Delivering action on carbon emissions and climate change
Climate change poses a significant threat to people and economies around the world and we have a duty to act to limit climate change to less than 1.5℃.
In 2023, we submitted our letter of intent and our science-based targets to SBTi for validation. We also maintained our CarbonNeutral® Company certification, and a portfolio that includes renewable energy generation, rooftop solar in India, and industrial emissions reductions in the United States. In addition, we were keen to support emerging carbon removal technologies, and bought additional credits from an innovative biochar project in Maine, United States.
We also introduced a new lab and estates strategy that will reduce our Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 60 per cent in the next 3-5 years.
Priorities
Energy efficiency: We aim to reduce our energy use by 25 per cent by the end of 2025.
Carbon reduction: Maintain CarbonNeutral® Company certification and achieve net zero carbon across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2035.
Renewable energy: We aim to source 100 per cent of our electricity from renewable sources and increase the proportion coming from new renewable sources.
Engage key partners: We aim to work with partners to reduce carbon emissions across our entire value chain.
2023 highlights
We submitted our letter of intent and our science-based targets to SBTi for validation.
We introduced a new lab and estates strategy that will reduce our Scopes 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 60 per cent in the next 3-5 years.
We maintained CarbonNeutral® Company certification, covering Scopes 1, 2 and some Scope 3 emissions sources.
We sourced 100 per cent of our electricity from renewable sources in 2023.
Our approach
01: Energy efficiency
02: Carbon emissions
03: Renewable energy
04: Engage partners
01: Energy efficiency
CarbonNeutral® Company Certification
As we work towards achieving net zero carbon, our focus is on reducing our energy use and carbon emissions. Whilst we’ve made good progress in the last decade to do so, there is still a long way to go. So when we refreshed our sustainability strategy in 2020, we wanted to set some tangible interim objectives that reflect our commitment to a low-carbon future.
We chose to achieve CarbonNeutral® Company certification, in accordance with the CarbonNeutral Protocol and have done so since 2021.
Building on our long-term energy and carbon reductions, we partnered with Climate Impact Partners to purchase high-quality carbon credits to offset emissions from Scope 1 and 3 (Transmission and distribution losses, waste, business travel and homeworking). We select carbon reduction projects that reflect the nature of our business and our global presence, deliver reliable carbon reductions, and create additional impact on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
During 2023 we offset emissions across Scope 1 and Scope 3 (transmission and distribution losses, waste, business travel and homeworking) using a portfolio of projects, addressing Scope 2 emissions by sourcing 100 per cent of our electricity from renewables.
The offset projects
We selected carbon reduction projects that reflected the nature of our business and our global presence, delivered reliable carbon reductions, and created additional impact on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Our projects all follow carbon standards that meet the ICROA Code of Best Practice. These standards have established robust processes of design, monitoring and independent verification that establish the quality of the projects, the emissions they reduce and remove, how they change "business as usual" and their additional benefits to communities.
Additionally, our CarbonNeutral® certification is achieved in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol. First developed and published in 2002, The Protocol is revised and updated annually to reflect developments in climate science, international policy, standards and business practice. It is a publicly available framework developed for business, by business, that draws together leading independent standards for greenhouse gas accounting into a practical guide to carbon neutrality.
For 2023, we have selected a portfolio that includes renewable energy generation, rooftop solar in India, and industrial emissions reductions in the United States. In addition, we were keen to support emerging carbon removal technologies, and bought additional credits from an innovative biochar project in Maine, United States.
Industrial emissions reductions: US
Supports sustainable infrastructure and industry by removing potent greenhouse gasses from industrial processes
2023: Purchased credits for 661 tCO2e.
Verified under the American Carbon Registry.
Industrial processes such as refrigerant management and foam manufacturing can release especially harmful gases such as Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that can have over 1,000x times greater warming capacity in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
Climate Impact Partner’s industrial emissions reduction portfolio of projects supports the transition to greener practices among manufacturers and construction contractors. Carbon finance helps small-and medium-sized industrial businesses to go above and beyond mandates to decarbonize processes and deliver products that release less greenhouse gases. These industrial efficiency projects prevent extremely potent greenhouse gases from reaching the atmosphere. Supports the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in line with international frameworks, and significantly reduces their release to air, water and soil.
This project also supports UN SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure), 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and 13 (Climate change).
Orb Rooftop Solar Programme: India
Supports the installation of micro solar electricity and heating systems which replace kerosine and carbon intensive grid electricity
2023: Purchased credits for 600 tCO2e.
Verified under Gold Standard and CDM.
With a growing middle class in India, electricity demand regularly outstrips supply causing blackouts. In rural areas, kerosene is used for energy and lighting, polluting the air inside homes. Overall, water heating accounts for a quarter of all residential energy use worldwide per Project Drawdown.
Orb Energy installs and services high-quality solar energy systems for residential and commercial customers in India. This project has brought over 160,000 solar power and solar water heating systems to customers throughout the country to cut emissions and replace the use of kerosene or electricity from a grid reliant on fossil fuels.
Businesses can now operate for longer and more consistently with a solar energy system. Household solar water heating reduces electricity bills by more than 50 per cent and lighting at home means greater opportunity for children to study after the sun goes down. Indoor air pollution is also avoided by replacing kerosene lamps previously used to light homes.
Global renewable energy portfolio
Supports large scale renewable electricity generation to displace fossil fuel generation.
2023: Purchased credits for 1,500 tCO2e.
Sourced from Sichuan Cascade Hydro and Zhaoyuan Xinlong Shunde Wind projects, China
Verified under CDM.
In these regions in China people relay on power from Coal-fired plant. These projects utilise the wind the Sichuan River to generate and supply the electricity, which would otherwise have been produced by coal-fired plants, to the Northern-East China Grid.
Carbon finance, delivered by companies who offset their emissions, provides essential funds to support the development of global renewable projects. Energy generation is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, and renewable energy investment is a fast and effective solution to reduce these emissions.
The Zhaoyuan Xinlong Shunde Wind project comprises 33 turbines, with a total generation capacity of 49.5MW. The project delivers more than 100,000 tCO2e each year. The Sichuan Cascade run-of-river hydropower station has a capacity of 10.5MW through two stages, delivering around 27,000 tCO2e reductions each year.
Enfield Biochar, Maine
Supports early-stage project that use removes and stores carbon from the atmosphere using biochar
2023: Purchased credits for 50 tCO2e.
To be verified under Puro.earth
The Enfield Biochar project is being developed by Standard Biocarbon Corporation (“Standard Biocarbon”). Through the process of pyrolysis woodchips and sawdust from the nearby Pleasant River Lumber Co. mill are converted into premium quality biochar, a stable, porous near-pure form of carbon which remains inert for centuries.
We are supporting this early-stage project to catalyse investment and development in this emerging technology. We are not relying on the credits purchased to meet our CarbonNeutral© certification.
