To keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C, as called for in the Paris Agreement – emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
Many businesses are already making great strides to reduce their Impact, and while you can reduce, achieving true carbon neutrality will involve offsetting a certain amount of emissions.
Treeconomy are one of the few companies in the UK that offer credible carbon credits. Backed by principles of PAS 2060 (Carbon Neutrality), they seek to break the greenwashing cycle.
Mel is joined by Harry Grocott, CEO and Co-founder of Treeconomy, to discuss their credible carbon offsetting schemes and the innovative technology they use to help quantify the value of nature.
You’ll learn
- Who are Treeconomy?
- What is the difference between services offered for landowners and Offset buyers?
- Can you quantify the value of nature?
- How can people be sure that they don’t fall prey to Greenwashing?
- How can someone go about buying and monitoring offsetting credits?
- Are Treeconomy’s carbon offsetting schemes verified?
Resources
In this episode, we talk about:
[00:30] Catch up our episodes covering the Sustainable Development Goals (Part 1 / Part 2), ISO 14064 and PAS 2060.
[01:00] Treeconomy are a company that offer credible carbon offsetting schemes – they are one of the few companies who are recognised by PAS 2060 (the Standard for Carbon Neutrality)
[02:05] Harry Grocott (CEO) introduces Treeconomy – A nature based, carbon removal and restoration company that operate in the UK and Internationally. They offer schemes that work towards afforestation, peatland restoration, rewilding ect. They are also keen to enable evidencing the impact, developing a software platform, remote sensing, and AI technology to do so.
[03:41] They are part of the Centre for climate change innovation which is an initiative of Imperial College London and the Royal Institution to catalyse innovation of all forms that address the causes and effects of climate change.
[04:22] What is the difference in services for Landowners and Offset Buyers? For landowners, Treeconomy can help you change land use from one to another. I.e changing land used for sheep grazing into something more carbon intensive. Treeconomy will ensure that any project started with them is a verified Carbon Scheme – in-line with the woodland carbon code. Once your project set up has been completed and verified, Treeconomy will assist in the sale of credible carbon credits.
[07:22] For offset buyers: Treeconomy offer a wide range of projects and varyingly priced carbon credits.
[07:45] Can we quantify the value of nature? Short answer right now is no, but there is a lot of nuance. Nature offers ecosystem services i.e. farms offer a calorific benefit, we can put a price on the value that offers. The same principle applies to resources such as wood or oil. Now we are gaining the ability to quantify CO2 removal, which is undeniably valuable to humanity.
[09:18] Other more recent services such as biodiversity projects are a bit harder to quantify – as they vary so much depending on the country. However, we are starting to assign value to these.
[12:15] How can people be sure that they don’t fall prey to Greenwashing? There are 2 main issues to consider: 1) Are your carbon credits credible? 2) what claims are top management making?
[12:44] Tackling claims made by leadership: ISO standards are starting to solve this issue. There are clear requirements and certifications that need to be in place to back those claims.
[13:00] Tackling carbon credits: The carbon offsetting market is heavily unregulated currently. Essentially it’s a lot of people trading in invisible gas. There are a number of carbon standards (Not quite at the same level as ISO Standards), such as the Woodland Carbon Code and the Peatland Code, and Internationally there are standards such as Verra VSC – unfortunately, a lot of these standards aren’t very robust and aren’t enforced.
[15:30] Many companies will often look to buy the cheapest offsets available, which are likely to be non-credible and will provide no evidence of actual offsetting occurring. But, there are a lot of new companies emerging that provide tangible evidence of offsetting (such as Treeconomy 😊)
[18:30] How can someone go about buying and monitoring offsetting credits? If you don’t want to use a company like Treeconomy, you would need to directly contact and purchase credits from a company who is developing a project.
[19:23] Treeconomy have created a platform called Sherwood – this displays all the projects they are helping to develop, which also tells you who the landowners are and the carbon inventory attached to each project. It can also help you evidence credits purchased, whether they are historic or future carbon removal.
