Hermes, JLL, and Carbon Credentials collaborate to bring RESET Shell and Core to Europe on Regent St

/in , , , , , /by

33 Glasshouse St, the office space above 100 Regent Street, has become the first Certified RESET™ Air – Core & Shell project in Europe and the third in the world. The project is a collaboration with Hermes Investment Management, JLL, and Carbon Credentials, to certify the ongoing indoor air quality to an international standard.

Background

33 Glasshouse St consists of office space above 100 Regent Street, on the north side of John Nash’s iconic curve, just north of Piccadilly Circus. The buildings underwent a major refurbishment in 2015-16 redeveloping the entire office core, including new central plant. The offices notably sit above an area of continuous high traffic density in a zone which is often perceived as having an elevated level of local pollution. This made the site an ideal location to pilot RESET as an engagement tool with building occupiers.

How it works

RESET™ Air – Core & Shell tracks and communicates the health performance of buildings using real-time data monitoring. This helps owners attract better tenants, maintain asset value, and reduce the potential liability associated with underperforming buildings.

“This certification demonstrates Hermes’ holistic approach to active property management where the ongoing monitoring ensures a quality environment for our occupiers. We are proud to lead the market in being the first in Europe to be able to use this certification to demonstrate our commitment to wellbeing.”

Chris Taylor, Head of Private Markets, Hermes Investment Management

RESET ensures that the air provided by the central plant to occupiers of the site meets high performance standards. It does this by monitoring and reporting levels of particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon dioxide (CO2), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the outdoor air and comparing these to the supply air from the central plant, ensuring they are at a sufficient level as to not affect human health and wellbeing or potentially productivity.


 Chart: Particulates data from the November RESET Data Audit report. Sitting above Regent Street particulates were an area of interest when the project was first undertaken.

Sitting above Regent Street, particulates were an area of interest when the project was first undertaken.

To maintain RESET Air Core and Shell, the air is actively monitored with samples taken every 15 minutes. This data is analysed by Carbon Credentials’ ADAPt data platform with alarms sent if any issues are detected so that facilities managers can respond quickly.

“RESET offers us is the ability not just to demonstrate that we are undertaking air quality monitoring, but to benchmark the quality level it is sustained at. While much of the market may audit air quality, far fewer will be able to show compliance with benchmarks. This is a really exciting initiative and we are delighted to have achieved this.”

Tim Hutchen, Director – Property & Asset Management, JLL

What RESET means for Hermes Investment Management

RESET Air Core and Shell works in conjunction with Carbon Credentials’ Collaborative Asset Performance Programme (CAPP) where settings and controls in the Building Management System (BMS) are actively monitored, making this landmark office space one of the smartest buildings in London.

RESET certification has been prescribed as Best Practice in Hermes Investment Management’s “Development and Refurbishment Sustainability requirements” since 2016. It is a part of a wider programme of innovative but practical health and wellbeing collaborations within the portfolio, including a programme with JLL and Carbon Credentials using wellbeing programmes to increase occupier engagement at four other multi-tenanted sites.

“Indoor Air Quality is a complicated issue in buildings and it can be challenging to provide excellent conditions for occupants. RESET provides active monitoring of the performance of indoor air quality and verifying to best practice, making sure that tenant areas are healthy spaces. In commissioning the first RESET Air Core and Shell project in Europe, Hermes Investment Management continues to demonstrate pragmatic leadership in sustainability in commercial real estate. We are proud to be able to support this project and collaborate with JLL to achieve this standard.”

Paul Lewis, CEO, Carbon Credentials

With an increasing focus on healthier work environments, RESET provides a certification which is operational and demonstrates quality management in buildings using real-time data on an ongoing basis. For this reason, Carbon Credentials has invested in becoming RESET Cloud compliant with the ability to deliver the sensor and communications hardware, performance analytics, public dashboards and engagement services to make indoor air quality and wellbeing a successful part of our data enabled building performance programmes.

For more information about how we can provide wellbeing services including active indoor air quality monitoring in line with the RESET standard with a route to certification, please contact info@carboncredentials.com.

For more information about the reset standard, please see the RESET website: https://reset.build.

