Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting – SECR

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Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)

Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) is the UK greenhouse gas reporting scheme set to replace the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) from April 2019.  SECR is part of a package of changes announced by the government which aims to reduce the burden of the current suite of reporting requirements while further incentivising energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

Compare Your Footprint can report SECR for you!

compareyourfootprint.com quickly and easily creates the report you’ll need from April 2019.  compareyourfootprint.com calculates SECR Scope 1 and 2 emissions in the most simple and fast way.  Scope 1 and 2 emissions can then be reported in your next company financial and strategic report.

Who will be required to report?

  • Applicable to all quoted companies and large UK incorporated unquoted companies with at least 250 employees or annual turnover greater than £36m and annual balance sheet total greater than £18m (two criteria or more must apply).
  • Organisations using low levels of energy (less than 40,000 kWh per annum) can opt out.
  • Inclusion of Limited Liability Partnerships.

An increase in the Climate Change Levy (CCL) has already been announced to compensate for the treasury’s lost revenues from closing the CRC scheme. This will increase to 0.847 p/kWh as opposed to 0.583 p/kWh for electricity, similar percentage increases were announced for the other qualifying fuels.

What energy and carbon information must be reported?

  • Mandatory reporting of energy use and associated Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions on an annual basis via the current system of company accounts reporting.
  • Energy in the scope of the new SECR legislation includes all UK electricity, gas, and transport energy use.
  • For the GHG calculations, details of the methodology and a suitable carbon intensity metric must also be included.
  • For large unquoted companies the scope of SECR will include all energy use within the UK
  • For quoted companies registered in the UK the scope will continue to include global energy use and carbon emissions
  • Companies will be required to report on energy efficiency actions taken over the previous year
  • SECR will allow exemptions from disclosing their SECR information where it is not practical to do so. There will also be an exemption from disclosing information which the organisation’s directors think would be damaging to the interests of the company

compareyourfootprint.com is easy and intuitive to use, allows you to upload spreadsheets of electricity, gas, fuel and travel data and swiftly calculate the emissions you need for your Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting compliance.

Below is a summary table produced in pdf and Excel formats by compareyourfootprint.com:

Médio Legal 2016

Reporting period: 01 Jan 2016 – 31 Dec 2016
Organisation: Médio Legal
Industry sector: Legal activities

Médio Legal 2016 annual GHG emissions and intensity ratios
Scope Total Emissions (tCO2e) tCO2e / $m revenue tCO2e / FTE
Scope 1 288.84 2.89 0.578
Scope 2 60.44 0.60 0.121
Scope 3 501.67 5.02 1.003
Totals 850.95 8.51 1.702

What does this mean for my organisation?

The impacts of the new legislation will vary depending on your current non financial reporting requirements:

If you are already reporting under Mandatory Carbon Reporting (MCR), the only change is the inclusion of energy use and energy efficiency measures in the reporting requirements. If you need help with emissions, energy use or energy efficiency measures, please contact us here

If you are reporting and purchasing carbon allocations in the CRC scheme, the SECR regulations will replace the reporting side of CRC and the charging will be replaced by increased Climate Change Levy (CCL)

Those private sector organisations who don’t fall into either scheme will see the largest change.  Now that unquoted large organisations will have to include environmental data in their annual strategic report, this will introduce annual public disclosure of UK energy use and carbon emissions to over 11,000 organisations, up from approximately 1,600 required to report for MCR.

From April 2019, many large unquoted companies will have to report on energy and carbon for the first time. Navigating the complex reporting landscape, gathering the necessary data from energy and transport suppliers, calculating the greenhouse gas emissions using the correct emissions conversion factors, and translating the energy saving opportunities into measurable action can appear a large challenge.

Compare Your Footprint is here to make the process easy and smooth – it takes just one minute to register and begin using our online user-friendly carbon footprinting and benchmarking tool, Register Here

If you’d like to get ahead of the game and get help preparing for next April, please ring us on 020 70960054 or 07977 517128  or email Emma to work out the best solution for your company.

The government’s impact assessment can be found here

What is the Difference Between Scope 1, 2 and 3 Emissions?

