35 minute read
Green Technology 8
matter). Calculations draw on wind data from monitoring stations across the UK, and determine how background wind conditions interact with the local urban form and planting specified by the user.
The software’s performance and underlying science are documented in a paper published in openaccess journal, Forests.
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Lead researcher, Dr James Levine says: “In reducing our exposure to pollution from nearby vehicles, strategic planting can complement essential emission reductions in reducing health impacts. But it’s not as simple as thinking that any planting will do good – if indiscriminate, it’s just as likely to have a negative impact. There are many good reasons to invest in green infrastructure but, if planting in the name of improving air quality, we must ensure it delivers genuine benefits. By estimating the benefits at planning, we can ensure good schemes are robust to cost-cutting and fully realised.”
Informed by their work with Dr Levine, Transport for London is currently exploring a potential 'healthy and resilient streets' scheme with the Greater London Authority. Dr Levine is also in discussion with The Mersey Forest and Liverpool City Council regarding a scheme in central Liverpool.
Paul Nolan OBE, Director of the Mersey Forest, commented: “The GI4RAQ Platform bridges the gap between academic researchers and organisations like The Mersey Forest, cutting through the often-mixed messages regarding the impacts of vegetation on urban air quality, in support of projects delivering genuine, lasting benefits.”
The GI4RAQ team is led by Dr Levine and includes doctoral student Ms Helen Pearce, who wrote the opensource air quality code; Prof Rob MacKenzie (Director of BIFoR) and Dr Xiaoming Cai; Tommy Morrison, Chris Thompson and Matt Sadler of Wild Ilk Design Studio, who developed the web interface; all with grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council.
UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
birmingham.ac.uk
HOW DATA EXHAUST CAN HELP TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE
Or Lenchner is CEO of Bright Data, one of the world’s leading web data companies. He oversees the Bright Initiative, a global programme that uses public web data to drive positive change.
Our world is increasingly digital, with masses of unstructured data being created everywhere, every day. It’s estimated that as a global community we create around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data each day - that’s 2.5 followed by a staggering 18 zeros.
Much of the data we create can be classed as alternative data, also known as external data or simply ‘alt-data’. It’s termed alternative because it differs from the traditional types of internal data that organisations have relied upon.
The term alt-data relates to data created outside an organisation - for example open access flight trackers, weather stations and satellite information, generated by machines. It also includes public online data generated by humans, such as product reviews and social media posts.
All our daily digital activities leave a lot of unstructured, messy public data in their wake - often referred to as the data exhaust, due to it being waste output from other digital activities.
But while this sounds depressingly like more polluting activity that’s reflective of a throwaway society, we now have a great opportunity to use alt-data to accelerate our response to climate change.
While it may not be very high on the agenda at COP26 in Glasgow in November, better use of data can play a big role in meeting a huge global challenge. The UK Government’s National Data Strategy recognises this, highlighting that “better use of data has the potential to help solve wider climate change problems and help the UK meet its net zero 2050 target”. But just how can we do that?
Recently-launched climate change ‘accelerator’ Subak is one example. It was established with the aim of using data to ‘supercharge’ efforts to tackle global warming and climate change. Experts there have already helped turn satellite data into cloud cover forecasts, to predict solar power output and reduce emissions from other power sources. A coalition of industry, academia and third sector, led by National Grid ESO, has developed a Carbon Intensity API - a public data feed - that uses machine learning and power modelling to forecast the carbon-impact of electricity to people’s homes, four days ahead of time. This allows consumers to make decisions on their own levels of electricity use, based on the predicted energy mix and associated carbon footprint.
This is an impressive and powerful example of how available internal data can be used to tackle the climate crisis - and one that could be enhanced further by bringing it together with large amounts of relevant, structured and publicly available altdata to improve accuracy of the forecasts.
There is also the chance, for example, to explore pulling together external data on meat prices from disparate sources, giving better insight on changing demands and consumer habits, helping reduce waste and overproduction.
Effective use of alt-data from public social media and Web posts could also provide the electric car industry and public authorities with a richer picture on take-up rates for new green vehicles - and the unmet needs holding back greater adoption.
The amount of valuable public information chugging out from the global data exhaust will continue to grow - and we should take the opportunity to harness this ‘waste’ to tackle climate change and hit key targets. But we must do this while being compliant and responsible.