New Reports on Climate Impacts: RE100 and the business case for making change

/in , , , , , /by

November has been a busy month for climate reports. From the Fourth National Climate Assessment to The Met Office releasing their 2018 Climate Projections  with heavy emphasis on the impacts of climate change on our health and economy.

It is inspiring to see that companies are making strides to reduce emissions in order to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon future. In a report released this month by The Climate Group, the progress of the RE100 campaign’s 155 global member companies is documented. Collectively, these companies are creating demand for 188 TWh of renewable power per year – equivalent to the 23rd largest country electricity consumption in the world.

What is RE100?

RE100 is led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP and brings together influential businesses committed to 100% renewable power. The RE100 commitment is for a company to use 100% renewable energy across its global electricity supply. RE100 members believe that sourcing 100% renewables future-proofs their business operations and lowers risk. By joining RE100, companies are sending a strong signal to policy makers and regulators that easy access to renewable energy is a competitive advantage in a globalized economy.

Why commit to RE100?

There are many reasons why committing to RE100 can benefit your business. Committing to RE100 will allow your business to:

  • Meet your emission reduction goals
  • Reduce your exposure to energy price volatility
  • Enhance your reputation by demonstrating leadership
  • Benefit from the correlation between RE100 committed companies and achieving above average financial performance

A Capgemini report found RE100 members consistently perform better than their peers on two key financial performance indicators: net profit margin and EBIT margin (Earnings Before Interests and Taxes). The difference is significant, ranging from 0.3 to 7.7 percentage points (excluding outliers).

The benefits of the campaign expand beyond individual companies. Bloomberg estimates that leading businesses are providing a new source of finance to drive demand for renewable energy around the world. To reach their 100% goals, approximately $94Billlion in renewable energy investments will be required, adding up to 100 gigawatts of wind and solar energy to the grid.

This fourth edition of the RE100 annual report shows the increased use of renewable energy, and expansion of the campaign in global market.  According to the report, the average target year for RE100 members to become 100% renewable is 2026, and more than 3/4 companies aim to get there by 2030. Nearly a quarter of the total membership (37 of 155 companies) sourced over 95% of their electricity from renewables in 2017, and almost half of the 155 RE100 members achieved above 50% of energy form renewable sources. This means that RE100 members are far ahead of the global average of 26.5% and ahead of leading countries such as Spain (33.7%) or the UK (26%).

Who is committed?

Globally RE100 has 155 members from a variety of sectors. Members include Fortune 100s and household names like Apple, Google, Ikea, Unilever, and ABInBev.

More than 20 companies sourced all their electricity from renewable sources in 2017. Six new companies reached their 100% target including Amalgamated Bank, Capital One, Google, Gurmen Group, Jupiter Asset Management, and Wells Fargo, with Jupiter Asset Management reaching its goal one year ahead of target. Apple also announced having reached its 100% renewable electricity target last year.

For companies committing to ambitious targets, many have set and achieved their interim targets.  Others are seeking support along their journey. Carbon Credentials has worked with a large financial service company supporting them with reporting on their significant economic, environmental and social impacts.  Carbon Credentials also supports The Crown Estate who returns 100% of its annual profits to the Treasury for the benefit of the public finances. It has a target to source 100% renewable electricity by 2022. In their own words:

“Over the past six years The Crown Estate has depended on Carbon Credentials for the reliability of its environmental data. Carbon Credentials’ persistence and willingness to investigate and collaborate with all parties concerned has given us improved quality and accuracy of data.”

Jane Baptist, Impact Reporting Lead, The Crown Estate

What can your business do next?

Businesses are in a powerful position to play a meaningful role in mitigating climate change and we can see that the actions of the private sector and RE100 are very positive harbingers of changes underway.  There are several sourcing options available for companies to begin the RE100 journey including:

  1. Contracting with suppliers (green electricity products)
  2. Buying unbundled energy attribute certificate purchases
  3. Purchasing from on-site installations owned by a supplier
  4. Purchasing from an off-site generator through a direct line and with no grid transfers
  5. Onsite generation where possible.

What can you do now?

