Carbon Reporting and Reduction Plan

Macildowie Associates Ltd has committed to reducing its carbon emission to Net Zero by 2030 using, as far as possible, direct reduction and offsetting the remainder.

We do this because we are conscious of the environmental, social and economic imperative to act on climate change.

The UK Government amended the Climate Change Act 2008 in 2019 by introducing a target of at least 100% reduction in the net UK carbon account (i.e. a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions when compared to 1990 levels) by 2050. As a result, Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies are required to ensure that suppliers to contracts with an annual value of in excess of £5 million (excluding VAT) per year are committed to achieving “Net Zero by 2050” for all procurements after 30^th September 2021. 

This has led to PPN 06/21 which applies to all new procurements from this date and this includes framework call-offs and Dynamic Purchasing Systems where the anticipated individual value of the call-off or DPS is £5 million (excluding VAT) per annum or more. To demonstrate compliance, we have set out our environmental management measures in our Carbon Reduction Plan which includes:

• Confirming our commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2030 for our UK operations.
• Details of our carbon footprint/current emissions for the sources included in Scope 1 and 2 of the GHG Protocol and a defined subset of Scope 3 emissions.
• Providing emissions reporting of the CO2e (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent) for the greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol (predominantly carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide).
• Setting out the environmental management measures we have adopted including specific carbon reduction measures.
• Publication of our Carbon Reduction Plan on our website.

Scope 1 Direct Emissions - these are direct greenhouse gas emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by us (e.g. emissions from boilers, vehicles etc).

Scope 2 Energy Indirect Emissions - these are indirect greenhouse gas emissions associated from the purchase of electricity, heating or cooling and are measured and reported in alignment with our energy use.

Scope 3 Other Indirect Emissions - these fall into 15 categories and include all sources not specified within Scopes 1 and 2 above. The Scope 3 emissions that we are required to report on are:

• “Upstream” transportation and distribution of products purchased by us from Tier 1 suppliers (e.g. paper, computers, office consumables).
• Disposal and treatment of waste generated in facilities not owned or controlled by us.
• Transportation of employees for business related activities in vehicles not owned or operated by us.
• Transportation of employees between home and work in vehicles not owned or operated by us including in their own vehicles.
• “Downstream” transportation and distribution of products sold by us including retail and storage. This category is not applicable as Macildowie is a service business and does not produce, transport or distribute products.

The tables below show our carbon footprint in our current reporting year May 2022 – April 2023

For the current reporting year, our overall emissions have increased by 18% over our baseline year, the most significant increases coming from increased gas consumption at the Leicester office, and increased commuting car travel.

Our carbon intensity has also increased – the carbon emission per employee and per square metre of floor space.

The most likely reason for these increases is due to the fact that the baseline period, 2021-22 was still affected by Covid-19, and consequently, staff home-working was more prevalent then, with less commuting. Also, office occupancy was lower, hence lower gas consumption on that period.

Macildowie operates from two offices, in Nottingham and in Leicester. The following observations were made by an external assessor on July the 13th 2022.

The Nottingham office is electrically heated via both a whole building air handling system, and some stand-alone air handling units. Electricity is supplied by a local Energy Supply Company, generated form a waste incinerator. Because this is not fossil fuel based, it is considered 100% carbon free. This is clearly to Macildowie’s benefit, and is the reason that this office has a much lower carbon footprint in respect of energy than Leicester, which uses grid supplied electricity and natural gas for heating. 

The HVAC system in Nottingham has known control issues, resulting from two separate systems being used, which may well be working against each other at times resulting in either over cooling or over heating.

Lighting was observed to be on in unoccupied meeting rooms in Nottingham. Otherwise, that office has reasonably good zone controls and some proximity controlled lighting.

Computers are left on stand-by rather then being shut down when not in use, whilst a software problem is resolved.

Neither Nottingham nor Leicester use LED lighting.

Leicester’s heating is controlled by a 7 day programmer. This may not be programmed for the most efficient regime.

Electricity and Gas bills at Leicester are shared and split 50/50 with the downstairs office. This does not provide the most reliable basis for data analysis.

Macildowie is committed to achieving Net Zero by 2030 and as part of this commitment, has an interim targets of reducing emissions by 2025. This plan is reviewed annually by the Directors to check progress and establish if changes should be made to the actions we have in place to maximise our reduction in carbon emissions.

The basis of our Carbon strategy is one of Measure – Prioritise – Act – Measure – Repeat.

We report on the sources of environmental impact over which we have operational control and calculate our carbon footprint monthly, in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocols Corporate Standard and report against the Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gasses in terms of:

• Actual targets – absolute reduction targets which compare actual figures in the target year to those in the base year.
• Intensity targets – based on a normalising factor.

We subscribe to a third party service to manage our data inputs, conduct the required calculations, set and record our intensity metrics, and provide quarterly carbon reporting. The data that sits behind this is the UK Government Greenhouse Gas reporting database, updated when appropriate.

This provides us with our emissions by source, and total emissions by quarter, sets our intensity metrics and shows how we are tracking quarter-on-quarter.

Our chosen intensity metrics are t/CO₂ per m² floor area and per employee.

For the baseline year therefore, our intensity metrics are:

Our base year for all measurements is May 21 to April 22. This will not change unless there is a significant change to our company structure (e.g. a merger or acquisition) or a change in the company’s ownership, in which case the base year may move to the reporting year following the structural change.

