Case Studies

For profit, asset-backed sustainability company with purpose beyond profit

Purpose = nature recovery and community prosperity through rewilding at scale in Scotland & beyond

Exemplar to encourage other landowners to pivot to net-zero and nature recovery

Help Scottish Government achieve biodiversity and climate targets

Help UK be a global leader to encourage others around the world

What Can I do about it?

• Get help from competent friends

• Know your baseline & measure impact -

• To start: become certified carbon neutral

• Then: create net zero plan, with milestones based on e.g. SBTi (90% CO2 reduction from baseline)

• Net zero = to innovate = a “doing” verb

• Offset only CO2 which cannot be removed. Buy offsets wisely!

• Create nature recovery plan

• Invest & buy wisely – business & self

• Be an advocate, communicate widely

• Ban greenwashing

Examples

• Switch to low carbon - EVs, tools, ban short haul flights, offer high quality offsets to clients

• Switch to 100% sustainable energy

• Waste into circular economy – BDE / Keenan

• Suppliers = big impact. Vet, influence, educate

• Built environment - passive new, insulate old

• Favour natural, habitat-rich, native planting and soft landscaping vs. overly man-made

• Establish wildlife refuges, ban artificial grass and manicured lawns

• Start a bee-keeping club

• Set aside 30% of your external space for wildlife

• Establish education events

• Be the leader you wish to see

Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910)

Unavoidable Food Waste – A local sustainable solution to lower greenhouse gases and carbon

Steve Sharratt CEO, DBE Energy

• Our mission – SAVING THE PLANET STARTING TODAY - requires business streams and businesses that work interdependently with each other. These synergies are the key to our strategy, with sustainability at the heart of what we do.

• An AD plant that just generates energy is like a football stadium that is only used once a week. The need, is to create sustainable hubs, stronger businesses and to use that strength for a greater positive impact on our environment.

• We are developing additional sustainable streams at DBE Energy including

1. Green hydrogen production;

2. CO2 capture and upgrade to food grade standard;

3. Hydroponics; and

4. Insect protein production for animal feeds.

• These are all local solutions, cutting transportation, chemicals and emissions, whilst at the same time creating an economically sustainable business model with local positive impact.

• Food waste represents an opportunity for businesses to work together to turn a problem into a solution, with clear and measurable impact and a tangible carbon reduction

• So how do we do it? The following is a case study …..

Construction of the plant employed many low carbon features, from recyclable buildings and tanks, to maximising the gas output and providing an organic fertiliser (c22,000 tonnes per year) to displace chemicals on agricultural land. It was also designed to minimise impact and maximise the environment for the natural world.

The plant has capacity for processing 25,000 tonnes of incoming commercial food waste, with gas output of up to 250m³ per hour of biomethane for injection into the local gas grid or production of the UK’s first truly green, carbon negative hydrogen – in Surrey!

Each tonne of food waste processed means at least 1 tonne of CO2 equivalents are captured and with our plans to further capture emissions, this will increase. We take in local food waste, put green energy into the local gas grid and can then use the by-products of this process to grow food for local distribution.

DBE Energy cuts waste miles and food miles and captures harmful greenhouse gases in the process. It is a small but positive part of the effort to tackle climate change. This applies to food waste in and our chemical displacing fertiliser out, to local farms. Our gas injected into the national grid system on site or carbon negative hydrogen going forward to power large transport, such as buses.

Local food waste should be treated locally, generating local energy, local non-chemical and natural fertilisers for local farms, local food and local power for local buses. Unnecessary miles means more cost financially but most importantly more damage to our environment, more damage to our roads and more emissions harming our people.

Green Hydrogen; a look forward – a real circular, sustainable proposition

Can food waste from Surrey, converted to carbon negative hydrogen power Surrey’s hydrogen bus scheme –efficient and effective

Hydroponics - the future of food is here, now