According to the 2020 UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions report from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in 2020 it was estimated that the business sector was responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the UK. We therefore wanted to ensure we were doing our bit to help tackle climate change. This is why we’ve committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050. Setting ourselves a target meant finding the right expertise to guide us, which is why eQS partnered with Carbon Neutral Britain.
Carbon Neutral Britain awarded eQS Carbon Neutral Status for 12 months. To get Carbon Neutral Status, it was important to understand what our actual emissions were. Carbon Neutral Britain helped us to discover our baseline emissions footprint. Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases that have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. Baseline emissions are the reference point against which emissions reduction can be measured. By knowing what our baseline emissions footprint is it enables us to check we are on track to reach our target by 2050.
To help us understand what our baseline emissions footprint was Carbon Neutral Britain created a Carbon Emission Report which measured and calculated the total Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions produced directly and indirectly from our activities.
As part of the Carbon Emission Report, Carbon Neutral Britain identified our three largest avoidable emission sources were:
To help combat these sources several environmental management measures and projects have been implemented. Examples of these include use of technology (i.e. Microsoft Teams) across the group to eliminate unnecessary travel and commuting which reduced trips by 62% from 2024, a bike to work scheme was rolled out and encouraged across the group and the boiler in the Hebburn office was replaced to a more environmentally friendly model.
We aren’t just going to stop there though. Carbon Neutral Britain have also made several other recommendations to help us reach our Net Zero target such as:
There are also things we can do as a company further afield to help us reach Net Zero Emissions by 2050. Through the Carbon Neutral Britain Climate Fund™, we have offset our total carbon emissions through internationally certified carbon offsetting projects. One of these projects provides solar lighting for families in Zambia who lack access to electricity in the home. This provides significant social benefit as families can study, cook and socialise in the safety of their own home without being dependant on inefficient and high carbon output lighting from kerosene lamps and fireplaces.
Another project is a prime example of circular and sustainable agriculture in the Netherlands and involves methane capture and power generation. 30 Dutch farmers can capture methane from manure via biogas plants funded through offsetting climate finance. The project not only reduces emissions of this potent greenhouse gas through storage but also avoids the use of fossil fuels and generates green electricity. You can view more projects Carbon Neutral Britain works with here.
You can read more about our plans to achieve Net Zero by 2050 in our Carbon Neutral Report. Here you will find all the calculations involved in generating our baseline emissions footprint as well as suggestions from Carbon Neutral Britain on what changes we could implement to ensure we achieve our target which in turn will contribute to reducing the percentage of total greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions UK businesses generate.
This news article was written by Richard Keeling, eQS Group Marketing Manager.
Richard is responsible for leading the development of marketing and communications content, internally and externally across our group of companies, including the management of marketing and communications campaigns, webinars and events.
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