation in the marketplace through improved CSR positioning and better brand positioning
· Preparing for future legislation.
The construction industry outputs, i.e. buildings, are prominent in the firing line for action on a number of fronts, notably resource consumption, waste generation and disposal, energy use and associated carbon dioxide emissions; as the UK emits more than 150 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and it is estimated that the operation of buildings accounts for around half of these emissions.
Planet Positive TM
As part of its commitment to this agenda, SCI is now undertaking the assessment of the carbon footprint within the construction supply chain under the Planet Positiveä initiative recently launched in the UK by Battle McCarthy. The Planet Positiveä initiative is a carbon footprint certification and offsetting scheme. To become Planet PositiveTM, companies are required to measure their carbon footprint, make commitments to substantially reduce it and offset the remainder by at least 110%. As with all accounting systems there are rules and, for Planet Positiveä, a protocol has been developed for defining the scope, boundaries and calculation methodology for defining and measuring carbon footprints. Offsetting allows organisations to indirectly reduce their carbon footprint through the purchase of carbon credits associated with emissions reduction projects (such as energy efficiency and renewable power) that occur elsewhere, typically in developing countries.
Although opinion is divided on the merits of carbon offsetting, The Carbon Trust is more supportive of offsetting as part of robust carbon mitigation strategy and there is wide agreement that where offsetting is used it should be of the very highest standards and deliver real carbon savings. Carbon is emerging as a new and important currency in the 21st century. Construction clients are increasingly asking for carbon information on products and services. What will you tell your biggest client when he asks? Do you know your carbon footprint? May be it’s time you did!
Carbon Footprint Assessment contact: Michael Sansom
Tel: +44 (0)1344 636574 or email: carbonfootprint@steel-sci.com