[21:30] Not many companies offer comprehensive reporting and evidencing of carbon credits in practice. Treeconomy use a range of methods such as drones, satellites and AI programs to report back, and aim to make getting this information as easy as possible for credit purchasers.
[23:20] How did Harry get into this business? Starting off studying geography and Science – he later went onto work in finance for 3 years and qualified as a finance adviser. While working he realised that the amount of money available is rarely the issue, rather the use of it. He saw that there was a large gap in funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation – but not enough money was going towards it. He began wondering why more couldn’t be invested and so decided to study climate change management and finance (partly though Covid), where he met his co-founder. After getting some Government grant funding, investors and landowner partners, they have flourished over the last 3 years.
[27:00] Are Treeconomy’s offsetting schemes verified? Yes – they work under the UK woodland carbon code (and soon the peatland carbon code). They are also working to create a new protocol to tackle rewilding, including how the value and progress can be tracked. Internationally they will be working under Verra.
[29:05] Treeconomy can help to provide detailed evidence of carbon offsetting thanks to their reporting capabilities, this can be passed onto 3rd party auditors to verify in-line with any carbon Standard.
[30:00] You can find Treeconomy via their website, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram 😊
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This episode is the final part of our 7-part mini-series explaining our Carbonology service, a 7 step methodology to help companies become Carbon Neutral.
This time, our resident Carbonologist David Algar is talking through the seventh step of the Carbonology process, ‘Declare’.
David explains the purpose of a formal declaration, different ways companies can make their declaration, and the different ways you can promote your achievement of carbon neutrality.
You’ll learn
- The purpose of a formal declaration.
- The key outcomes of the ‘Declare’ step.
- The different ways you can make a declaration.
- The pros and cons of doing your declaration internally.
- How long your declaration is valid for.
- Ways to promote achieving carbon neutrality.
Resources
In this episode, we talk about:
[01:56] A recap of the 7 steps to carbonology.
[04:02] The purpose of having a formal declaration.
[04:57] What the formal declaration involves.
[06:55] Different ways to make a declaration and which one’s most popular.
[08:31] How long your declaration is valid for.
[09:20] The importance of having an unambiguous declaration.
[10:07] The key outcomes and deliverables of the ‘Declare’ step.
[10:43] How publicised your Qualifying Explanatory Statement should be.
[11:27] Ways to promote achieving carbon neutrality.
[13:42] What companies tend to do after achieving carbon neutrality.
[14:23] Why it’s easier making a declaration in the second year.
[15:15] How to find out more information about the 7 step methodology.
[16:02] The importance of data.
If you need assistance with implementing ISO 14064, PAS 2060, or another standard – Contact us!
Don’t forget to download your free ‘Getting Started with Carbonology’ Checklist here:
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- Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
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This episode is Part 5 of our 7-part mini-series explaining our Carbonology service, a 7 step methodology to help companies become Carbon Neutral.
This time, our resident Carbonologist David Algar is talking through the fifth step of the Carbonology process, ‘Re-quantify’.
David explains why it’s important to recalculate your emissions after measures have been put in place from the Reduce stage, what to do if you’re not hitting your targets, and how the ‘Re-quantification’ stage can help your public image.
You’ll learn
- What ‘Re-quantification’ is.
- Why ‘Re-quantification’ is so important.
- Ways to identify how specific areas of your business have performed.
- What to do if you’re not hitting targets.
- How to follow a carbon reduction plan while in a state of growth.
- How the ‘Re-quantification’ stage can help your public image.
Resources
In this episode, we talk about:
[01:05] The seven steps of carbonology.
[01:32] Why it’s so important to ‘re-quantify’.
[02:31] The real purpose of the ‘re-quantification’ stage.
[05:16] How to feel if you’re not hitting your targets.
[05:50] The importance of consistency, accuracy, and transparency in ISO 14064 and PAS 2060.
[07:20] How to follow a carbon reduction plan while in a state of growth.
