Rising global temperatures has seen an increase in extreme weather and more frequent weather events globally. The UK government has a target to reduce emissions and achieve ‘net zero’ by 2050, in 2019 this was made a law. Greenham wants to support this as best we can by driving down emissions, offsetting what we can’t yet change and seeking innovation and opportunities to drive change through our supply chain. We are 23.3% more carbon efficient than 2019 and will continue working towards being increasingly carbon efficient.

What is Carbon Offsetting?

Carbon offsetting is compensating for Green House Gas emissions that arise from an organisation product or project in one place through greenhouse gas avoidance, reduction, or removal activities elsewhere. This is achieved by investing in projects that will lead to lower carbon emissions overall when compared to a business-as-usual situation that would not have otherwise happened without investment. At Greenham we take responsibility for our emissions and by taking action, we are helping to protect our economy, securing our supply chain and promoting the well-being of the global community.

Ways we are reducing our emissions

Further to Carbon Offsetting, at Greenham we are reducing our fuel consumption, since 2019 our diesel consumption has reduced by 16.9% and with introducing electric vehicles into our delivery fleet this will only decrease even further. We also use Verizon Connect route planning systems in our delivery vehicles which supports efficient delivery and encourages our drivers to adapt to more sustainable driving behaviour. We are not only reducing our energy consumption in our deliveries but also in our warehouse, by the end of 2023, 52% of our warehouses will have LED lighting installed.

At Greenham, we are constantly coming up with innovative ideas to reduce our impact on the environment, some examples of this are:

  • Reducing packaging across our core workwear range, including removing single use plastics
  • We launched our new Product Recycling service in 2022
  • Trialling plastic-free alternatives to pallet wrap for outbound deliveries

Carbon Offsetting Your Business

By calculating the carbon emissions of our operations, we know how many kg of CO2 are emitted per delivery. Because we know how many deliveries we make to your business, we can show you the carbon footprint related to your deliveries and work together to change ordering patterns to help reduce emissions. Our long-term goals are to reduce our Scope 1 & 2 emissions and account for business areas difficult to decarbonise, which is why carbon offsetting is currently the best solution, which in turn will reduce your Scope 3 emissions.

Through verified offsetting schemes, we can carbon offset 100% of the emissions associated with getting your deliveries from our Service Centres to your sites.  We can provide you with quarterly emissions reports showing you the impact of offsetting and even provide you with a certificate stating the amount of offsetting that we have done on your behalf, so you can display it internally.

Our Carbon Offsetting Schemes

We are partnering with Carbon Footprint to offset through a UK Tree Planting scheme buddied with Verizon Carbon Standard Forest protection programmes in Brazil.

The trees are planted by schools and local authorities, then plotted on a map where you can find ones near you. The tree buddying scheme in the UK plants one native broad leaf tree in the UK per tonne of CO2e offset and coordinates the trees planted within 11 mainland UK regions. These trees provide wildlife habitats and enhance the natural landscape as well as educating children about the importance of the environment and conservation. Trees also sequester (i.e., absorb) the atmospheric carbon as part of the process of photosynthesis, which enables them to grow. Through this process, carbon dioxide is converted into stored carbon, and this is why trees are sometimes referred to as ‘carbon sinks’. By taking this carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, trees clean the air, and offset our polluting lifestyles.

The programme in Brazil helps to reduce deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and educate local people of the value of keeping the forest standing. This also helps the long-term protection of the area against land grabbers and increases opportunities for local people. For example, having an organisation of forest fire brigades and the feasibility study to set up a small plant for processing non-wood products and organising a technical forestry school.

How You Can Get Involved

We are now able to offer our customers the opportunity to participate in Carbon Offset, to offset the emissions associated with their deliveries through verified schemes in partnership with Carbon Footprint. This makes the deliveries from our branches to their sites carbon neutral to improve the efficiency of our service and support our customers’ sustainability strategies. Using Carbon Forecast, we can apportion our Scope 1 and 2 emissions to participating customers and project the impact of working together on reducing our carbon emissions. 

We already work with customers to encourage placing fewer large orders, rather than lots of small orders, which helps to reduce the emissions associated with fulfilling those orders from our branches and our fleet. However, Carbon Offset enables us to improve our operational efficiency, reducing our Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and account for emissions we are currently unable to remove by conditionally offsetting customer delivery emissions following a commitment to create smart ordering profiles and require fewer deliveries. 

Once a target has been agreed, we will work with you to achieve the carbon emissions reduction and offset the reduced amount on your behalf. This enables you to share your commitment to achieving your sustainability goals with your customers.

Resources

https://learn.supplychainschool.co.uk/local/tlactionplans/resource_intro.php?id=8626&modtype=page