Introduction by Matt Hersey, Carbon Strategy and Economic Manager
We’re committed to playing our part to tackle the causes of climate change and transitioning to low-carbon operations. Achieving net zero by 2030 is part of our wider plan to improve the sustainability of our business and supply chain.
We are continuing to work with vehicle manufacturers to source and trial the latest electric vehicle (EV) technologies while also testing home charging options for our operational fleet vehicles. We need to find the best solutions for the operational requirements of our business. There is a careful balance to be achieved between the environmental necessity of switching to electric vehicles and the operational practicalities of being able to provide a responsive service 24/7. Technology is moving fast so we are confident solutions will soon be available to these industry-wide issues. Our transport fleet is responsible for nine per cent of our company’s carbon but less than half comes from our own company-owned vehicles. We’re therefore also working with our contractors to ensure they share our decarbonisation ambitions while accelerating our phased investment in electric vehicles.
We now have 12 company locations with a total of 36 EV charging sockets and at our Snodland offices, we plan to increase both the number of charging points over the next year as well as a power capacity upgrade to cope with the additional charging points.
To supplement grid energy, activity is also continuing to explore options to install renewable solar energy on our own sites and on nearby land and we are currently looking at around 20 possible sites where we hope to introduce solar power before 2030. We’re also keen to work with local community action groups on investing together in solar projects and sharing the benefits. In addition to solar energy, we hope to integrate battery storage technology into our plans to give us more flexibility to store surplus energy from renewable sources and use it when it’s most needed, and when the sun’s not shining. Battery storage will also improve site resilience, reducing the risk of impact on customers during power outages and, therefore, the need for diesel generators.
Reducing the amount of plastic used within our operation is important to us and we’re working with our supply chain and key suppliers to reduce the amount used. We are committed to using delivery methods and packaging that are more sustainable, such as recyclable cardboard and reusable wooden crates rather than single use shrink-wrap plastic.
Our key measures
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Support the tap water refill campaign to reduce plastic bottled water (responsible business)
- Natural capital accounting (responsible business)
- Renewable energy measures (responsible business)
