Environment
We continue our commitment to the principles of the circular, net-zero economy with our programme of year-on-year monitoring and continuous improvement and we work hard to ensure that these principles are embedded in every aspect of our business. Our focus remains on increasing our resource efficiency and on minimising our negative impact on the environment.
Our Journey to date
While our carbon emissions have reduced by 21% when compared to our 2018 calendar year baseline, over the 12 months to the end of 2023, we have seen an increase of approximately 5% on the previous calendar year. We have worked with external consultancy, Sustineo, to conduct an annual independent audit of our direct and indirect carbon emissions. While we have publicly committed to reducing our Scope 1,2 and 3 emissions by 50% of our 2018 levels by 2025/26, we acknowledge that there is still much more to be done, primarily regarding Scope 3 emissions, to achieve this target. Next year we will be switching to FY reporting against an FY19 base of 2681 tonnes of CO2 e emmisions.
*LBM = Location-Based Method
The three main elements to our current carbon footprint:
- Business travel
- Energy (building)
- Other (paper/waste/water etc.)
Significant work is ongoing this year to further review our firm’s current business travel policy and guidelines. Despite our targets and intentions our Scope 3 flight emissions for calendar year 2023 exceeded the corresponding calendar year 2018 baseline figure.
To address this, recommendations are being developed by the Sustainable Business Committee to the firm’s Management Committee in relation to the management of flight related GHG emissions.
As a firm we want to conserve natural resources and reduce carbon emissions, thereby playing our part in climate change mitigation. When compared to our 2018 baseline, we continue to reduce both our Scope 1 direct emissions from purchased gas and fuels and our Scope 2 indirect emissions from purchased energy (electricity). As we look back at our activities over the past year, we see that our purchased gas and fuels direct GHG emissions continue to fall in line with targeted reductions but further reductions are needed to meet our original near term target in 2026. To address this, we have developed an Energy Savings Action Plan which is expected to achieve the intended Scope 1 and 2 GHG target reductions notwithstanding the growth of the firm in the interim. We are pleased to maintain our ISO50001:2018 Energy Management accreditation from Certification Europe following a surveillance audit in November 2023.
Science-Based Targets initiative
In 2022 we signed up as a firm to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and our carbon reduction targets were formally validated by SBTi. As part of our commitment to these targets we continue to communicate our carbon emissions annually through this report, which is publicly available on our website. We are currently reviewing our targets to take account of our progress to date with a view to refreshing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets aligned with the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
Zambia Safe Water Project – C02balance UK
We are continuing to work with CO2balance UK and its Zambia Safe Water Project for our carbon offsets. Given the firm’s historic connection to Zambia, we invest in a complementary project that fits with our environmental journey. This is in a region of Africa that was dear to our founder, Arthur Cox himself. In 2023 we reported how we offset 2,035 credits to neutralise our carbon footprint for 2022. In June 2024, calculations from our external consultancy partner Sustineo reported that due to some overlooked emissions data during the period FY19 - FY22, we required an additional 401 offsets to neutralise our carbon footprint. We therefore took the decision to invest in a further 3,000 credits to ensure that, taking into account the carbon avoidance offsets we purchase, the global impact of our activity is negative. We understand that to meet the 2050 carbon ‘net zero’ target set by science-based targets and the EU CSRD, we need to reduce emissions rather than just avoid them. To align with the Paris Agreement’s net zero goal, we must lower our absolute Scope 3 emissions and replace emission avoidance offsets with high-quality emission reduction offsets as they become available. These matters are under active consideration by our Sustainable Business Committee this year.
Paul Chiplen from CO2balance, updates us annually on the impact that our investment has delivered to the local community:
“The Zambia Eastern Safe Water project has now completed the third expansion, bringing the total number of boreholes to 160 which have been successfully rehabilitated and are delivering safe water. Since the project started in August 2022, every borehole community involved in this project has received annual WASH trainings (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), been visited in person on a quarterly basis for a general check-up and feedback session, undergone water quality testing and routine chlorination, as well as handpump maintenance where needed.
The new rehabilitations from August 2023. The trip was very positive, and the community continues to provide great feedback about the impacts the project has had on their day-to-day lives. An additional activity which took place in the past 12 months was the installation of fencing for the 106 boreholes from Phase 1 and 2. These are the first wire fences across all CO2balance’s projects and has had a huge improvement on water quality.
During the previous trip, an Area Pump Minder training programme was established, where a group of community men and women within project communities were approached to receive formal training to become ‘Pump Minders’, the local name for technicians who conduct borehole maintenance. They receive a steady income, support for the lifetime of the project and gain experience to continue supporting rural communities once the project funding has ended. They are important stakeholders and conduct minor handpump maintenance and work alongside the field officers for major maintenance for the project boreholes. This means that repairs can be conducted quicker, improving borehole functionality and the provision of safe water to the communities.”
Minimising our waste
We have once again achieved Zero Waste to Landfill for 2024 certification (July 2023 to June 2024) in relation to all our waste streams generated at our offices at Earlsfort Terrace. This certification verifies that all waste generated on-site is diverted from landfill.
Printing
Our indirect emissions for 2023 in relation to paper consumption have been reduced by 66% compared to our 2018 baseline and we aim to maintain our current level of usage. This will amount to a reduction in per capita use given the growth in the number of people in the firm and the return of our staff to the office on a more regular basis post Covid.
Catering
We continue to work with our catering supplier, Gather & Gather, to ensure optimal quantity control and waste reduction in our food and beverages services. Following a recent tender process, we were pleased to renew our contract with Gather and Gather. A key part of this decision was our shared goal of making a positive and sustainable impact by minimising our carbon footprint in the firm from a catering perspective. Gather and Gather works in partnership with Positive Carbon to help us monitor our food waste and waste reduction strategies. Following the installation of a Positive Carbon device in our main restaurant kitchen in 2023, we were pleased to achieve a 70% reduction in food waste thanks to the monitoring of food prep waste and leftover food from breakfast and lunchtime service that is not sold and cannot be reused or repurposed.
Biodiversity in the Workplace
We recognise the importance of preserving bees and other pollinators as part of our firm’s commitment to the environment and our carbon reduction plan. In 2021 we installed our own beehive on the terrace of our building at Ten Earlsfort Terrace, with the bees taking up residency the following year. We are delighted to report this year that our efforts have been rewarded with the production of honey by the bees. This will be harvested by Boom Tree Bees and will be used by our catering partner, Gather & Gather, in our restaurant.
Focus on Education and Sustainability Changemakers of the Future
Once again, this year we awarded the Niamh Burke Bursary to two students who are actively working towards tackling climate change through their studies. This bursary was established in 2020 to honour the memory of our former Arthur Cox Partner and Consultant who passed away in 2018. It offers up to €10,000 each year for a period of five years to individuals wishing to study or to carry out research in the field of renewable energy. Jarlaith Brady and Thomas Walsh have been selected as recipients of the 2024 bursary. They impressed the judges with their commitment to working to tackle the climate emergency and their passion for their chosen fields of Mechanical and Sustainable Engineering and Energy Systems Engineering.
Looking ahead
Over the next 12 months we plan to update our environmental GHG emissions statement and travel policy for 2025. We will continue to work on reducing our GHG emissions in line with 2030 and 2050 targets.