Further information is available in the RE100 Technical Criteria and if you are interested in learning more about RE100 and building your own roadmap for emissions reduction, please reach out to Johanna Goetzel, Senior Strategy Consultant, Johanna.goetzel@carboncredentials.com

Environmental Best Practice Award with BNP Paribas Real Estate at the 2018 Green Apple Awards

/in , , , , , /by

The Green Apple Awards began in 1994 and have become established as the country’s major recognition for environmental endeavour across individuals, companies, councils and communities.

We are pleased to announce that Carbon Credentials won the Bronze award for Environmental Best Practice with our project, Pilot Performance, in conjunction with BNP Paribas Real Estate. 

 

Our nomination was for our Collaborative Asset Performance Programme (CAPP) at 100 Wood House and Almack Street, which are both managed by BNP Paribas Real Estate.  Two members of our team, Senior Consultant Energy Engineer Andy Mazzucchelli and Consultant Oliver Light spearheaded the nomination application and our entry competed against more than 800 other nominations in the Green Apple Awards for this category and were presented with our trophy and certificate at a ceremony hosted by Liz Kendall MP at the Houses of Parliament on November 12th, 2018.

Project Background:

The aim of the Pilot Performance Project was to develop a programmatic approach to checking the health of the buildings and optimising their energy and carbon performance. Innovate UK  research found that on ‘average building emissions are 3.8 times higher than design estimate’, a difference known as the Performance Gap.

This process identifies opportunity that typical building management will not be able to identity through existing infrastructure. The implementation of the savings is driven through successful collaboration with the site team, tenants and contractors.

For the pilot BNP Paribas Real Estate identified two sites with older infrastructure, 100 Wood Street and Almack House, and potential to achieve significant energy savings through performance improvements. The CAPP was deployed in November 2017 to reduce energy use, costs and carbon emissions.

Initial identified savings were in excess of £150,000, representing an approximate 20% decrease in gas and electricity usage at the two properties.

The CO2e savings across both buildings is equivalent to emissions from 55 UK households.
To date our rigorous measurement and verification (M&V) process can quantify that over £60,000 has already been achieved.

How Carbon Credentials helped:

  • Improved visibility and control of buildings.
  • Reduced maintenance costs.
  • Improved building comfort – reduced extreme temperatures
  • Engaged with the tenants at Almack house and brought them up to speed with the programme.

The judges commented:  “In a program of improving CHP plant control and contractor awareness, Carbon Credentials have worked with BNP Paribas Real Estate on two sites to try to reduce energy use. The 3 year project has already paid for itself in the first twelve months – achieving savings of over £150,000 and almost 700 tons of CO2.”

We are extremely proud of our partnership with BNP Paribas Real Estate and excited to see what future energy and cost savings will be achieved in the years to come.

How CAPP works:

Carbon Credentials will work in collaboration with site teams including, operations, facilities management and BMS maintenance providers to ensure that goals are achieved and savings are sustainable.

Programme success depends on both the optimisation of technology and the engagement of people, which is why regular engagement is a core part of the process, as detailed below.

Contact us

If you would like to understand more about the Collaborative Asset Performance Programme (CAPP), download our Guide to Bridging the Energy Performance Gap or contact our performance team jamie.oliver@carboncredentials.com

Energy Savings for Christmas

/in , , , , , /by

Let’s face it, office energy consumption isn’t the first thing on your mind over the Christmas break. But with a few easy checks, energy savings can be a gift that keeps on giving!

As we wind down our busy year and leave the office to spend time with family, it’s worth stopping to consider that our unoccupied workplaces may still end up using nearly as much energy as when they’re fully occupied.

