Reports that carbon offset projects don’t work, or benefit the middleman just as much as the intended recipient, are not new. Yet these latest allegations come at a time when belief in climate change is in decline in the US, and when the UK’s coldest winter in 30 years is being used to reignite debate over the existence of global warming. This is all very frustrating for environmentalists everywhere, who have long been sceptical of the lasting benefits of offsetting – and who are currently struggling to get the message out that climate change means both hotter summers and wetter winters, and that the overall global temperature is on the rise, despite the prolonged cold snap in Europe.
It’s likely that the current climate scepticism, in the UK at least, will die down once the weather picks up, but how seriously should businesses take these reports on the effectiveness of offsetting which keep cropping up in the media?
Smart firms have become less interested in being carbon neutral (which inevitably requires the offsetting of some emissions), and are investing instead in technologies and business practices to help them lower their actual emissions. We would encourage others to follow suit, not least because the forthcoming CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (a mandatory UK-wide scheme covering 5,000 organisations, including supermarkets, hotels and local government authorities) rewards actual emissions reductions not the purchase of offsets from third party providers. The scheme will also publish an annual league table, with the focus on year-on-year emission reduction performance. All of which points to a shift from offsetting, to actual performance on the ground.
Just 51% of Americans believe in global warming, down from 71% in 2007
The percentage of Americans who believe in global warming has declined to just 51% after reaching a peak of 75% in 2001 according to a poll by Harris Interactive. The results of the poll conducted in November 2009 found that the proportion of Americans who do not believe that carbon dioxide emissions will cause global warming has increased from 23% to 29% since 2007. People’s knowledge of climate change negotiations is also lacking, with 52% stating they did not know what the conference in Copenhagen last December was about and many thinking that the main topic is something else. However, in spite of this, most people (75%) think global warming should be treated as a serious problem.
Only 30% of carbon offset fees is spent on emissions reduction
Research by the firm Carbon Retirement has found that for every pound a statutory buyer spends with a carbon offsetting retailer using Certified Emission Reductions, 31p is spent on capital expenditure and the projects maintenance costs. The research examines the overall efficiency of carbon offsetting with Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), the carbon credits that developing nations are allowed to use to offset some of their emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
Only 1 in 5 brands are in line with the UK government carbon reduction goals
A recently released survey titled ‘Brand Emissions’ has identified the UK brands that are leading on carbon emission reductions and those that are lagging behind. The study calculates that 121 brands demonstrate that they are reducing their emissions and have ambitious targets in line with the UK government’s goal of 34% carbon emissions reductions by 2020 on 1990 levels. Brand Emissions leaders include Tesco, Dell and BMW. However, 400 brands are either increasing their emissions, have targets that are weaker than the UK government’s or do not publish information on their carbon emissions. Researchers found no carbon emissions data for 250 brands, including Google, McKinsey and Amazon; and no public emission reduction targets for 320 brands, including Porsche, Harvey Nichols and McDonalds. The analysis was conducted by EdinburghUniversityBusinessSchool and the ENDS Carbon team.
Mixed progress by UK companies on climate change goals
Although the UK’s 100 largest companies are making headway toward the country’s climate change goals as a whole, its most carbon-intensive industries are lagging with emissions reduction targets that fall short of national goals. The Carbon Disclosure Project analyzed 2009 responses from UK FTSE 100 companies for the report ‘FTSE 100 Carbon Chasm’. The CDP found that whilst energy, utilities and materials sectors cover just 24 companies in the FTSE 100, they are currently responsible for 87% of all FTSE 100 reported emissions. Their average reduction rate per annum is just 1.2% per annum. The report concludes that these carbon intensive sectors will need to take on more aggressive targets if they are to deliver in line with government commitments.
Report demonstrates suppliers to UK government have major role to play in cutting carbon
Climate change is a business issue and the UK government expects that its suppliers should be taking it seriously. That is the message of a new report published on December 2 by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) which reveals the need for better integration of carbon reduction strategies within suppliers’ organisational policies. The report is the result of collaboration on climate change undertaken by 14 departments and executive agencies, including the Cabinet Office, Department of Business Innovation and Skills and Office of Government Commerce, to encourage their suppliers to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate change related risk. Just over 80% of the 164 supplier companies taking part in the report were able to disclose their emissions, with around 77% disclosing their scope 1 and 2 emissions – direct GHG emissions, from onsite energy usage, production and other industrial activities. However, whilst two-thirds (66%) of organisations have put in place carbon reduction targets demonstrating an intent to reduce emissions, the majority of these are short-term and not in line with the aspirational targets that the UK has set itself.
Massive investment to combat climate change and its effects on people’s lives
A several hundred million Euro initiative to combat climate change and its effects on a previously unseen scale was announced on December 16, bringing together universities including Imperial College London and major companies, including Bayer, Beluga, Cisco, DSM, EDF, SAP, SchipolAirport, Shell,SolarValley and Thales. The creation of the Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) signals Europe’s commitment to tackling climate change and to making a step-change in its ability to innovate. In addition, six regional governments and agencies will be involved in the Climate KIC, including the West Midlands in the UK, to pioneer new approaches to low-carbon living. Companies, institutions and municipalities in each of these areas will give a geographical focus to the Climate KIC’s innovation activities and provide areas where it can test-run new developments and innovations.
Contact: www3.imperial.ac.uk
ImperialCollegeLondon
Unilever & Coca-Cola guide to tackling climate change
On December 11, Unilever jointly published a brochure with The Coca-Cola Company at the Copenhagen Business Day to demonstrate the vital role consumer goods companies play in tackling climate change. The guide, titled ‘’Moving Fast to a Cleaner Climate: A manager’s guide’ aims to encourage businesses to take a big picture approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions rather than focusing on factory emissions alone. It covers how consumer goods companies must help and empower the consumer by changing their behaviour. Coca-Cola and Unilever said they were taking a broader view of the environmental effect of their products, looking at the emissions from their suppliers and customers.
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