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Many people ask us is what is the difference between scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions? Emissions are broken down into three categories by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol in order to better understand the source.

Scope 1 – All Direct Emissions from the activities of an organisation or under their control. Including fuel combustion on site such as gas boilers, fleet vehicles and air-conditioning leaks.

Scope 2 – Indirect Emissions from electricity purchased and used by the organisation. Emissions are created during the production of the energy and eventually used by the organisation.

Scope 3 – All Other Indirect Emissions from activities of the organisation, occuring from sources that they do not own or control. These are usually the greatest share of the carbon footprint, covering emissions associated with business travel, procurement, waste and water.

 

Source: GHG Protocol

We have also produced a useful glossary for terms associated with Compare Your Footprint and a guide to why your business should be carbon footprinting.

Featured in PC Pro Magazine

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Compare Your Footprint was proud to be featured in PC Pro Magazine’s Profile section. Sharing the story of innovative British companies.

Measuring Key KPI’s for Sustainability as a Business

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Why is sustainability important? Simply stated; the future depends on it.

Sustainability is a key consideration for any business, whether they are small or large, not only to ensure you are environmentally conscious but by measuring these practises you have the potential to save both time and money.

How to measure sustainability
Tracking key performance indicators (or KPI’s) is a well-known crucial process for any business. However, many ignore the potential to measure sustainability KPI’s. These allow you to keep track of sustainability progress and track any potential for improvement in the future. One of the key obstacles to measuring these KPI’s is that the list of potential measurable KPI’s is extensive and somewhat daunting, defining exactly what is important to track can be a complex task. So below is a list of some of the most important KPI’s to track when considering sustainability.
  • Carbon Footprint
  • Energy Consumption
  • Product Recycling Rate
  • Saving Levels due to conservation and improvement efforts
  • Supplier Environmental Sustainability Index
  • Supply Chain Miles
  • Water Footprint
  • Waste Reduction Rate
  • Waste Recycling Rate
So how can these be helpful?
For example, by measuring Supply Chain Miles, it provides a powerful indicator of how far your product is travelling before reaching its destination. By measuring this KPI it can become apparent that goods are travelling large distances before reaching their destination, incurring heavy costs along the way. This KPI then may make an influence on your choice of suppliers, not just to reduce carbon footprint along the way but possibly even costs too.
Additionally, measuring Energy Consumption rate will provide an insight into the amount of energy being consumed by the business, this can then be tracked against previous months and the best months to establish the company’s performance in energy efficiency. This could lead to targets for lower energy consumption, and a reduced carbon footprint.
In conclusion, measuring sustainability KPI’s is an essential business practise and will allow you to track, manage and control the sustainability level of your business. The degree and amount of KPI’s you measure is entirely dependent on the individual business and the goals you are trying to achieve. For any assistance in measuring and analysing your carbon footprint, get in touch with Compare Your Footprint at www.compareyourfootprint.com/contact/

Ways to give your employees green incentives

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As a part of a business you are naturally working alongside colleagues, some of which may share your ambitions for a greener lifestyle, and some who may need an incentive to do so. We’ve put together some ideas to give your employees incentives to go green, to reduce the footprint of your business and improve their lives!

Cycle to work schemes

The government’s cycle-to-work scheme is an easy start, as it allows your employees to pay for their bicycle over a year without any interest, and avoid paying any tax on their bicycle, accessories or clothing! This means that a £500 investment could save you £125 after paying your equipment off for 4 years. This is a great way to encourage your employees to be healthier, reduce their environmental footprint and have an incentive from their employer!

Incentives in the workplace

Incentives in the workplace can be drivers for employees to reduce their environmental footprint from a variety of activities in the workplace, such as:

  • Reducing waste and placing a focus on recycling
  • Energy saving throughout the day
  • Measurable positive actions such as printing less, dimming screens and producing less waste.
  • Improving the company’s supply chain to reduce water use and CO2 emissions.

While these incentives may appeal to some employees and may engage without any form of reward, the human brain is wired to want some form of recompense, which can be introduced in many ways.