Research from the Open Data Institute suggests that people may be happy with their data being used to benefit society, but may not want that data being used to assist the investment decisions of hedge funds, for example.
Transparency and openness are key if we are to build a level of public understanding and trust that allows the future-shaping potential of alt data to be used to help safeguard the future of our planet.
OR LENCHNER
CEO, Bright Data lp.brightdata.com
£300,000 INVESTMENT IN SMART FACTORY PAID BACK IN LESS THAN A YEAR
Schneider Electric have completed the digital upgrade of their factory in Wales, making it the company’s first smart factory operation in the UK.
Schneider Electric, specialists in digital transformation of energy management and automation, collaborated with industrial software experts Aveva on the £300,000 project, which began in 2018.
The SMART transformation project primarily involved retrofitting the existing factory, in Flint, to maximise efficiency and minimise downtime. The hardware solutions deployed were complemented by the the full EcoStruxureTM software suite including Facility Expert, Resource Advisor, Machine Advisor, Augmented Operator Advisor, and AVEVA insight.
The combination of digital tools, unified by EcoStruxure™, enable the facility managers to control and optimise every aspect of the factory.
Facility Expert helps managers to keep a digital logbook of equipment and rapidly identifies and responds to any problems on the production site. Machine Advisor provides machine analytics to help operators optimise machine operations and improve reliability, while the AVEVA platform acts as a visualisation platform for continuous operational improvement and real-time decisionmaking support.
Schneider Electric’s investment was paid back within just one year, thanks to productivity and a range of efficiency-based savings. Maintenance costs saw a 15 per cent reduction (£91,000) due to the installation of a Lean Digitisation System (LDS) system with Andon alerts and an additional £14,000 in savings, thanks to the installation of Intelligent Lighting Systems onsite.
In return, efficiency at the Flint factory was greatly enhanced. Despite a 20 per cent decrease in demand in 2020 due to COVID-19, Flint’s operational efficiency improved by five per cent compared to 2019 level,s and productivity increased by four pent – the latter represents £240,000 in savings alone. In 2021, operational efficiency is set to increase a further seven per cent. of a few years, we have become the first smart factory in the UK with complete operational visibility and clarity.
The transformation also had a range of sustainability benefits. Water consumption was halved – down from 4228m³ in 2019, the highest of any site in the UK, to 2138m³ in 2020, with projections of just 960m³ in 2021. Likewise, improvements to efficiency associated with the installation of variable speed drives, smart panels, and other technological solutions led to a 15 per cent decrease in electricity (KW/h) usage compared to 2019 levels. Beyond the hardware and software introduced to the site, staff were empowered to become more aware of areas of inefficiency and take ownership of issues. They now have instant access to dashboards, as well as the ability to create alerts to notify them of any changes within the plant.
“We have control over real-time processes and can achieve a higher level of sustainability and safety. Given the project achieved a ROI within a year, it’s The fact that the site saw been an undeniable success for all a return on the investment involved.” in smart technology Enrique Herrera, Industry Principal within just a year and for Manufacturing at AVEVA, added: “Flint dramatic decreases in is a fantastic success water and electricity use is story in all aspects - safety, productivity, testament to the potential and sustainably, at a reasonable cost. for manufacturers to “The fact that the transform the way they site saw a return on the investment in operate quickly, cost- smart technology within just a year and effectively, and sustainably. dramatic decreases in water and electricity use is testament to the potential for manufacturers to transform the way they operate quickly, cost-effectively, and sustainably.
Mark Yeeles, Vice President of Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric, said: “From a production and maintenance perspective, the factory used to be digitally blind. Over the course “It also demonstrates the continued success of AVEVA and Schneider Electricity’s strategic partnership, which has gone from strength to strength.”
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC
se.com
Site transformed into UK’s first Schneider Electric Smart Factory
£300,000 investment returned in less than a year
Operational efficiency up by 5 per cent and productivity up by 4 per cent - the latter represents a £240,000 saving alone, as well as a 15 per cent reduction in maintenance spend, saving £91,000
Onsite water consumption halved from 2019 to 2020, and projected to halve again in 2021
From left, ClimateView founders Jeff Goens, Tomer Shalit and Einar Bodström.