Specific inputs and output used to calculate figures quoted in our Carbon Reduction Plan include:

• Electricity
• Gas
• Water
• Solid waste
• Employee commuter mileage by type – walk / cycle / motorcycle / car / bus / train
• Business travel by private car / bus / rail

Our monthly carbon calculation has enabled us to identify the largest sources of GHG emissions, and to focus our areas of impact. That does not imply however that we are not implementing actions across the board. We have been able to identify quick and easy wins which relate to relatively low impact areas whilst also implementing longer term multi-facet strategies for the larger emission areas.

We have successfully communicated our Net Zero ambitions across our workforce, and have formed an employee task force. This task force is charged with identifying where our staff can affect carbon reductions through behaviour change.

We will report our carbon emissions and progress against target to our employees monthly, via a display at both our offices.

We have developed a communication plan which describes our ambitions and commitments to our key customers and suppliers, and in our general communications.

1. Seek expert controls specialist advice on how to optimise the operation of the two HVAC systems at the Nottingham office, such as to maximise their efficient use. Note that as power for Nottingham is from a renewable source, this will no impact carbon, but it should yield financial savings.
2. Lighting use – For both offices, conduct an ongoing campaign to encourage users to turn off lights when not required or rooms are not in use. Otherwise, install further proximity controls or timers to lighting. 
3. Lighting type – Make it policy to only replace failed units with the lowest energy types available, currently LED.
4. IT equipment - make it policy that all IT equipment is turned off (not stand-by) when not in use – lunchbreaks, meetings and out of hours. Otherwise, configure the technology to do this automatically. Noted that some software platforms may not be compatible at present with this policy.
5. Electricity Supply – for Leicester, switch to an electricity supplier offering a 100% renewable tariff. This should not incur any cost penalty, but noted that there is significant flux in the power market at present. Note also that this would either also require the same commitment from the neighbouring downstairs office, or the installation of a separate supply meter.

Heating Control – Ensure that the heating control periods and temperatures are set correctly and not providing too much heat, or heat when the office is unoccupied.

Emissions from incoming water and disposal are minimal. Nevertheless, it is a business cost which can be reduced through a behaviour change programme to minimise wastage, and where applicable, through technology i.e. using low flush toilet cisterns if not already in use.

This is another low impact area, which will arise primarily from waste paper and card. A behaviour change programme to reuse paper, print on both sides, only print when necessary will not only reduce the waste disposal emission, but the external emission associates with paper production and printing.

1. Encourage the use of public transport where physical meetings are necessary. Otherwise, further encourage video conferencing.
2. A stronger approach than simple encouragement is to require employees to justify why they need to use a car for a business trip if a viable public transport option is available. This requires staff and management time to implement and enforce, but it will yield results, and engrain carbon impacts into people’s thinking.
3. Consider the purchase / lease of a number of fully electric ‘pool’ cars for business use.

How employees travel to work is Scope 3 emission, meaning that it is outside the direct control of the business. Scope 3 emission reporting is mandatory under the new Government Agency procurement requirements.

For Macildowie, commuting represents by far the greatest carbon impact, even considering the that on average, employees work at home for three days out of five.

1. Implement a Cycle-to-Work scheme. This is a tax incentive for employees to purchase new bicycles for commuting purposes. The cycles are bought and owned by the business, and their cost is offset against the employees Gross pay. Safety equipment, luggage carriers and wet weather clothing can also be included. Commuting by bike is perfectly safe, and easily achievable for journeys up to ten miles. The company will need to consider the provision of safe and secure cycle storage, and maybe the provision of showers and changing facilities.
2. Active travel – cycling or walking - has multiple physical and mental health benefits. Regular active travel commuters are more productive, happier, and have fewer absences. The company should promote these health benefits, and establish an active travel culture amongst employees. Establishing peer support where, for example, established riders support new riders, have optional competitive elements – fastest average walking or cycling speed, or most miles travelling in a week, the setting of personal targets etc all help embed the culture.
3. Car Sharing – The establishment of a car sharing scheme, whilst it can be time consuming to establish, will yield significant reductions in overall car travel. There can be reluctance, but even of only a few employees partake, combined with these other elements, significant carbon emissions can be achieved.
4. Electric Car Leasing for employees might be considered, particularly for employees who also travel for business purposes. There are various tax implications for the business and employees however which need to be considered on an individual basis. Note also that the lead times on many electric vehicles are currently very long.

We have considered paper and printer cartridges here as the primary measurable consumables for the type of activity conducted at Macildowie.

1. Use only recycled paper, and ask employees to only print when absolutely necessary, to print on two sides.
2. Ink cartridges have a surprisingly high carbon footprint. Their impact can be minimised by ensuring that empty cartridges are returned to a specialist recycler, rather than disposed into general waste, and that trials be run to assess whether third party second use cartridges may be suitable. Note that their performance and compatibility can be patchy, but that the market is well served.

Whilst not compulsory, we have committed to an annual audit of our carbon data reporting, by an independent third party.

Offsetting the emissions that we can’t mitigate will become part of our strategy, but only at the point that we’ve implemented all of the possible behavioural, process and technology changes.

Carbon offsetting is an unregulated market, and has suffered some negative publicity due to exaggerated claims on carbon savings. We also note that the UK market has little capacity at present.

We will take expert guidance to identify a credible and verifiable carbon offsetting scheme, that may be UK or Overseas based.

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 06/21 and associated guidance.

Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans, the GHG Reporting Protocol Corporate Standard and we use the appropriate Government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting.

Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported in accordance with SECR requirements and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard.

We confirm this Carbon Reduction Plan is reviewed and signed off at board level on an annual basis and is available on the home page of our website.