[08:34] The key outcomes and deliverables in your ‘Re-quantification’ stage.
[09:30] Our free carbon neutral checklist.
Download your free Carbonology Checklist here:
If you need assistance with implementing ISO 14064, PAS 2060, or another standard – Contact us!
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- Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
- Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.
Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes:
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This episode is Part 4 of our 7-part mini-series explaining our Carbonology service, a 7 step methodology to help companies become Carbon Neutral.
This time, our resident Carbonologist David Algar is talking through the fourth step of the Carbonology process, ‘Reduce’.
David explains how we can put our Carbon Reduction Plan into action so we can see clear tangible results in our reductions, and the benefits this brings to organisations and their employees.
You’ll learn
- How the ‘Reduce’ phase in the Carbonology process works.
- How to monitor how successful your initiatives are.
- The importance of communicating your reduction plan to your staff.
- How to get your staff excited about your carbon reduction plan.
- The value of externally communicating your commitment to carbon reduction.
- How having a sustainability group can help your business.
Resources
In this episode, we talk about:
[03:05] The ‘reduce’ phase of the Carbonology process.
[04:36] The need to make your staff aware of your carbon reduction plan.
[05:13] How to best manage communications with staff around carbon reductions.
[06:36] How a carbon reduction plan can be beneficial for an organisation and their staff.
[07:26] How to best monitor the success of your initiatives and the benefits this has.
[11:11] The benefits of reducing your carbon footprint rather than offsetting it.
If you need assistance with implementing ISO 14064, PAS 2060, or another standard – Contact us!
We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:
- Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
- Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.
Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes:
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This episode is Part 3 of our 7-part mini-series explaining our Carbonology service, a 7 step methodology to help companies become Carbon Neutral.
Our resident Carbonologist David Algar is back to talk through the third step of the Carbonology process, Commitment.
David explains how organisations can identify the type of targets to put in place, the importance of having a launch and communications plan, and shares some popular ways organisations can reduce their carbon emissions.
You’ll learn
- How organisations can set targets for their Carbon Neutrality.
- Why it’s important to make a formal commitment.
- Popular ways organisations reduce their carbon emissions.
- The benefits of changing your vehicles from diesel to electric.
- Some of the incentives to achieve emission reductions.
- The importance of having your staff involved with your plan.
Resources
In this episode, we talk about:
[02:19] How to begin the commitment stage of Carbonology.
[04:00] Why organisations need a plan to achieve PAS 2060.
[05:27] Popular ways organisations can reduce their carbon emissions.
[06:40] The approach you need to take when setting targets.
[09:30] Typical targets organisations can put in place.
[11:31] The importance of having a launch and communications plan.
[12:06] The typical outcomes and deliverables organisations will be provided.
[13:31] The expectation of businesses to have a carbon footprint management plan.
[14:19] The importance of having your staff involved with your plan.
If you need assistance with implementing ISO 14064, PAS 2060, or another standard – Contact us!
We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:
- Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
- Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.
Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes:
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This episode is the first of our 7-part mini-series explaining our Carbonology service, a 7 step methodology to help companies become Carbon Neutral.
We’re joined by our resident Carbonologist David Algar to talk through the first step of the Carbonology process, Define.
David explains why the define stage is so important, what it entails, and how it works.
You’ll learn
- The seven steps in Carbonology.
- The importance of defining your carbon output.
- How to get a better understanding of your emissions.
- The recommended approach to define the subject and boundaries.
- How to write the introduction for your QES.
- How to become carbon neutral.
Resources
In this episode, we talk about:
[02:38] What the seven steps of Carbonology are.
[03:08] The first step to becoming carbon neutral.
[03:52] How the define stage in Carbonology works.
[04:42] What Carbonology boundaries in an organisation may look like.
[06:20] The importance of identifying the people involved with Carbonology work.
[07:00] The type of people that are normally involved with managing the Carbonology standards in a business.
[08:25] How organisations can determine the selection of the subject.
[09:49] Why it’s important to clearly define the subject and your boundaries.