THE TECHNOLOGY COMPANY TURNING CITY CLIMATE PLANNING INTO ACTION
A Swedish technology firm is using modelling to help cities find a path to net zero, with Newcastle City Council among their forward-looking customers.
ClimateView has created an innovative platform called ClimateOS, which creates a digital twin city to reflect the complexity of each city’s economy.
Already used in Sweden, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Canada., the platform helps cities manage climate action plans and speed up action to decarbonise their economy. It works by creating a digital twin city to mirror the complexity of a city’s economy, populated with the best available data. By identifying the best transition path to meet local needs, it models the impact of low-carbon initiatives, so that different ways of meeting carbon targets can be explored.
Enhanced functionality will be rolled out in early 2022 to identify the costs and co-benefits of each
initiative, making it easier for cities to make the economic case for their climate plans, minimise financial risk, and win support for investment.
The living climate action plan can then be dynamically updated as new data comes in, allowing cities to monitor the impact of their activities, share progress and refine strategy in a cycle of continuous improvement.
A new round of investment worth €10 million funding will help ClimateView collaborate with a growing number of cities on their net zero commitments. The funding was led by CommerzVentures and NordicNinja.
Cities are central to meeting global climate targets, consuming more than two-thirds of the world’s energy, and responsible for over 70% of global carbon emissions. They are also at high risk from the impacts of climate change, with more frequent and extreme weather events causing devastation worldwide.
More than 700 cities have already committed to reaching net zero by 2050. As
Tim Rippon, senior climate change advisor with Newcastle City Council, said: “The wholesale decarbonisation of a city is something that’s never been done before and the challenge is absolutely enormous.
“ClimateView gives us the platform we need to develop and roll out an ambitious climate action plan. By breaking the net zero challenge down into bite-size chunks you can understand how each will contribute to cutting carbon, start setting year by year transition targets, and then build a robust set of actions on this framework.”
Tomer Shalit, ClimateView’s founder and chief product officer, explained the thinking behind ClimateOS. “The climate challenge is overwhelming but it is also extremely urgent. I could not understand how we had not yet found the right formula to tackle it. There are so many frameworks, methodologies, technologies available so I decided to use what I knew as an agile coach to create a prototype that would break down and organise the transition in a logical and actionable manner, to make it less daunting. Then I gate-crashed a political event and went straight to the Swedish Minister for the Environment and Secretary of State and rolled out the poster, which would later become ClimateOS.
“In reality, it is all and more than I was hoping for. It started quite low-tech, as a 4-metre long poster. Now we have an agent-based model which makes the platform incredibly versatile and capable of tackling complexity like never before, as well as a user interface that gets better and more beautiful by the day.”
Co-founder and chief growth officer Einar Bodström added: ‘Emissions are solidly linked to the way we live, our economic models, to dollars and euros. We will have a chance at solving the climate challenge when we stop looking at GHG emissions in a vacuum. Going forward, our aim will remain to help cities reduce their emissions. But we will help them make the economic case for their transition and empower them to go after the funding they need to make it happen.”
Climate View is part of the Swedish Pavilion at COP26, alongside Volvo and Alfa Laval, and will be hosting a series of events.
Emissions are solidly linked to the way we live, our economic models, to dollars and euros. We will have a chance at solving the climate challenge when we stop looking at GHG emissions in a vacuum. Going forward, our aim will remain to help cities reduce their emissions. But we will help them make the economic case for their transition and empower them to go after the funding they need to make it happen.
CLIMATE VIEW
climateview.global
SMARTER TECHNOLOGIES
smartertechnologies.com
A SMART BALANCE: HOW CONNECTED TECH IS TRANSFORMING UK’S ENERGY REUSE REMIT
Businesses across the UK are under pressure to achieve Net Zero by 2050. But cutting down on emissions is not enough. Matthew Margetts, from Smarter Technologies, investigates current energy reuse options, and how the impending demand on the electricity grid can be balanced effectively with IoT technology to build an effective smart net zero future.
Technologies for energy reuse are beginning to receive a lot of attention from governments and other stakeholders.
Over the last decade, the UK has been developing technological options for the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and energy recycling have an important role to play in UK climate action. Carbon dioxide removal includes nature-based approaches, such as reforestation, as well as technology-based approaches. These include capturing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and industries for underground storage or re-use.
