Cundall鈥檚 carbon neutrality was achieved after paying 拢16,549.40 to offsetting organisations to buy carbon credits.
To meet the requirements of the PAS 2060 standard1 for carbon neutrality, Cundall analysed 聽its carbon footprint and set targets to achieve absolute reduction against all three scopes approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative2.
The has improved the energy efficiency of its offices (lighting, controls and metering) and cut down on business travel, as well as opting for lower-carbon transport alternatives. The business then bought renewable electricity for its tenancies and negotiated with its landlords to do the same.
Most of the offsetting was for business travel. Cundall says that the offsetting was a last resort and plans to be able to reduce this to zero by 2025 through further energy consumption reductions and green power purchase agreements to become genuinely carbon neutral, or even carbon positive, rather than merely certified carbon neutral.
Cundall鈥檚 carbon offset project portfolio 2018-19
| Scope | Boundary | Project | Unit (tCO2e) | Unit price (GBP) | Total | Provider | Verification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scope 1 & 2 | Tenant gas, company cars, fugitive emissions | 214 | 拢2.50 | 拢535.00 | Pangolin | VCS | |
| Scope 1 & 2 | Tenant gas, company cars, fugitive emissions | 218 | 拢5.27 | 拢1,150.50 | South Pole | VCS | |
| Scope 3 | Business travel | 1565 | 拢9.50 | 拢14,863.90 | South Pole | EcoAustralia Credit (Australian Biodiversity Unit Stapled to GS) |
Cundall managing partner Tom谩s Neeson said: 鈥淭his is an important milestone for our business, but it is not the end of the journey. We are dedicated to being a world leader in sustainability, and achieving carbon neutrality across our entire business is just the first step of many that we will take to ensure that we lead by example and help the built environment meet its net zero carbon responsibilities. This includes working with clients and our industry peers to set the standard for achieving net zero carbon in every aspect of our work 鈥� from design and material selection, to construction, operation, and end of building life.
鈥淭he purchase of offsets is a short-term solution, and we are dedicated to becoming a carbon positive business by 2025 by continuing to address our whole carbon footprint and reducing our emissions until the need to offset is eliminated. For now, we have ensured that we are investing in the most credible and ethical offsets available.
鈥淓arlier this year, we named 2020 鈥楾he Year of Net Zero鈥�, and we had high hopes for what the industry could achieve over this 12-month period. While Covid-19 has certainly altered the course of the conversation, we believe we can still achieve what we set out to do, starting with this investment in our own net zero future.鈥�
Carbon Trust managing director Hugh Jones said: 鈥淲e are pleased to have certified Cundall as carbon neutral and are happy to see it has achieved its 2020 carbon neutrality goal as part of its commitment to sustainability. We hope other consultancies are inspired to follow suit.鈥�
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