News

Insulation of homes could save up to 384TWh (terawatt hours) of gas over the period 2030 to 2035, compared to 118TWh of gas that could be produced by new ‘already approved’ North Sea fields over the same period, new analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit finds. 384TWh is equivalent to a fifth (20 per cent) of current total annual household gas demand or 11 per cent of gas imports. In addition, the analysis finds that reaching the UK Government’s target for all homes of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)...

UK households produce over 25 per cent more waste during the festive period, partly due to the amount of excess packaging waste from gifts that’s thrown away after the big day. Just because wrapping paper is branded as “paper” it doesn’t mean it’s always recyclable. That’s because gift wrap often contains much more than simply paper. If your rubbish bin is contaminated with wrapping paper (and other waste) that can’t be recycled, the whole load could end up in landfill. So, when you find your living room floor covered in waste...

IT infrastructure and reduction of its energy use is the key to meeting net zero targets, according to a new survey of sustainability managers. IT infrastructure sustainability is the number one priority among sustainability program directors with 90 per cent agreeing that companies cannot reach their net zero goals without significantly reducing their technology infrastructure energy usage. This problem will grow worse as 76 per cent predict the impact of technology infrastructure on a company’s carbon footprint will increase in the next 12 months. A new report by Pure Storage...

A proposed biodiversity reporting standard that seeks to unlock accountability for the impacts organisations have on the natural world has been made available. A public comment period for the exposure draft of the revised GRI Biodiversity Standard is underway, with feedback sought so that the final standard delivers the global best practice for transparency on biodiversity impacts. Following the UN Convention on Biodiversity (COP15) the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has warned that biodiversity is declining in every global region. What this context underlines is that companies face...

Formula One is a watchword for innovation and excellence in sport, engineering and technology but it generates 256,000 tons of CO2 emissions each season, writes Nick Gibson. Now the sport is committed to being net carbon zero by 2030. Alice Ashpitel, sustainability and environment manager at Mercedes Benz Motorsport, highlights the steps being taken to achieve the new climate targets. The 2022 Formula One season saw the sport fully aligned to common sustainability standards and required all teams to publish reports into their environmental impact. The FIA Environmental Accreditation Programme is...

COP15 aims to generate collaboration between nations to accelerate ocean observation in a bid to protect marine life. COP15 will aim to create a working group as part of the Global Biodiversity Framework to study the oceans with support from the IOC/UNESCO Global Ocean Observing System programme.   “We need to learn from what is happening with our coral reefs. I hope countries will see that even though they may not agree with each other on some details, they can cooperate for common goals,” said David Obura, wildlife biologist and director of CORDIO...

Data centre operators are under pressure to reduce carbon emissions and report their environmental impact but the industry faces huge challenges, writes Nick Gibson. Data centre operators face new regulation such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the voluntary Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact (CNSCP) that have made environmental impact a top priority for operators, supply chains and data centre designers. While operators battle to reduce costs, improve performance and meet increasing demand key industry environmental focus now involves energy efficiency, clean energy, water conservation, circular economy and...

Nearly two thirds of senior decision makers in UK feel their organisation is under-prepared to meet  ESG goals and regulatory reporting mandates. 73 per cent don’t have confidence in the data currently being reported to stakeholders despite 59 per cent of UK businesses having appointed an ESG-specific role to oversee reporting, according to a new global survey released by Workiva Inc. The survey examined 1,300 organisations’ current processes, collaboration and confidence in their ESG reporting. Respondents involved in their company’s ESG reporting and strategy were polled from across finance, ESG,...

Supply chain activity generates around 60 per cent of all global carbon emissions and can represent 98 per cent of an organization’s CO2 emissions when taking into account overall climate impacts, writes Nick Gibson. With supply chain emissions being on average over 11 times higher than operational emissions, tackling the climate crisis requires a transition to both carbon-neutral production and carbon-neutral value chains. But obtaining a complete and accurate product carbon footprint can be challenging due to complexity of global supply chains and the lack of transparency in data. Research by The Sustainability...

isla, the events industry sustainability body, has launched an action-focused guide to support meetings and event venues in the transition to Net Zero. The isla guide encourages venues to review their sustainability progress and enables them to develop short to mid-term sustainability goals and set a realistic but ambitious aspiration to reach Net Zero by 2050 at the latest. The guide ‘Sustainability in Practice: A Pathway for Venues’, created in partnership with VisitBritain Business Events and supported by three leading industry associations: the Association of Event Venues (AEV), the Meetings Industry Association...