Combined heat and power (CHP)
In the UK, the government is backing the combined heat and power (CHP) model, also known as ‘cogeneration’. CHP is a highly efficient process that captures and utilises the heat that is a by-product of the electricity generation process.
The heat generated is supplied to an appropriately matched heat demand (one that would otherwise be met by a conventional boiler and require additional fuel to be burnt). By making use of heat that would otherwise be wasted when generating electrical or mechanical power, CHP systems offer an efficient means of working towards reducing emissions.
In fact, CHP systems avoid network losses and reduce emissions by up to 30% compared to conventional generation via a boiler and power station. Thus, for many organisations, CHP offers the most significant single opportunity to both reduce energy costs and improve environmental performance.
The CHP process is especially welcome for sectors that use significant amounts of energy, such as food production.
An example of CHP is The Shard in London, the tallest building in the EU with 72 storeys. This landmark building is powered by a natural gas fuelled CHP plant to operate at the highest level of energy efficiency. The plant provides energy for electricity and water heating to the surrounding area, reducing carbon emissions and contributing to the low-carbon footprint of the building.
To support the roll-out of heat pumps, we will need to use electricity when it is available and when the network has the spare capacity. Smart meters and automated meter readers provide accurate, real-time consumption data to help utility providers, building managers and occupants make more informed decisions around optimising electricity usage.
Air source energy generation
In its attempt to significantly reduce household use of greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050, the UK government is aiming for the installation of 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028. Heat pumps take heat from the air outside or the ground and circulate it around a central heating and hot water system. Heat pumps are cleaner and more energy efficient than gas.
At the moment, over 80% of British domestic heating is supplied by gas boilers, which is why the government is driving a switch to heat pumps. However, heat pumps require electricity, which means that upgrades to the grid will be necessary. The electrification of water heating will also only result in decarbonisation if the electricity is renewable-sourced.
Another challenge with the switch to heat pumps is balancing the electricity load. Adding in lots of synchronised heating demand with heat pumps could result in network bottlenecks. Compounding this challenge is combining increased electricity demand with inflexible energy generation. Because heat usage fluctuates with the time of day and year, heat pumps will make electricity demand rise and fall more dramatically.
Smart solutions for load balancing
To support the roll-out of heat pumps, we will need to use electricity when it is available and when the network has the spare capacity. Smart meters and automated meter readers provide accurate, realtime consumption data to help utility providers, building managers and occupants make more informed decisions around optimising electricity usage.
Heat pumps themselves could be optimised using smart thermostats to save both money and energy. These smart thermostats can use artificial intelligence to automate temperature settings based on specific daily routines and heating needs.
Reaching a net zero 2050 will require a smarter and more flexible energy system based on data and digitalisation. Fortunately, today’s connected technology is helping us move in the right direction.
Matthew Margetts, Director of Sales and Marketing, Smarter Technologies Group
CALL FOR ‘TELL SID’ CAMPAIGN TO MAKE HOMES FIT FOR NET ZERO
A think tank report says a ‘Tell Sid’-style campaign is needed to explain the technology behind home insulation and low-carbon heating, and advertise a new programme of cash to retrofit homes.
Tell Sid is a reference to a highly effective ad campaign from the 1980s. A similar campaign today would help the public access public grants and zero-interest loans to lower carbon emissions from UK homes, says the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)
The report – Pump up the Volume: A comprehensive plan to decarbonise the UK’s homes – adds that the public are hungry for information, but know little about new heating technologies or how to fund them.
According to YouGov polling commissioned for the report, a total of 58 per cent of the British public have either never heard of a heat pump (22 per cent) – the electrified low-carbon heating technology that will be needed by most UK homes in a net zero world – or know almost nothing about them (36 per cent).
Correspondingly, two thirds of the public (65 per cent) support a new national information campaign to raise awareness of the technologies. A large majority support public grants of £7,500 (62 per cent) and zero-interest loans (61 per cent) with government helping to pay up to half of the loan, provided any additional costs of installing insulation and heat pumps are similar to, or less than, the cost of a gas boiler.
A further 66 per cent back full grants for lowincome households struggling to keep their homes warm.
