I came across the report from one of the carbon offsetting companies: Carbon Retirement. In their report “The state of voluntary carbon offsetting in the FTSE 100” published at the 18th or April 2011 they highlight the facts of some companies to set standards for all companies.
- 5 companies achieved a 100% carbon offset so far – one of which is British Land
- 21 companies have started to offset some of their carbon emissions
In these difficult and turbulent economic times it is good to see that some companies still aim for the better and find ways to stick and drive their social responsibility. The report analyses the sectors and the carbon intensity of the companies and concludes with some sobering figures. Looking at the global as well as UK targets to meet it still looks like too less voluntary action to me and it looks that the only way to change it will be through regulatory pressure.
Construction News reported in their article “Mace collects supplier carbon data to avoid emission penalties” at the 21st of April 2011 about one major player in the market which gets ready for the future. Mace’s goal is to collect all carbon emission data – including the ones of their supply chain this year. Ms Perkins, director of sustainability, states that Mace’s research demonstrates possible 7 to 15% of savings as soon as sustainable design is introduces early in the design stage. These are significant savings achieved only by reorganising existing business processes.
This all sounds good, but how could we accelerate this process? Only though legislation?