Here are some simple, easy checks to ensure your office energy bill gets a well-deserved break over the holidays:

  • BMS holiday mode should be used to hold off central plant and set back schedules and set points. Note that AHU frost protection should still be enabled. Your BMS contractor should be able to assist with this as well as ensure that the BMS has been configured correctly for the holiday period which may include reduced schedules.
  • Whilst you are ensuring that holiday mode is set up, it’s worth reviewing timeclock settings to ensure they still suit current occupancy schedules, and verifying that automatic conversion to daylight savings time has occurred.
  • If optimisers are present, ensure they are set to achieve required temperatures at the beginning of the occupancy period (not earlier).
  • Half-hourly consumption data can provide great insight into a building’s daily load profile. Review the daily profile for any early starts, late stops, or night/weekend load spikes that may indicate unnecessary operation.
  • A quick walk-through to switch off or unplug equipment can be a great way to cut unnecessary load during unoccupied periods. This includes monitors, photocopiers, Christmas lights, task lights, kitchen appliances, power bars, space heaters, AC units… the list goes on! For example, Carbon Credentials has been able to cut our baseload by 63% using this simple walk-through.
  • Take the weight off your shoulders by getting the whole team involved in the walk-through.

This exercise shouldn’t take long and will leave you knowing your building is ready to deliver energy savings over the holiday period and beyond.

Contact us

If you have any queries about how to maximise energy savings in your building please contact a member of our team

jamie.oliver@carboncredentials.com

Pukka Herbs becomes UK’s smallest firm to secure 1.5C Science-Based Target

/in , , , , , /by

Carbon Credentials is thrilled to share that our client Pukka Herbs has become the first UK company of its size, and only the 13th in the UK, to have its emission targets validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

A greenhouse gas emissions target can be considered ‘science-based’ if the emissions reductions it requires are in line with keeping the global temperature increase below 2°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures.

Pukka has committed to ambitious climate targets in line with IPCC recommendations to limit warming to 1.5C. Aiming to be zero carbon by 2030 they join multi-national brands such as Tesco, who we also helped set their SBT and were the 1st UK company set targets in line with 1.5C, Marks and Spencer, and Coca Cola European Partners, showing that it’s not just large companies that can commit to these ambitious targets.

What does setting science-based targets mean for Pukka?

Pukka’s aim has always been to minimise the impact of climate change and protect our people, plants and planet. Pukka has worked with Carbon Credentials to become the first UK company of its size to achieve sign off for its science-based targets and become zero carbon in its buildings and vehicles by 2030.

As 90% of Pukka’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are outside of its control, Pukka needs to address emissions from “crop to cup” across its complex tea supply as well. To do this, Pukka has also committed to reducing Scope 3 emissions in its value chain by 50% by 2050 from a 2017 baseline.

What does Pukka say about this achievement?

Sebastian Pole, co-founder of Pukka Herbs, spoke exclusively to Business Green on its SBTi validation: “We knew we wanted to set a science-based target back in November 2015 ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, COP 21 so we were committing to reductions in line with what climate scientists are telling us needs to happen. Not just what we think is achievable as a business.”

“As the recent IPCC report tells us, there is now a small window of opportunity. Keeping temperature rises to within 1.5 degrees is, quite literally for many, the only way to live. This demands serious commitment and bold action from everyone, no matter what size their business. It is no use waiting for governments to take action, businesses have a responsibility to act as a force for good and now.”

How will Pukka achieve its targets?

As Sebastian Pole understands it, the difficult work doesn’t stop after approval, he told Business Green that “For me it’s a bit like we want to get fit. I’ve bought my shoes and I want to get fit, but I’m not. So training for the first few days is a real nightmare, but I will get will get fit. And that’s what it feels like – we have decided we want SBTs, it’s been really hard working them out and doing it, but we will get there.”

 

With the help of Carbon Credentials, Pukka has mapped out its carbon footprint, breaking down total emissions from ‘crop to cup’. Pukka will achieve its science-based targets through actions ranging from engaging with suppliers to tackling the emissions caused from boiling kettles – which have the greatest impact (49%) in Pukka’s value chain. Its ‘Smart Boiling’ campaign will encourage people to adopt some simple practices to make a ‘Pukka cuppa’.

A quarter of Pukka’s carbon footprint is in the growing of its herbs and making its packaging. To address these emissions, Pukka has:

  •  Inspired other companies in its supply chain to switch to renewable energy.
  •  Employed organic farming methods that reduce emissions and store more carbon in soils.
  • Begun working with its most important herb growers to encourage low carbon farming techniques such as agroforestry which helps to reduce carbon emissions, and help lock more water into the soil which is important in times of future drought.
  • Run pilot carbon reduction projects in collaboration with suppliers and the communities growing its specific herbs.

