POLICIES&PROCEDURES
CarbonReduction Plan(CRP)
1.Introduction
ThinkEmploymentLtdarecommittedtoreducingourcarbonfootprintbyimplementingand followingaCarbonReductionPlan(CRP). WeaimtomeettheneedsofthisCRPthrougheffective communicationandcollaboration. ThinkEmploymentiscommittedtoachievingNetZeroemissions by2050.
WhyshouldThinkEmploymentmeasureourcarbonfootprint?
Humanactivityhasalreadyincreasedtheglobaltemperatureby1°Ccomparedtopre-industrial levels,andthelast22yearshaveheld20ofthehottestyearseverrecorded;climatechangeisn’t goingtohappen,itishappening.Tomitigateagainstfurtherdestruction,worldnationssignedthe ParisAgreement2015tolimitglobalwarmingto1.5°C,orwellbelow2°C.Thisisimportantbecause thehottertheearthgets,themorefrequentlywewillexperiencetheeffectsofclimatechange,and themoreseveretheywillbe.
ForUKbusinessesthismeanshigherriskofflooding,disruptedsupplychains,moreheatwaves (puttingserversanddataatrisk),reducedcropyieldsandstuntedeconomicgrowth Importantly eachriskcomeswithextremerisktohumanhealth,safetyandwellbeing Iftheviabilityofhuman lifeisnotreasonenough,notonlyaretherepotentiallegislativerisksastheUKGovernmentseeksto reachitsnet-zerotarget,buttherearealsorisksassociatedwiththetransitiontoalowcarbon economythroughtaxesandcarbonpricing Withriskscomeopportunities:wehavetheopportunity tolimitourvulnerabilitytofluctuationsinfossilenergypricing,increaseefficiencies,limitriskof supplychaindisruptionandincreaseemployeewellbeingandengagement Consumersare increasinglyenvironmentallyconsciousandasconcernsaroundclimatechangegrow,consumers willmorewillinglyinvestinproductsandservicesassociatedwithbusinessesactivelymeasuring, managingandreducingemissions.Ineverychoicewemakewecanchoosetoaccelerateclimate changeorbepartofthesolution.Measuringcarbonemissionsprovidesaconsistent,accurateand transparentlookattheamountofgreenhousegasthebusinesscreatesandhelpstoidentifywhich processesarecontributingthemosttoclimatechange.Effectivemanagementofrisksand identificationofopportunitiescanoptimisevaluecreation.Animportantsteptounlockingthisvalue isunderstandinghowyouractivitiesgenerategreenhousegasemissionsandthenidentifyinghow youcanminimisethem.Onthebasisthat‘whatgetsmeasuredgetsmanaged’,thefirststepto reducingyourcarbonfootprintistomeasureit.
Factsaboutclimatechange
1.Climatechangecouldbeirreversibleby2030-theworld’scarbonemissionshavecontinuedto increaseyearonyeardespitescientistswarningthatglobalcarbonpollutionmustbecutinhalfover thenextdecadetoavoidcatastrophicirreversibledamagetoourplanet.
2.Weusemoreoftheearth’sresourcesthanitcanrenew-TheUK’sOvershootDay2021wasthe 19thofMay,thisisthedatewhenourdemandfornaturalresourcesandservicesinagivenyear exceedswhattheearthcangenerateinthatyear.Bynowweareusingresourcestheearthwon’tbe abletorestore.
3.By2050,30-50%ofthetotalspeciesfoundonearthwillbeextinct-Theexpectedrateofspecies extinctionisaround5speciesayear,we’recurrentlylosingupto1,000timesthenormalrate. Ecosystemdegradationisalreadyaffectingthewellbeingofatleast3.2billionpeople–40%ofthe world’spopulation.
4.Thewealthiest51%oftheworld’spopulationaccountfor86%ofglobalCO2emissions–Yetthe world’spoorestdisproportionatelysuffertheeffectsofclimatechange,itisnotjustaclimatecrisis, butahumanitariancrisistoo.