The report also notes how rapidly the UK needs to scale up its deployment of insulation and heat pumps to keep pace with its net zero targets. It says the UK is trailing far behind France, Germany and Italy in its installation of heat pumps. Last year, the UK only installed 6 per cent of the new heat pumps and less than 2 per cent of new solid wall insulation needed each year by 2028.
As the government unveils its long-delayed plans for decarbonising the UK’s homes, these findings and recommendations form part of a comprehensive retrofit action plan set out in the new IPPR report. The research sets out core pillars for the plan with key recommendations that include:
Standards: Phase out the sale of new oil boilers by 2028 and gas boilers by 2033, and introduce minimum energy performance standards (EPC rating C) by 2028 for private rented homes, and by 2030 for homeowners.
Skills: Establish a Green Training Fund with £160 million per year until 2028, to support people to acquire the skills needed for retrofitting, and commit to high-quality job standards.
Cash: Introduce a one-stop shop, known as ‘GreenGO’, where people can access financial support for the changeover, backed by up to £18 billion in public funding over the next four years. This would offer:
- Full grants for ‘fuel poor’ homes, to cover cost of fitting new insulation and low-carbon heating (at an average estimated cost of £12,000 per home).
- Grants up to £7,500 for other homes,
until 2025, including additional measures such as new water tanks and radiators. The average remaining cost for householders would be comparable to the price of a high-end gas boiler.
- Zero interest loans up to £7,000 from
2025, with repayment subsidies depending on the energy efficiency achieved (used successfully in Germany); and new private financing solutions such as green mortgages that would allow homeowners to add retrofit costs to their loans, in return for lower interest rates.
Communications: Launch a national advertising campaign to raise households’ awareness, understanding and enthusiasm for upgraded insulation and low-carbon heating and the financial support available through the GreenGO scheme, alongside a properly resourced energy advice service (online and by phone) in England, and increased capacity for services in Scotland and Wales.
In the light of the current gas price crisis, IPPR is calling for the government to pause its plan to shift environmental costs from electricity to gas bills. Instead of raising gas bills further, it says the costs should be recovered through general taxation, which would lower electricity bills in a fairer way.
The UK Energy Research Centre estimates this reform could result in an overall saving for 70 per cent of homes as environmental costs would be levied more fairly through income, while the wealthiest households would face net increases of just 0.35 per cent of household income per year.
In addition, IPPR recommends introducing a new carbon tax from 2030 to encourage the shift from gas boilers, so long as upfront costs of low-carbon heating alternatives are no more expensive than a new boiler.
The IPPR paper is available for download at
ippr.org/research/publications/pump-up-thevolume
• Polling figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov plc. Total sample size was 1,683 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between September 29-30, 2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR! “R&D TAX RELIEF STATISTICS ARE OUT!”
Every Autumn, around the end of September or in early October, the Office for National Statistics and HMRC distribute their annual review of the R&D Tax Relief Scheme, you can find full details of the report at gov.uk/government/statistics/corporate-tax-research-and-developmenttax-credit/research-and-development-tax-credits-statistics-september-2021.
This year, they are reporting on claims for the tax year ended 31 March 2020, so “prepandemic”, based on claims processed up 30 June 2021, but in what I believe to be a change to recent years, they are also forecasting estimates for returns not yet filed within the figures, which allows for a far better comparison. A company with a 31 March 2020 year end has until 31 March 2021 to submit an initial tax return which for regular claimants would normally include their claim for the year, but a company has until 31 March 2022 to submit their claim on an amended tax return, regardless of whether they are a regular or new claimant.
Estimated claims have continued to rise
Based on claims received to 30th June 2021, HMRC estimate that there will be a total of 85,900 claims filed for the year to March 2020 of which 76,225 were under the SME Scheme, so 9,675 were Research and Development Expenditure Credit claims of which more than half (5,305) were from SMEs as subcontractors or who had been the beneficiaries of grants or subsidies for their R&D activity. The scheme has delivered £7.4bn of R&D Tax Relief support to claimant companies, who between them have spent more than £47.5bn on R&D.