What does Carbon Credentials say about this achievement?

Our CEO Paul Lewis speaks on behalf of Carbon Credentials –
“We’re incredibly proud of the work with Pukka to develop such an ambitious target that meets the stringent requirements of the SBTi.  Our team helped to build buy-in to the process by demonstrating a clear business case for setting SBTSs, understood analysis to help Pukka understand its carbon hot spots, and developed creative solutions to decouple emissions from growth.”

“We’ve been impressed by the dedication they’ve shown, and I hope this new commitment gives others the courage to follow in their footsteps. Carbon Credentials is focused on measurable impact, so we look forward to working in partnership with Pukka as they transition to a zero-carbon business.”

Contact us

Interested in setting your own SBT? Download our helpful guide!

Or contact our team to learn how! emma.watson@carboncredentials.com

The Decline of Wildlife: Our greatest challenge and opportunity

/in , , , , , /by

In October 2018 the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a report that shocked the nation; the ‘Living Planet Report’.

Since the release of the first edition in 1998, 59 scientists from Zoological Society of London (ZSL), WWF, and other organisations around the world have been monitoring the changes in the populations of thousands of animal species around the world. The report announced a 60% decrease of the size of wildlife populations had taken place globally between 1970 to 2014, and that in the last 50 years wildlife populations have halved. To give an indication of what this population decrease would look like on a human scale would be equivalent to removing the populations of North and South America, Africa, Europe, China and Oceania.

Why is it worth protecting?

Our livelihood and the livelihood of future generations are dependent on wildlife, ecosystems and biodiversity. Modern society is built on nature, it underpins our life-support system from our health and food to our businesses and economic activity. The services delivered by nature are estimated to be worth around 125 Trillion US dollars a year.

What are the human impacts on wildlife, nature and biodiversity?

As a species, humans have made the greatest impact on our planet than any other species due to the rapid increase in human consumption and the consequential rise in demand for energy, land and water. Below is a few examples:

Global Warming: The release of Greenhouse gases (GHGs) most notably carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere is causing an accelerated increase in the planet’s temperature. This is proven to have drastic and dramatic consequences on our habitats and ecosystems. Scientists have highlighted the urgency to keep warming to below 2o as outlined in The Paris Agreement and more recently in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s special report (IPCC SR15), stressing the need to limit warming to 1.5o.

Pollution: Since Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II, the terrifying reality of our plastic pollution hit home. 12 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the sea each year damaging wildlife. Plastic pollution has been detected in all major marine environments worldwide, from shorelines and surface waters to down at the deepest parts of the ocean, including the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Land Use and Degradation: The production of food and energy from terrestrial ecosystems is having a significant negative impact on biodiversity through agricultural intensification, deforestation and excessive use of pesticides and fertilisers.

Impact of Supply Chains: The products we consume can be traced back through the supply chain to have a substantial impact on the natural environment through extraction and manufacturing processes.

Greatest challenge but also our greatest opportunity

Now we have a clear picture of the value and importance of nature and our impact on it, we have the opportunity to make a difference. It will take the right political, financial and consumer choices at every level, from individuals to communities, companies and countries. It is evident that we need to act now, but what is currently being done and what can we focus on?

Clean energy and renewables: Clean growth is at the heart of economy and this year the government held the UKs first ever Green GB week promoting the use of clean energy and renewables. 154 RE100 companies have made a commitment to go 100% renewable. Find out how we have helped support The University of Winchester.

Raising awareness: By running campaigns and events you can help to reduce human impact on the environment. Advocate to stop fossil fuel emissions by 2050, end plastic pollution and support local wildlife by calling on MPs to protect UK nature.

Report your emissions: To fight climate change, we need to reduce the GHG’s we emit into the atmosphere and the waste we dispose of. As a first step businesses should monitor and report on these metrics in order to define targets and implement a strategy. Find out how we support The Crown Estate to manage the collation, aggregation, and analysis of a large set of environmental data streams across its diverse portfolio to provide accurate data for the purpose of compliance, reporting and analysing sustainability performance.

