Advanced Engineering | talk outlines tips on decarbonising your operations

Yet for smaller SMEs without the heft of larger organisations and their various departments, they might be struggling to know how or where to start.

So that’s what Sarah Lord, Sustainability Projects Delivery Manager of Composites UK, focused her talk on at Advanced Engineering on the 2^nd November. Part of starting this process, is understanding how even the individual impacts emissions.

“I went on an online emissions checker and was horrified to learn my house’s emissions is equivalent to the loss of habitat for two polar bears,” Lord said.

This action, which Lord than asked staff at her company to do, is to highlight how efforts applied by individuals’ habits can contribute to the overall emissions of the company. With work from home becoming an entrenched reality of many companies, this individual accountability element becomes increasingly important.

Yet that brings into focus another element of emissions calculation: what counts as a company’s emissions? If your employees work from home, do you account that into your emissions or just what emissions emanates from work happening in building you control? And if work from home emissions count towards the company’s emissions, what part of the emissions do you count? What about when staff travel to the office, are their emissions from the dive counted?

Next is how you record the data. Many might use a spreadsheet, and that’s fine, says Lord. However, she stressed the need to properly keep on top of the data is greater when using non-dedicated software. Things like misuse of measurements – kilograms/tonnes – if conflated early can and cause a massive end of year review where you have to comb through the document to see what went wrong.

After Lord was done calculating for Composites UK, she put the company’s yearly Co2 figure at 9.1 tonnes, around five flights from London to New York. Yet considering Composites UK is a trade association, and doesn’t deal with emission heavy procedures like product creation, deliver or manufacturer, Lord saw area for improvement; the average UK SME is estimated to produce 15 tonnes of Co2 a year.

All these variables mean the process isn’t straightforward, less so then it once. That means, you will need time. Time to collect all the data, time to calculate it and time to implement it.  “Whatever Time you think you need to do this, double it!” Said Lord.

But what can be done to combat emissions? As mention, knowledge is the first part of the battle, with individuals working at home being encourage through things like staff awareness seminars to understand their impact. But what about for a business premises?

The adoption of new technologies and subsequent energy management process are proving to be one of the most promising ways for business premises to lower and keep track of their emissions. IoT technology enabling smart buildings that better record and allow for real-time changes in a building’s energy usage is being pursued as one easy way for companies to reduce their footprint without having to upend or pause other parts of their operations.

Whether one or all of the techniques mentioned are implemented, Lord rounded off her talk by pointing out how all individually have their purpose, but when applied together, can create a coherent carbon strategy.