Net Zero jargon buster
- Thursday, May 30, 2024
- Posted By The Growth Company
One of the biggest priorities to help us reach our net zero targets is ensuring that all colleagues are able to understand what we mean when we talk about our goals.
This jargon buster has been designed to help demystify some of the language used by GC and other organisations when talking about net zero and green technology.
In 2023, we launched Carbon Literacy Training.
Carbon Literacy is an awareness of the carbon costs and impacts of everyday activities and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions, on an individual, community and organisational basis.
Carbon emissions are created when gases are released into the air from activities like burning fossil fuels for energy. Carbon emissions is sometimes used as a shorthand to describe all greenhouse gases.
Our carbon footprint for 2022/23 is 7,173 tCO2e.
Our carbon footprint is a measure of our greenhouse gas emissions over a given period of time. Footprints are expressed in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e).
Gases in the earth's atmosphere that trap heat and have the effect of warming planet’s surface.
Tonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent. Carbon Dioxide Equivalent tracks greenhouse gases summarised as the equivalent amount of Carbon Dioxide that would give the same warming effect.
What does a tonne of Carbon Dioxide look like?
Currently, the Growth Company is Carbon Neutral.
This means we calculate all our carbon emissions and buy carbon off-set credits through the Gold Standard Scheme. These credits enable us to fund projects which remove carbon already in the atmosphere or reduce potential carbon by reducing the use of fossil fuels.
For unavoidable or difficult-to-reduce emissions, organisations can choose to purchase carbon credits to remove the equivalent emissions elsewhere. Carbon offsetting schemes often focus on projects that absorb carbon (carbon capture projects), such as tree planting or environmental restoration, but may also include emissions-reducing schemes such as renewable energy projects.
In February 2022 we updated our commitment to becoming Net Zero across scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2035.
Net zero means reducing our emissions to the absolute minimum (normally 5-10%) and then we offset the rest through a mixture of renewable energy and carbon capture projects.
The emissions produced directly in our facilities by our own operations, e.g. fuel from company vehicles, air conditioning
The emissions produced by our own operations but where the emissions occur elsewhere, e.g. the electricity we purchase
The emissions produced by our supply chain and our service user activities, e.g. business travel, commuting and working from home, procurement of goods and services, waste and service user travel. Scope 3 represents 90% of carbon emissions.
Energy efficiency is about utilising energy in a way to maximises output while minimising waste. It involves using less energy to accomplish the same task or achieve the same level of output, thereby reducing energy consumption, costs and environmental impacts. This can be achieved by adopting energy-efficient technologies, improving insulation, optimising processes and changing individual behaviours.
Green energy comes from natural sources, such as the sun and wind. Also known as renewable energy.
Green technology is technology which use is intended to mitigate or reverse the effects of human activity on the environment.
The process of making improvements to your home so it becomes more energy efficient with lower emissions. This usually includes upgrading the roof and wall insulation to help keep the heat in and installing green technology like heat pumps.
A heat pump is a device that transfers heat from one place to another using a small amount of energy. It works by taking heat from a source (such as the air, ground, or water) and moving it to another location, typically a building or a heating system.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels convert sunlight into electricity, allowing homeowners to generate clean energy on-site and potentially reduce or eliminate their dependence on grid-supplied electricity.
ED bulbs use significantly less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and last much longer, reducing both energy consumption and the frequency of bulb replacements.
GC completed its LED lighting project at our Warren Bruce Court site, Trafford Park, last year. The LED installations at Warren Bruce Court provide potential savings of 45,551kWh – this equates to a saving of 10.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). The next site to change will be Lee House, which has potential savings of 46,283kWh, equal to 10.8 tCO2e.
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that can be powered by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery and is capable of being charged from an external source. An EV includes both a vehicle that can only be powered by an electric motor (all-electric vehicle) and a vehicle that can be powered by an electric motor and by an engine (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle).
If there are any other words or phrases that you think we should include in the list, please let us know at communications@growthco.uk