The SME Scheme is for small and medium sized companies that employ less than 500 people (including across a group) and that doesn’t exceed both a turnover and balance sheet threshold. It offers a 130% uplift of eligible costs, which for a profit-making company delivers a tax refund to the tune of 24.7% of the eligible costs and for a loss-making company the chance to surrender
the losses for a cashflow boost of up 33.35% of the eligible spend. The RDEC scheme which is generally for larger companies, generates a taxable Expenditure Credit which can either be offset against a current year tax liability or where insufficient tax exists, a repayable element to the tune of 9.72% for these statistics or 10.53% for eligible costs incurred after 1 April 2020.
Based on these current estimated figures the number of claimants has increased by 16% and the amount claimed in total has increased by 19%. It will be interesting to compare these figures with next years for the period of the pandemic, our experience tells us that there has been significant interest in Research and Development Tax Relief as companies have come out of the other side of the pandemic and been keen to secure additional cashflow from legitimate claims.
Of the £7.4bn claimed £4.4bn has been claimed under the SME scheme making the average SME Scheme claim worth around £57,700, with the median claim a more realistic comparator for first time claimants being £21,500. 63.5% of the £4.4bn paid out for SME scheme claims was for the payable tax credits, by surrendering a current year tax loss.
Where and who are the largest claimers?
The bulk of the claims have come from Companies with their registered office in London and the SouthEast, 35% of the claims and 49% of the value of claims have come from these regions, however these may not necessarily reflect where the R&D is happening.
The three largest sectors for claims remain as Information and Communication, Manufacturing and Professional, Scientific and Technical, between them they make up more than 63% of the claims and more than 69% of the value of claims.
72% of claims were under £50k and the largest number of claims, nearly 15,000 featured in the up to £5k band of tax relief.
Why is it relevant to my business?
The statistics don’t actually cover “Green Technology”, however we would expect many Green businesses to fall within the Manufacturing and Professional, Scientific & Technical sectors and maybe within the Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conidtioning or Construction headings. We know from our own experience, that there are a large number of companies who are significantly involved in Research and Development activity within the “Green sector”, we’ve recently been working with Tensei who use straw to manufacture high quality papers and a business using Solar Energy to power parts of Britain’s railways. However, we also know that many companies are continuing to miss out on claiming for projects that they either undertake in house or subcontract out to others. This is borne out by the statistics, where in the previous year to 31 March 2019, they show that there were nearly 20,000 new claimants. The provisional number of new claimants to March 2020 Is just over 10,000, this is merely a timing difference and not the result of “peak new claimants”.
With the ongoing challenges around recovery in a post-COVID-19 world, shouldn’t you really be looking into whether you can be making a claim? What would your company do with the cash if you were claiming, the median the tax saving of around £21.5k, or the average saving of around £58k? How would those plans change if you found out that your claim was more than £100k, do you have some new machinery you’re looking to install or another new product in the pipeline, awaiting some funding before development can start?
If you’ve been developing a new product, process, material or device or significantly enhancing an existing one, and it has been scientifically or technologically challenging to develop it, then you have the potential to claim. You might have also applied for a grant from Innovate or another funding body to support you with funding for your project. If you were successful with that application, then at the very least you will be able to claim under RDEC for all the eligible costs that you have incurred that will be supported by the grant. If the grant only funded a proportion of the overall costs, then you may be able to claim some of the unsupported costs under the SME Scheme, but that will be dependent upon the source of the funds. If your project didn’t get funding but you carry on with it regardless, then you will be able to claim all of your eligible costs under the SME Scheme.
It’s never too late to start
A significant tax saving can make a huge difference to a business. If your company has a December 2019 year end, you have until the end of this calendar year to make a claim, but realistically, you have until the week before Christmas for it to be submitted. It takes us about two weeks from initial discussion to prepare a claim for a highly motivated company.
Why not contact us to find out whether you can be a part of the statistics next year? You can book a free, no obligation #FindOutinFifteenMinutes discovery call with our Director, Simon Bulteel on www.calendly.com/Simon-Bulteel What’s the worst thing that can happen if he says no after those 15 minutes? Now compare that to receiving a refund of overpaid tax!
COODEN TAX CONSULTING
coodentaxconsulting.co.uk
Image: Raleigh
CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
The Climate Change crisis demands that, post-Covid and Brexit, the UK builds back with a green and resilient economic recovery.