Financial rewards can be introduced, linking environmental performance to the compensation every employee receives, effectively turning the company’s sustainability goals into a part of everyone’s job. This type of incentive was introduced by chip manufacturing giant Intel, who saw emissions go down by 35% on an absolute basis.

Another system to offer incentives can be via a points system, which allows employees to donate to a charity based on how many points they have accrued. While the effectiveness of a system like this may vary from one workplace to another, its success can have positive repercussions beyond your workplace by contributing to charities striving for environmental sustainability.

At work and at home

Though these incentives may only affect the time your employees spend at work, what is learnt and incentivised may make its way even further, into the homes, social circles and leisure times of your employees, making the impact of your green incentives go beyond the workplace. Not only will this contribute to the ethos of your company, but will drive employee engagement, job satisfaction and, of course, a reduction in people’s environmental footprint!

These green incentives will help your business achieve green goals, as well as giving your employees a goal to work towards as a team with group and individual incentives. The benefits of this will also go beyond the workplace, hopefully helping your employees lead greener and healthier lifestyles.

What does Brexit mean for the environment?

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The EU has ensured that the UK, along with the rest of Europe, has cleaner environments, greater protection for wildlife and ambitious greenhouse gas targets. However, now that the UK has voted to leave the European Union, charities such as the WWF, RSPB and Wildlife Trusts are asking many questions – many of which are hard to answer, especially around energy targets, wildlife conservation, recycling, clean air policy and agriculture.

Green energy targets

Under the EU Renewable Energy Directive, the UK is required to generate 30% of its electricity and 12% of its heating energy from renewable sources, as well as 10% of energy in the transport sector to come from renewable sources. So far, this is the main reason the government backed the rapid growth of wind and solar farms, which drove UK electricity from renewable sources to 19% in 2014. While Brexit may not put an end to that, as the UK already has its own unilateral Climate Change Act, the future of the environment in the UK is conditional on future government policies.

Recycling

Just like other EU members, the UK is expected to meet the target of recycling 50% of its household waste by 2020, and 65% by 2030. In Wales and Scotland any changes to legislation after leaving the EU would have little effect as the countries have already set themselves more challenging targets, yet it England exiting the EU could give politicians flexibility to set more lax targets. In a world where resources are under ever-increasing pressure, this flexibility could have harmful environmental effects.

Clean air

Clean air has recently been at the forefront of the media, with several areas of the UK – and London in particular – facing illegal levels of noxious gases, particularly nitrogen dioxide. EU laws have set the benchmark against which the public can put pressure on the government to curb emissions, and Brexit could pave the way for the UK to repeal laws around clean air. This would be an issue of great concern for the UK public, and would pave the way to what many consider to be a ‘public health crisis’.

Agriculture

The EU’s cornerstone, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), rewards farmers for particular types of land use and tending to wild grassland, amongst other benefits such as subsidies. In 2015 UK farmers received around £2.4Bn in direct payments from the CAP scheme, accounting for a staggering 55% of the total income in the farming sector. What happens to the farming sector once the UK officially leaves the EU is mostly unknown, and is something farmers have repeatedly been asking about.
Another aspect affecting agriculture is the use of pesticides – especially neonicotinoids, which have been at the forefront of agricultural media coverage over the past years. The future of these bee-harming pesticides remains is in the hands of future UK policy regarding them, and could be undermined by the UK leaving the EU.

Wildlife conservation

Wildlife conservation is at the mercy of most other environmental issues, heavily affected by agricultural policy, urban expansion and air quality. Many of the laws that protect the UK’s wildlife and environment are tied to the UK’s EU membership, and could be affected if the UK leaves the EU, again depending on future potential policy changes. However, this is something the public can campaign for, especially with the help of public figures such as David Attenborough.

As with many Brexit-related issues, be it the economy, social policy, politics or the environment, uncertainty is the overarching theme, we are more likely to see the number of environmental policies dwindling. Emissions targets may change, recycling policies may become laxer and wildlife conservation may continue to suffer.

Eco Friendly Office Furniture

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Why go eco?