Measure your footprint and set a target: 476 companies have committed to setting a science-based target, a target in line with reducing warming to well below 2 degrees. In May 2017, we helped Tesco to set an ambitious target in line with 1.5 degrees warming.

New Technologies: Emerging technologies such as big data and sophisticated imaging methods are helping to paint a clearer picture of the business supply chain and more and more companies are reporting on their scope 3 emissions. Matching commodities and their supply chains to specific impacts on biodiversity increases transparency and therefore awareness. We help a range of global organisations quantify the emissions across their value chains, identifying priority areas and building strategies to create a positive impact.

Conservation Projects: WWF has more than 3000 projects on the go at any one time. Due to the efforts of these projects tiger numbers are increasing for the first time in over a century, the Irrawaddy dolphin population is rising after decades of decline, and more and more countries in Asia are banning sales of elephant ivory.

What next?

In 2020 panels will be meeting to review progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement and convention on Biological Diversity.

Get in touch to find out how we can help your organisation reduce its environmental impact and create positive change at info@carboncredentials.com.

The Psychology behind Green Behaviours

/in , , , , , /by

Ella Jenkins is a recent master’s graduate in Organisational Psychology from City, University of London. As part of her degree, Ella ran a survey across a random selection of our clients earlier this year. The survey aimed to understand the influence that four specific social and behavioural factors had on whether individuals recycled their waste or not.

Most people are aware of the need to behave sustainably and engage in green behaviours. However, research tells us that there is often a gap between what people do at home and what they do when they come to work.

Environmental psychology has made progress in understanding the factors that influence green behaviours at home, but less is known about green behaviours at work. Given that we spend a large majority of our waking lives at work, I was surprised by the lack of academic research, and keen to find out more.

What I investigated 

I chose to focus on the relative influence personal values, organisational culture and the physical environment have on employee recycling behaviour. I was also interested in whether habits for negative behaviours, such as being in the habit of not recycling act as a barrier to people recycling their waste at work.

I conducted an online survey addressing these factors, and, with help from Carbon Credentials, distributed it to employees working in the leisure, transport and environmental sector.

The survey specifically measured four factors:

  • Employee personal norms: values and feelings related to recycling
  • Work-based social norms: perceptions about the social pressure to recycle
  • Perceived behavioural control: feelings about how easy and accessible recycling is at work
  • Habit strength – to not recycle: the urge to throw all waste in the general waste bin and not separate and recycle it

Individuals were also asked to report how much of their waste they had recycled in the past week.

Key Findings

Personal norms and perceived behavioural control were positively associated with recycling behaviour.

This means that individuals were more likely to recycle if they thought of the behaviour as desirable, morally good, easy and within their control.

Social norms had a much greater effect on recycling when personal norms were weaker.

The effect of social norms suggests that even if individuals have low motivation themselves to recycle, they will be more likely to do it if they see others around them recycling.

There was no evidence that habits prevented recycling within this sample.

This indicates that waste disposal habits either did not exist or they were not strong enough to have a statistically significant impact. Habits can often be a barrier that prevents intentions turning into actions, so it’s positive that recycling does not appear to be affected by habits. This may be due to the type of work that survey respondents do, which was largely office based. If we were to survey employees from a more process oriented working environment, where tasks are habitual or routine, we may see a different result.

 

What we can learn from this research

  • Be aware of the context – before designing environmental interventions it is important to understand the strength of the relevant norms (values, feelings and perceptions related to the intervention), perceived behavioural control and habits within the organisation. This will enable careful targeting to achieve the most impact. Surveys, interviews and other forms of stakeholder consultation are required to build effective strategies and interventions.
  • Develop and emphasise social norms for green behaviours – by actively seeing others engaging in recycling, and openly talking about the benefits of recycling, social norms to recycle can develop. Individuals are then motivated to behave in accordance with the relevant social norms, even if they themselves do not value recycling. Make sure leaders and influencers in your organisation are visibly demonstrating the behaviours you want to encourage.
  • Focus on the benefits of recycling and the impact we can all have – while personal norms are harder to develop externally, emphasising the environmental benefits of recycling, or the negative impacts of not recycling, can be an effective way to encourage individuals to value sustainable behaviours at work.

