Targets for net zero
4 October 2023
The benefits that organisations can achieve in adopting carbon management strategies under the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) were discussed during the recent Supply Chain Sustainability School Summit conference held in Coventry, in a round-table session sponsored by Speedy Hire.
The SBTi is a partnership between the Carbon Disclosure Project, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature, the SBTi is designed to enable businesses to set ambitious targets to significantly reduce their carbon footprint by 2030 and to achieve net zero by 2050, in line with the goals of the historic Paris Agreement on climate change.
Speedy was the first company in the hire sector to commit to SBTi as part of its plans to achieve net zero carbon throughout the business by 2040, as reported previously.
Amelia Woodley, Speedy’s ESG Director (environmental, social and corporate governance) said that although the SBTi process is challenging, more stakeholders expect such net zero practices to be in place. These include investors, customers and employees.
She said that Speedy had employed the services of a consultant to smooth the process, initially addressing scope 1 and 2 emissions before tackling scope 3. Scope 1 emissions are created directly by an organisation’s activities such as using fuel in vehicle fleets or, say, operating a furnace; scope 2 relates to the electricity it purchases from the grid; and scope 3 effectively covers everything else, including emissions throughout the entire supply chain.
Amelia added that organisations must engender a spirit of collaboration, with individuals taking responsibility for their own areas of operation towards a common goal.
Julia Barrett, Chief Sustainability Officer with Willmott Dixon, said that the company had been net zero in its own operations since 2012 and that SBTi measures had been adopted in 2020 as part of its Now or Never sustainability strategy. She said that SBTi gave a source of robust and verified data that met the needs of board members and stakeholders.
She said that collecting the right data was of paramount importance and that using an outside consultant had helped. She also said that a useful source of advice was a carbon calculator portal available through the Supply Chain Sustainability School which can help with the process.
Bekir Andrews, Environmental Sustainability Director at Wates Group, agreed about the importance of having good data for setting internal targets and helping others in the supply chain, which would help to win future business for all concerned.