5.Climatechangeiscreatingarefugeecrisis-Asglobaltemperaturesincrease,millionsofpeople arefleeingtheirhomestoavoidtheimpactsofdroughtsandextremestorms Andthesenumbersare settorise,estimatingthatupto200millionpeoplecouldbedisplacedbyclimatechangeby2050 Themoregreenhousegaswepumpintotheatmosphere,thehottertheearthgets
2.Aim
Weasacompanyaimto:
Educateandraiseawarenessamongstaffandourlearners Encouragecontinualprofessionaldevelopmentforrelevantstaff Establishclearreportingofourplanwithtimelyupdates AchieveNetZeroby2050
Tofullycaptureacarbonfootprint,theGreenhouseGas(GHG)Protocolhassplitemissions upinto3scopes:
Emissionsarearecordofthegreenhousegasesthathavebeenproducedinthepastand wereproducedpriortotheintroductionofanystrategiestoreduceemissions.Baseline emissionsarethereferencepointagainstwhichemissionsreductioncanbemeasured. WhenidentifyingThinkEmployment’sEmissionFootprint,thefollowingwasconsidered:
Source:brcorguk
3.Targets
BaselineYear:2021
AdditionalDetailsrelatingtotheBaselineEmissionscalculations
Allofficesareinleasedbuildingswiththereforelimitedscopetoinfluencetheresourceefficiencyofthepremises,althoughresourceuseisnotconsideredtobe significant Pre-Covid,trainersandskillscoachesweretravellingtodelivertrainingandmeetwithapprentices,butthepandemichasresultedinThinkEmployment utilisingvirtuallearningprogrammes,andsignificantlyreducingbusinesstravel,andinturnairandcarbonemissions Weanticipatethatinthefuturetherewillbea hybridapproachtodeliveringcourses,meaningemissionswillremainbelowpre-Covidlevels Althoughminimisingthecompany’senvironmentalfootprintissomething thatmanagementaremindfulof,andalignswiththecompany’svalues,itissomethingthatiscurrentlyunder-developedintermsofformalmanagement,monitoringand reporting Therearelimiteddirectemissionsandwastegenerationsfromoperations Themainwastestreamsgeneratedaregeneralofficewaste,electronicsandused/ outofdatetrainingmaterials Themovetovirtuallearningroomshasledtoareductioninphysicaltrainingmaterials Areviewofoptionstofurtherdigitalisematerials wouldpresentanopportunitytominimiseresourceuseandthereforewaste,aswellastoreducecosts Wedorecognisethatrunningawebsiteresultsintheaverageof 10,000viewspermonthresultinginapossible800kgsofcarbonperyear
Baselineyearemissions:
CurrentEmissionsReporting
*Thecurrentemissionreportingishigherthanpreviouslyduetotheliftofcovidrestrictionsandcentres beingopentostaff,ThinkEmploymentreportsannuallyinJulyontargets Weexpectemissionstorise slightlyduetolearnersattendingcentresbutour2050planwillremainineffect.
Emissionsreductiontargets
InordertocontinueourprogresstoachievingNetZero,wehaveadoptedthefollowingcarbonreduction targets.
Reduceabsolutecarbon,travel,energyemissionsby5%eachyearonaverage.
Weprojectthatcarbonemissionswilldecreaseoverthenextfiveyearsto18.23tCO2eby2026.Thisisa reductionagainstthesetargetscanbeseeninthegraphbelow:
ThinkEmploymenthavecommittedtosignuptoSBTImeasuresbyAugust2023toaccuratelyset targets Thefollowingenvironmentalmanagementmeasuresandprojectshavebeenimplemented sincethe2020baseline Inthefuturewehopetoimplementfurthermeasuressuchas:
Furtherchangesinemployeecontractstorepresentmoreflexibilityandpromotionofhybrid workingtosupportreductioninthelevelofscope3emissions.
Reinstatingthecarshareschemetoreducethenumberofcarsvisitingoffices. Introduceacycletoworkscheme.
Movingtoapaperlessorganisationbylimitingtheuseofprinters/photocopiers. Encouragementofstafftousepublictransportwhenvisitingoffices. EducateourstaffandlearnerswithmeaningfulCPDinsustainabilityandthereductionof individualscarbonfootprint.
DeclarationandSignOff
ThisCarbonReductionPlanhasbeencompletedinaccordancewithPPN06/21andassociated guidanceandreportingstandardforCarbonReductionPlans.Emissionshavebeenreportedand recordedinaccordancewiththepublishedreportingstandardforCarbonReductionPlansandtheGHG ReportingProtocolcorporatestandard13andusestheappropriateGovernmentemissionconversion factorsforgreenhousegascompanyreporting14.
Scope1andScope2emissionshavebeenreportedbySECRrequirements,andtherequiredsubsetof Scope3emissionshavebeenreportedinaccordancewiththepublishedreportingstandardforCarbon ReductionPlansandtheCorporateValueChain(Scope3)Standard15.
ThisCarbonReductionPlanhasbeenreviewedandsignedoffbyourdirectorandtheboardof Governance.
4.Reviewofthepolicy
ASeniorManagerwillreviewthispolicyannuallyormorefrequentlywherethereare significantchangesincircumstances.
To be disseminated to: All Staff
Authorised by:
Director – Mr Richard Hallam
Board of Governors Chair - Jerry Woolner
Head of IT & Facilities - Julia Hewitt
Amendments:
Jan 2020 – Policy released
July 2021 – Data updated
Feb 2022 – Progress checked against targets
June 2022 – IT / Facilities Manager updated to Head of IT & Facilities
July 2022 – Updated figures
Feb 2022 – Updated figures
July 2023 – Updated figures
Feb 2024 - Updated figures
July 2024 - Updated figures"addition of shared workspaces / hot desk", " green QR code business cards"