The findings from this study can be applied across the board to many environmental behaviour change initiatives. Carbon Credentials puts environmental psychology from theory into practice through our employee behaviour change programmes to understand how to make it stick.

 

Contact Us:

For support developing an environmental intervention in your organisation contact us at engagement@carboncredentials.com

Times Higher Education to rank Universities on their contribution to the SDGs

/in , , , , , /by

Times Higher Education (THE) has announced that it’s launching a new global ranking that aims to measure institutions’ contributions and success in delivering the UNs’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We look at how this ranking has been developed and consider some of the implications for the sector.

 

How has the ranking been developed?

The ranking seeks to evaluate how an individual institution contributes to society by evaluating three main factors:

  • Research – creating knowledge to address the world’s problems;
  • Stewardship – managing resources and teaching well;
  • Outreach – direct action in society.

This understanding has been used to assess the relevance of all the SDGs for the higher education sector and to identify a set of metrics that provide insight on progress. SDGs were prioritised and metrics identified through consultation and by assessing data availability.

 

How can Universities respond and what is the methodology?

In 2019, the first year of ranking which is being treated as a pilot, THE will collect data on 11 of the 17 goals from universities that participate by providing data through the portal. The ranking for each university will be based on one mandatory goal (goal 17 – partnerships for the goals) plus the best three scoring SDGs for that specific institution. This means that universities can demonstrate their performance in the areas that are most relevant to them.

THE will use provided data to produce:

  • An overall ranking of universities based on the top three SDGs for each individual university, plus SDG 17
  • Individual rankings of universities for each SDG

In the first year 11 of the 17 SDGs will be assessed with Universities having to respond to a minimum of 4

Only universities that submit data for the goal 17 and three other SDGs will be included in the overall ranking, but those that submit to individual goals will be included in the ranking for the goals that they have responded to.

Data will come from a variety of sources, including direct submissions from institutions and bibliometric datasets from Elsevier. As with the World University Rankings, THE will normalise for university size where appropriate and ensure equity between countries and universities.

 

Implications

The ranking gives the sector, for the first time, a global standard for showcasing contributions to sustainable development. It enables a university to explore whether sustainability is at the heart of its strategy, to put in place goals and initiatives to contribute meaningfully to the SDGs, and it offers a common lens through which progress can be evaluated.

The overall ranking has the potential to affect an institution’s reputation. Clearly there’s an opportunity for a good news story, either in a specific area that is closely linked to an institution’s focus or in the overall ranking. Equally, by not responding or by scoring poorly, universities may lose their ability to claim leadership and break commitments to transparency.

It will be interesting to see the extent to which the ranking influences the choice of students, researchers and staff. According to a 2017 survey of 60,000 students, the position of a university within rankings came third, with 23.5% of respondents stating that this was the most important factor when choosing a university.

With an increasingly competitive sector in the UK, could this be a much-needed opportunity for differentiation and help universities to attract new students?

 

What should you do now?

With the THE portal now open for data collection until the end of December 2018, now is the time for Universities to determine if they will respond to the first ranking.

  1. Conduct a gap analysis by evaluating the relevance of the 11 SDGs included in the first year of reporting and investigating data availability for the metrics associated with relevant goals.
  2. Confirm if your institution will respond.
  3. Respond by logging in to the THE portal, accessing the full methodology from the portal and providing data for the period January 2017 – December 2017.

 

Find out how we help the Higher Education Sector

Contact Us:

If you are working in higher education and have any queries about how your institution will be affected by the rankings and would like to understand how we might leverage our expertise to guide you through the process please contact will.jenkins@carboncredentials.com

What does SECR mean for my business?

/in , , , , , /by

 A change in regulation can disrupt Business As Usual; however from disruption new breakthroughs can occur. 

Following on from the webinar Carbon Credentials recently hosted with Gary Shanahan, several interesting trends emerged from participants responding to questions about how they thought Streamlined Energy and Carbon (SERC) reporting may impact their business.