Organisations must implement innovative working practices to help bring a significant reduction in the environmental impact of human activities. Wildfires, flash floods, heatwaves, and hurricanes have brought the climate change crisis into sharp focus. The catastrophic repercussions from global warming may seem insurmountable and individual actions considered inconsequential. However, small changes made by many people can have a huge cumulative result; the butterfly effect. It’s time to think and act local and focus efforts on small and easy to implement adaptations to our daily lives. Organisations’ net-zero strategies must engage entire workforces so they collectively become invested in the journey. Sustainable business practices need to increase with organisations adopting and embracing new processes and behaviours, such as switching to green power sources, recycling waste, having a pool of ebikes for company use, or growing wild flower meadows. Transportation is a significant source of greenhouse gases and employers need to address how to change employee commuting habits. Electric vehicles are not the answer as their production and how they are charged have high environmental costs. EVs still generate particulate pollution from the wear of brakes, tyres and roads.
Active and sustainable travel choices are key to reducing emissions. The rapid rollout of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods across the UK has meant active travel is becoming more accessible to many. The Cycle to Work Scheme is a low risk, low-cost, sustainable employee benefit. Green Commute Initiative’s award-winning scheme has no scheme limit and participants make the maximum possible savings as there’s no scheme exit fees. GCI has a strong ethical ethos and ensures everyone is treated fairly. Our scheme is best for employees (no fees), best for shops (lowest commissions), and best for employers (no registration, fast and easy process), which is why we believe GCI is the UK’s best C2W scheme.
DELTA ELECTRONICS’ BEST-IN-CLASS ESG ENDEAVOURS ECHO COP26 GOALS
As Delta Electronics celebrates its golden anniversary, its innovative energy-saving solutions and unwavering commitment to conservation continue to be the cornerstones of the company’s environmental, social & governance (ESG) strategy.
The company – a world leader in highly efficient power and thermal management solutions – is a globally recognised corporate citizen. This is no empty platitude – Delta’s pledge of care to the environment and exceptional focus on corporate responsibility is woven throughout its entire business model.
Indeed, founder Mr. Bruce Cheng is known as the godfather of energy conservation in Taiwan, where his business was founded.
EMEA President & General Manager Dalip Sharma is justifiably proud of Delta’s global contribution to energy-efficient solutions and environmental activism. “Our company ethos is based on creating a better future for everyone. Our core competencies in high-efficiency power electronics and the ESG embedded business model are leveraged to address key environmental issues such as climate change, and this is one of the key values we base our work on every day.”
Delta, which was founded in 1971, specialises in power electronics, automation and infrastructure products, with their energy efficiency regarded among the best in the world.
Their mission statement ‘to provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow’ sets the company above its global competitors by putting corporate social responsibility (CSR) and energy-saving solutions at the very heart of its business model. Delta certainly ‘walks the walk’, with an impressive portfolio which includes: switching power supplies with over 90% efficiency, telecom power (up to 98% efficiency), and PV inverters (up to 99.2% efficiency). The company also developed the world’s first server power supply certified as 80 Plus Titanium with over 96% efficiency.
It would be impossible to list all the company’s ‘green’ achievements, so here are just a few key facts:
Delta has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability™ World Index (DJSI World) for 10 years in a row.
Ranked ‘A’ twice at Climate Change Leadership Level by CDP, a non-profit organisation based in the UK, Japan, India, China, Germany and the United States of America, that helps companies and cities disclose their environmental impact, and aims to make environmental reporting and risk management a business norm.
Delta was also named as a supplier engagement leader for its continuous work on a sustainable value chain.
The company is a passionate advocate of the Paris Agreement, which aims to reduce global warming to under two degrees. As Mr Sharma explains, Delta is determined to go further, “Over the last decade, we have helped customers reduce their electrical consumption by about 33.5 billion
kilowatt hours, and cut CO2 emissions by 17.8 million tonnes. That is equal to reducing emissions in 1.7 million homes.”
Mr Sharma continues, “Delta is also a firm advocate of increasing global awareness around biodiversity and protection of the natural ecosystem. The Delta Electronics Foundation has worked closely with stakeholders to preserve fragile marine ecosystems.”
