Your say / Opinion
‘It’s essential to build a carbon reduction plan that is meaningful and works’
What are scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions? Whether you’re a large organisation with mandatory reporting obligations, or a smaller organisation looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint, it’s helpful to know what scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions are and what they mean for your business.
As is often the case, new regulations on mandatory reporting regarding climate change are affecting larger organisations first. However, it is safe to assume that this will trickle down to smaller organisations over time, and that this top-down effect will change standards, expectations and norms.
For those organisations that have sustainability as a value and have announced sustainability commitments, understanding your greenhouse gas emissions will undoubtedly be a key part of that. As the saying goes, you can’t manage what you can’t measure.
is needed now More than ever
We’ve been measuring and reporting on this in our carbon reduction plan. While it is by no means a straightforward task, once you have the information, it gives you a solid basis for coming up with actions that will help you, your suppliers and your clients to collectively reduce greenhouse gases.
Maria spoke at the previous Bristol24/7 event on sustainability.
Scopes 1, 2 and 3
The scopes have been around for over 20 years and are part of international standards on greenhouse gas accounting and reporting. They’re useful in that they break an organisation’s emissions down by different areas and show where the biggest issues are.
Simply put:
- Scope 1 covers greenhouse gas emissions made by an organisation directly i.e. from owned or controlled sources, and over which it therefore has a high degree of control (e.g. emissions from company vehicles);
- Scope 2 covers those made indirectly, or in other words, on an organisation’s behalf (e.g. through the electricity it buys); and
- Scope 3 covers emissions an organisation is responsible for up and down the value chain (e.g. through the products it buys from suppliers and those it sells to customers).
More often than not, scope 3 will account for the vast majority of an organisation’s emissions.
The Bristol climate strike in September 2020: Peter Brooks.
Measuring emissions
The government (via the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) has published comprehensive guidance on measuring greenhouse gas emissions. This covers everything from a recommended process to what to include, what data to collect and how to convert that into emissions.
By giving organisations a format for reporting, there’s also a helpful degree of consistency when comparing different companies’ annual reports, and plenty of opportunities to learn from others.
In our experience, it’s a significant task that requires good project management, but it’s absolutely essential to building a carbon reduction plan that is meaningful and works. The pandemic has obviously seen a significant reduction in our total emissions, so it’s important to also understand the context for what you’re seeing and setting ambitious but achievable targets.
Renewable Energy photo by TLT
Reducing emissions
Some of the steps we have taken as part of our carbon reduction plan include:
- Switching to renewable electricity
- Proactively controlling and reducing business travel
- Announced a fully flexible approach to work, which means our staff can choose where and when they work, reducing emissions from commuting into the office every day
- Upgraded our video conferencing technology to support hybrid meetings and events
- Travel policies are linked to sustainability so encourage only essential travel
- Launched an EV car leasing scheme to staff, with uptake exceeding our expectations
- Installed EV charge points for staff and visitors at our Bristol headquarters
For us, sustainability is a key part of our firm strategy and embedded in our values. It’s an exciting journey to be going on and I’m looking forward to sharing more details at Bristol 24/7’s upcoming event on February 17: What actionable steps can local businesses take to become more sustainable?
Maria Connolly, head of clean energy and real estate and executive board member responsible for sustainability at UK law firm TLT.
Main photo: TLT
Read more: Why it’s critical for Bristol businesses to embrace sustainable choices
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