Nearly 100 webinar attendees responded to survey questions on topics ranging from what motivated increased disclosure on energy reporting to the perceived challenges of the new SERC requirements.

There are many benefits for improving energy efficiency for business—cost savings is often a strong driver for shifting practices. Improving transparency on energy reporting is another. Companies also position themselves to gain market share by highlighting their commitment to energy efficiency.

 Most of the survey respondents, over 40%, welcomed the new reporting requirements as a way to improve senior leadership awareness of the company’s progress

 

For company management, there is value in information visibility.  Stakeholder access to information helps guide decision and improving cost-benefit analyses, allowing that energy demand reductions maximise other benefits. Board members and shareholders will likely respond positively to information on measures that will lead improved understanding of the interconnectedness between energy and other company resources. Peter Drucker’s maximum “What gets measured gets managed” is relevant here, as participants ranked measurements as a key benefit for reporting to SERC.

While the majority of webinar participants saw clear value in increased reporting they also expressed anxiety around public benchmarking.  Increasingly global companies setting Science  Based Targets, and stating goals which are reported by CDP, are driving an uptick in investors making decisions based on energy efficiencies.

Investor confidence is driving companies to change policies to promote a low carbon future.  With the new SERC regulations, approximately 11,900 companies will share transparency and “decision-useful” disclosure (TCFD) providing increased visibility to stakeholders.

 

Most companies surveyed already have schedules of reporting on ESOSor a partnership under the CRC. Currently, over 1,000 companies report annual to CDP, and with the new SERC requirements, starting April 1, 2019, all UK registered quoted companies and large unquoted companies and LLPs will be required to report UK energy use and emissions, many for the first time.

Replacing CRC with this new streamlined framework, SERC will simplify reporting and make it uniform across all industries.

 

As the government finalizes the guidance, companies can position themselves for these enhanced reporting requirements by reviewing the content in Carbon Credentials recent blog, and speaking with the team of experts directly, to develop strategies.  These new reporting guidelines provide opportunities for business to demonstrate ambition and drive forward a cleaner smarter and more energy efficient future.

If you want to learn more about SECR and what it could mean for your business then get in touch and allow our experts to guide you through the process @alison.mungall@carboncredentials.com

CDP – Silver Climate Change Consultancy Partners

/in , , , , , /by

Carbon Credentials is pleased to announce a new science-based targets partnership with CDP.

CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts.

The global reach of  CDP means that it has the most comprehensive collection of self-reported environmental data in the world. We are proud that Carbon Credentials will continue to be a CDP silver climate change consultancy partner, and we are the first science-based targets partner to CDP in the UK.  Our status as an accredited SBT partner to CDP recognises the high standard of our work  in helping clients set science-based targets and develop strategies to achieve those targets.

Setting a science-based target allows a company to determine the level of carbon reductions that they need to achieve to limit the impact of global warming.  The benefits of target setting include reducing costs through increased efficiency, strengthening reputation within the industry, and creating further opportunities for business growth and development.

“We are delighted to have Carbon Credentials on board as our first science-based targets partner in the UK. With experience helping a number of large and complex organisations across a variety of sectors to set science-based targets, we are confident that their expertise will be of great benefit to companies looking to set science-based targets.”
– Alberto Carrillo Pineda, Director of Science-Based Targets at CDP.

In 2017 Carbon Credentials helped the following companies achieve an A-Grade rating with CDP: Keller, Jupiter Fund Management, British American Tobacco and British American Tobacco Water, Prudential, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Taylor Wimpey Water, Segro, Communisis, ISG, and 3i.

“We are looking forward to the next CDP reporting cycle to help maintain our clients A-Grade status and are happy to work with new clients in setting their targets to achieve similar results.”
-Paul Lewis, Chief Executive Officer at Carbon Credentials.

If you would like to find out more about setting science-based targets and demonstrating your commitment to reducing emissions, please download the infographic on our website.

Contact Us

If you would like to find out how we might be able to leverage our expertise to support your company in setting science-based targets please contact emma.watson@carboncredentials.com