[10:33] The recommended approach to define the subject and boundaries.
[12:17] The outcomes and deliverables that are provided through the define stage.
[13:35] Who the Qualifying Explanatory Statement has to be shared with.
If you need assistance with implementing ISO 14064, PAS 2060, or another standard – Contact us!
David Algar is also available for a free Carbonology consultation until the end of March – Book your slot Here
We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:
- Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
- Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.
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Today, we’re joined by our resident Carbonologist David Algar who shares with us everything he knows about the Carbon Neutrality Standard PAS 2060.
Customers are demanding more environmentally friendly products and services, and to remain competitive organizations need to reduce their emissions and improve their environmental records.
Having a sustainability roadmap is critical to both government and industry now and in the future.
When implementing effective climate change mitigation measures the ability to differentiate between real and false claims of carbon neutrality is absolutely critical.
If you’re looking for a credible roadmap for your sustainability journey PAS 2060 can help you cut through the cynicism and doubt and maintain trust in your ethics to manage and reduce your greenhouse gas emissions.
You’ll learn
- How to make a positive impact on the environment.
- Why a company can never be net carbon zero.
- What PAS 2060 consists of and how it helps businesses quantify and reduce emissions.
- How to build credibility and confidence with your shareholders.
- What Carbonology is and how it can help businesses become carbon neutral.
- Why it’s so important to quantify your emissions before reducing them.
Resources
In this episode, we talk about:
[02:13] What PAS 2060 is and how it assists companies to become carbon neutral.
[2:55] The difference between being ‘net carbon zero’ and ‘carbon neutrality’.
[3:48] The importance of quantifying and reducing your emissions.
[4:18] What carbon offsetting is and how it works.
[6:54] The main benefits for a business in adopting PAS 2060.
[7:46] What a carbon footprint management plan is and how it can help save money.
[8:50] The benefits of validating your carbon neutrality.
[10:20] How Carbonology can help businesses become carbon neutral.
If you need assistance with implementing PAS 2060 – Contact us!
We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:
- Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
- Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.
Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes:
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Seacourt is the highest scoring B Corp printing company on the planet, they believe in business as a force for good for society.
Fun facts: Seacourt is the winner of the Queens award for sustainable development. They’ve won this three times! In 2017, they were also crowned Europe’s most sustainable SME! No wonder they are recognised as one of the top three leading environmental printers in the world!
Seacourt Managing Director, Gareth Dinnage, joined us for an interview to tell us about Seacourt’s journey and its initiatives. Gareth has been part of Seacourt’s sustainability journey from the very start. He started his journey first as apprentice and then heading up to Sales and Marketing and finally owner and Managing Director.
You’ll learn about:
- Seacourt’s sustainability journey
- Environmental management as a guiding principle for Seacourt and their contributions to the environment
- Seacourt’s journey to understanding their carbon footprint
- Significance of being Net Carbon Zero
- B Corp
- How ISO 9001 and 14001 helps Seacourt run their business
- Understanding your supply chain
Let’s start right back at the beginning of Seacourt’s journey!
Where did Seacourt begin and where did its sustainability journey begin?
Seacourt started in 1946! They were set up as a commercial printing company in Oxford, working with local businesses. Not much changed for them until the mid-90s, when the owners at the time had the good fortune to attend a seminar focused on sustainability.
We know what you must be thinking, whoever put together this seminar must have had incredible foresight, to have looked into commercial impacts and sustainability!
The owners realised that the printing industry is among the fifth largest manufacturing sectors in the UK since 1996…
And that it’s also the fourth worst polluter!
That’s when they decided that they don’t want to be part of the problem, but a part of the solution. This thought marks the moment of a change of goals and priorities for Seacourt. From this point in 1996, the business changed from a linear business model, focusing on outputs, to becoming a value-based business, to considering the impacts on the environment and society, as well as profits.
This marked the magic transformation of Seacourt!