Office furniture is a great place to start making environmentally and socially responsible decisions in the office. Desks, shelves, chairs and most office furniture can be manufactured from non-renewable or unsustainably sourced materials, manufactured in an irresponsible manner or may even be manufactured with toxic materials that could harm you and those around you in the office. Old furniture may also be ergonomically unsuitable and due an upgrade, so with a range of environmentally-friendly products on the market, why not choose green furniture?

Chairs

Herman Miller have made a name for themselves by designing comfortable furniture for the workplace, but their environmental record is similarly outstanding. They have married functional design with the highest standards of recyclability, significant reductions in packaging, and minimal waste in the production process. Their aims to achieve zero waste and a 50% reduction in energy reduction are ambitious in any industry, and are figures that ensure your products are backed by sustainably manufacturing. The facilities the company operates out of are also backed by sustainable energy and directly support the nature around them. There are, of course, several other manufacturers and suppliers for eco-friendly chairs that will suit a variety of budgets, so make sure to shop around and choose what suits your business!

http://www.hermanmiller.co.uk/products/seating/performance-work-chairs/aeron-chairs.html

Desks

Whilst there are many reputable providers for sustainable office furniture, Orangebox have taken a transparent and commendable approach to sustainability, using FSC certified and recycled materials. Orangebox also strive to use local suppliers as much as possible, 70% of which are in the UK, and as close to them as possible in the Welsh countryside. The company has also had significant focus on waste and the ‘end-of-life’ aspect of their products. When it comes to waste, their recycling schemes cover every aspect of production, and their ‘end-of-life’ approach for products is also admirable, either re-using or recycling products as much as possible. While Orangebox have a very special approach, there are other manufacturers that can satisfy your needs to be a green office.

http://www.orangebox.com/product_range/tables/tables_lano 

Other furniture

Whilst many providers offer a range of environmentally friendly tables and chairs, it is many other aspects of an office that can have negative impacts on the environment. Consider your suppliers for the general day-to-day items your office may use. If these are not available in eco-friendly ways, then carbon-offsetting could also be a worthwhile consideration, as it can be a fantastic way to reduce the environmental impact of your office activities. While choosing green furniture is a great start, it is only a part of the bigger picture when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint. If you have any more questions regarding this, please do get in touch via our contact page.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/architectural-design-architecture-ceiling-chairs-380768/

 

An Introduction to the GHG Protocol

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Greenhouse Gases are gases that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. Those in Earths atmosphere are mostly water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Whilst necessary, as without them the Earths temperature would be around -18°C, humans have caused an increase of 40% in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, which in turn is leading to the warming of the planet and other associated issues such as ocean acidification, rising sea levels and species loss. It is therefore vital that we stay aware of our impact on the planet, and do our best to manage greenhouse gas emissions.

What is the GHG Protocol?

The GHG Protocol is the most widely used accounting tool to manage, understand and quantify greenhouse gas emissions. Used by government and business leaders, the GHG Protocol is a decade-long partnership between the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). It serves as the foundation for almost every greenhouse gas standard in the world, as well as offering an internationally accepted tool for businesses to compete in a global marketplace.

Why are we getting involved?

We are now working towards achieving the GHG Protocol Mark, which will allow us to have the backing of the WRI and the WBCSD on the certifications we issue. Our tool will adhere to their standards, enabled by our BETA customers who have enabled us to pay for the audit. This will enable us to help companies achieve further certification, beyond the ISO 14001, ISO 50001, ISO 20121, BS 8555 and B Corp certifications we already offer.

What the GHG Protocol means for us

Being a part of the GHG protocol means a lot to us. It goes beyond allowing companies to measure, manage and report their greenhouse gases, as it gives our customers a competitive edge on the marketplace. In 2016, at least 92% of Fortune 500 companies responding to the Carbon Disclosure Project used the GHG Protocol, only strengthening its reputation amongst market leaders. Incorporating this into our system facilitates competition with these corporations, and will allow businesses with our certification to strengthen their position.

The GHG Protocol will allow us to strengthen our carbon footprint certification, and put your business in a better position as a B-Corp. If you have any questions about the GHG Protocol or your organisations carbon emissions, get in touch with us via our contact page.

