Anglia achieves carbon neutral status for its business operation

According to Claire Stevenson, Compliance, Health & Safety Manager at Anglia, the new scheme has strong support from customers and staff alike. "Anglia's directors and management are fully committed to a sustainable continuous improvement system and achieving Carbon Neutrality is a logical next step. When customers started to ask us about carbon offsetting, we quickly took the decision that this was a concept we needed to embrace. Staff have been enthusiastic about the implementation of the policy, and we involved them in the selection of the scheme that we are using to offset our carbon emissions."  She continued, "The carbon offsetting scheme is a central element of an enhanced sustainability policy for the business, which we will be publishing on our website."

With the help of ClimatePartner, Anglia has calculated the carbon footprint of its operation on the basis of internationally recognised standards. This included direct emissions generated by the company (heat generation, vehicle fleet, and fugitive gases), emissions from purchased energy (electricity), and indirect emissions from purchased energy, business travel, and employee commuting. It then selected a scheme to sponsor to offset the carbon it generates. The scheme chosen by the staff includes re-afforestation in the UK and the protection of areas of the Amazon rainforest. Having established the current level of emissions and their source, Anglia will seek ways to avoid and/or reduce them.

Andrew Pridding, Sustainability Consultant at ClimatePartner congratulated Anglia on achieving Carbon Neutral status. He commented, "Anglia has taken a hugely important step in reducing the environmental impact of its business operation and making it more sustainable. By establishing a baseline for their corporate carbon footprint, they have a platform for building a science-based climate action strategy. We believe carbon accounting will soon become as ubiquitous as financial accounting. It isn't currently mandatory to report corporate GHG emissions, but we believe it will be soon – and Anglia is ready."