For the last 25 years, their philosophy has been “will this improve the environmental performance of our business. If the answer is “yes!”, then they do it regardless of the financial cost. So, without this fundamental change in mindset, Seacourt would not have been where it is today.
Guiding principle for Seacourt
Environmental management has been a guiding principle for Seacourt for the past 25 years. It’s fundamental and core to the company.
Currently:
- Seacourt runs on 100% renewal energy (and have done so for decades)
- They invented their own printing process called ‘LightTouch’. This has saved them gallons of fresh litres of water
- Seacourt no longer uses water or chemicals in their printing process!
- They have been zero waste to landfill for over a decade.
- They are carbon positive -and that’s scope 1,2 and 3! What this means, for those of you that aren’t familiar with this concept, is that Seacourt sees their impact in every element that they as a business effect. This includes their supply chain, so as a printing industry, they take their impact all the way back to forestry they use for their natural resources. They consider how trees are transported to the papermill, how papermills are run, the energy this it is run on and much more!
- They consider the end-of-life process by producing a natural material that has a massive recycling rate.
So, when you wrap all of this up in its entirety, Seacourt has created a concept called Planet Positive Thinking -which means that they give back more carbon into the atmosphere than they are responsible for consuming.
Seacourt’s journey to understanding their carbon footprint
A lot of businesses are new to the concept of Net Carbon Zero. So, let’s find out how Seacourt went about understanding what their carbon footprint was.
Seacourt does this by unravelling their entire supply chain and ask challenging questions to their supply chain, such as how they power their plants, what is the carbon impact per tonne of paper they are using, how they transport their materials from the forest and much more never before asked questions! They used the amount of paper they have purchased over a 12-month period and worked with their suppliers to get an accurate carbon impact figure. They created their own methodology and matrix, using the same process to identify the carbon impact figure that they used for their paper, for other areas in their operations, for example their ink.
By this point, Seacourt knew their carbon impact holistically for a 12-month period and sought to work on a regenerative project in the Amazonian basin. In this project, Seacourt safeguards 86,000 hectares of endangered forestry and are reforesting 12,000 hectares of deforested lands. They also have a social element where they support a programme with indigenous people. So, this is how Seacourt maintains their Planet Positive Thinking element, as they give back more than they consume in everything they have an impact on.
Significance of being Net carbon zero
Of course, we are conscious of the fact that we are in a lockdown where many businesses are struggling financially. So, this is for those of you thinking “is it going to be really costly for me to be Net Carbon Zero or Carbon positive?”. Gareth emphases the need to understand the impact of sustainability, to have a strategic plan and an idea of what goal you want to reach and how you will achieve it. Otherwise, your business will get left behind! Other business will pick up this leadership agenda and show exactly what business can do. Gareth identifies these businesses as the ones to be the most successful. This is already evident among investors refusing to work with fossil fuel-based business. That’s why business need to act responsibly to stay ahead of the game!
How management systems help Seacourt run their business
Seacourt has been certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 for years. These management tool helps Seacourt set the business up to the highest standards and ensure continual improvement. The quality environmental management system provides a framework for delivering sustainable best practice.
B Corp
Now let’s move on to talk about B Corp!
B Corp is the global movement that aligns businesses who share the same philosophy, which is that businesses can and should be a force for good. Certified B Corps meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. The unifying goal of B Corps is that the main driver is stakeholder value, not shareholder value.
Understanding your supply chain
For those of you who have not yet looked into their supply chain, Gareth recommends:
- Observing and controlling your building in terms of energy efficiency (make sure its insulated and you use renewable power)
- Then send out supplier surveys to find out what your suppliers are doing or working on that you are not aware of
- Then look at your key supply chain and identify if you can start mapping the carbon impact.
These steps would give you key findings and insights that you can use in your goals and strategy.
Contact details for Gareth, if you have any enquires or would simply like to connect with him, get in contact using one of the ways below:
Website URL : www.seacourt.net
Twitter handle: @seacourtltd
LinkedIn handle: Garethdinnage
We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:
- Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
- Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.
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