Benchmarking – Can it help your business grow?

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Benchmarking is an essential process when it comes to discovering what your best performance achieved has been. This is information that is useful when identifying gaps in a process to achieve better results, both in the short and long term. When it comes to benchmarking your carbon footprint, this is generally done with a standard point of referencing for measurement. There are many reasons to benchmark, and we present the main and most important ones below.

Identify your strengths and weaknesses
Benchmarking will allow you to identify your strengths and weaknesses, and where there may be gaps in your performance. Benchmarking is a very thorough process which will aim to understand all the guidelines and practices within a business, not just a matter of gathering information. When it comes to benchmarking, incorporating the carbon footprint of a business, particularly nowadays, is very important. It will allow for a full understanding of where a business is performing well or underperforming, and enable sustainable improvement in underperforming areas.

Set targets
Benchmarking will allow you to set targets for your company that will allow you to strive for them, improving your overall performance in the search for a communal goal. Moreover, continuous benchmarking will enable you to closely monitor the progress towards said targets, making it straightforward to identify any gaps and find out how these can be improved. Benchmarking is a great tool to use when researching your carbon footprint, as it will allow for you to see where your carbon footprint is highest and lowest, and look to improve in areas such as the contribution of operating energy, embodied carbon and transport emissions to the overall carbon footprint of your business. Benchmarking will allow for progress and positive change in these areas.

Strengthen your credibility
Given the importance that consumers now place on sustainability, the credibility of your company is all to lose without any measurement of your carbon footprint. Consumers look to companies as partners in progress when it comes to environmental sustainability, with 84% of consumers stating that they seek out responsible products whenever possible and will choose those on top of other, less sustainable products.

Benchmarking is a useful tool that will add credibility and strengthen your business as a whole, both from a business operations perspective and an environmental perspective. It will allow you to improve your energy rating and make savings where you didn’t believe them to exist, and gain a better understanding of your business.

What makes up a Carbon Footprint – The Basics

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In our modern era of a warming climate and ever increasing awareness, there is a myriad of terms that we, as a population, may only be partly aware of. ‘Carbon footprint’ is one of those, and it’s full meaning is something of great importance.
In short, a carbon footprint is an estimate of the impact an activity has on our changing, warming, climate. It is a calculation of several aspects: greenhouse gas sources, notably CO2, methane and nitrous oxide; any influencing carbon sinks; and various forms of carbon storage. Then, for the sake of simplicity, all impacts are tallied and expressed as a single number in terms of CO2 equivalent – that is, the amount of CO2 that would need to be emitted to achieve the same level of warming.
Taking a plastic bottle, for example, it may seem simple to calculate its emissions – they would come from the extraction and processing of the oil to turn it into the bottle. However, there are several uncertainties that come into the equation, including the energy used to extract, refine and transport the oil, and the transport involved in moving the final product. Furthermore, one could try to account for the use of paper in the administration of the plastic bottle company, the electricity their computers use and their use of printer paper. It can, effectively, be calculated to an infinitesimal point.

However, this is far too complex, and the estimation of a carbon footprint is therefore based off what is feasible to measure. Small intricacies may not make the final calculation, but any major contributors, such as fuel usage, general conditions and transport logistics, may come in to play. Given this, the carbon footprint calculation is a very powerful tool when it comes to understanding the impact of your behaviour, be it as an individual or collective, on global warming. Calculation and constant monitoring of your carbon footprint is essential to keeping it as low as possible, thus decreasing your harm to the planet.
There are several incentives to knowing what your carbon footprint is and acting on it. First of all, there is a moral incentive to keep your carbon emissions as low as possible and make a contribution to slow down global warming. Secondly, there is a business incentive, whereby businesses will be more inclined to trade with you and you will attract better people, both as employees and clientele. Finally, depending on your location, tax breaks may be available if you lower (and can prove) that you have lowered your carbon emissions, and are continuing to do so.
If you have any questions about Carbon Benchmarking, or would like to speak to us about your organisation’s carbon emissions, get in touch via our contacts page.