Extended efforts are underway on a marine conservation volunteer programme to support 28 species and over 1000 coral reefs. Mr Sharma says, “Our employees play a very strong role in the Foundation’s success, and of course the company’s ongoing production of world-class energy-efficient solutions.”
However, he points out, “That’s not to say we can rest on our laurels. We still have a lot to do, by continuously setting benchmarks for our industry colleagues to follow. There are challenges to overcome of course, as current technology has its limits, but our research programme is driving innovation continuously. Even small percentage points of improvements in energy efficiency are critical. Today, what seems like a huge challenge could see huge a breakthrough in five years’ time.”
Influencing 50, Embracing 50 is the theme of Delta’s gold anniversary celebrations, and the emphasis is strongly on promoting global development while protecting the environment through lower carbon emissions.
Mr Sharma adds, “Sustainability has always been one of Delta’s core values, and we are regarded as one of the pioneers in this field. Our ESG targets are based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: affordable and clean energy; industrial and innovative infrastructure; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; partnerships for the goals; and quality education.
“We have taken part in the UN’s climate change conferences since 2007, enabling us to share our success in lowering the carbon footprint for over 15 years.”
And, as a member of the RE100 initiative (which brings together the world’s most influential companies committed to 100% renewable energy), Delta aims to convert all its business operations to 100% renewable energy by 2030. Delta’s own rooftop solar PV systems already provide
An EV charging station in Yokohama, Japan, developed by Delta and its local partner
DELTA
deltaww.com clean electricity to its factories worldwide while electricity usage in its offices and factories was already halved by 2014, and reduced by another 30% by last year.
Mr Sharma explains. “We are currently focusing our energy conservation efforts on the use of selfgenerated solar energy and self-contained energy storage. To achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 on a large global scale will definitely be a great achievement.”
Delta invests over 8% of its global revenues – amounting to approx. 9.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2020 – to R&D. Mr Sharma adds, “Our innovations and products in the three key categories of power electronics, automation and infrastructure are designed to nurture the development of smart manufacturing and sustainable cities.”
One of Delta’s flagship projects involved installing 21,000 streetlights in a smart city in Jakarta, Indonesia, and “with its wireless networking capability and management systems, this has improved not only energy efficiency in the cities, but provided citizens with a safer living environment.”
“We have designed over 29 green (smart) factories and offices and two clean data centres. This has saved 18.48 million kW hours of electricity and about 11,685 tonnes of CO2. One of the examples is our EMEA headquarters based in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. It has been retrofitted from an old office building, saving over 65% in energy consumption annually through Delta’s own solar, energy storage, building automation, LED lighting and green data solutions, and our employees are provided with EV chargers. We have also recently built a new office in Helmond, Netherlands, which will be the base for our industrial automation business. Its rigorous environmental standards are set to achieve LEED gold green building certification.”
Mr Sharma continues, “We are immensely proud of our initiatives to date, but moving forward, the focus will be on electrification and e-mobility. Delta is a major stakeholder in the sector, both on- and off-board, from the components inside electric trains and cars, to being tier 1 supplier in automotive electronics for several top EV makers in Europe and North America. We also have a very big stake in vehicle chargers, having shipped over 1 million globally. In Yokohama, Japan, Delta and its local partner transformed an old gas station into an EV charging station and smart coffee shop, to provide an efficient, convenient and comfortable experience for EV drivers. This is how we see the future of e-mobility.”
Nearer home, Delta’s ultra-fast EV chargers have been installed in Volkswagen’s distribution hub in Kent, and for a major food distributor in Wales, with more UK partnerships are underway.
Delta is also a big investor in new technologies for electrification, with its own lithium battery manufacturing plant making large storage batteries, plus power conditioning system (PCS) and energy management (EMS) system providing smart energy management solutions for business and domestic use.
Looking forward to COP26, Mr Sharma is hopeful that the Race to Zero campaign will mobilise more stakeholders to make net zero commitments, “The aim is to attract signatories from the businesses that account for 25% of carbon tax and emissions. So far 1000s of cities, businesses investors and educators have signed up. It will be a fantastic achievement if COP26 creates even more momentum around the shift to decarbonise the economy through green solutions.”
And the next 50 years? “Delta is looking forward to even greater advances to lower carbon emissions, as well as concentrating even more global attention on marine ecology.”
