Green Business Journal 05

ISSUE 5

LET’S STAY FOCUSED ON THE BIGGER PICTURE

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MBA in Sustainable Energy Futures

Strathclyde Business School has been a pioneer of management education since 1948 and the first business school to launch a one year MBA in 1966. Our innovative approach is the mainstay of our success and all of our programmes reflect the latest business thinking.

We launch our MBA in Sustainable Energy Futures in September 2022. Co-created by our energy industry partners, including OVO and Baringa, we develop managers to take a sustainable approach to finding solutions to the significant challenges facing the energy industry as well as providing the skills and strategic focus required by future leaders. For eligible organisations this MBA programme can be part funded via the Apprenticeship Levy.

For further information on all our MBA routes visit

www.strath.ac.uk/business

FOREWORD IS THIS THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT? (LET’S HOPE SO!)

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n the blue corner, weighing in at a hefty trillionplus dollars, we have the fossil fuel industry…

And in the red corner, let’s all give a warm welcome to the world’s No.1 emerging talent – sustainability! Or shall we?

A bit of a sparring match has broken out lately, sparked by the unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. Fire up the coal stations, shout the traditionalists. Ramp up oil production, slash green taxes, reverse the decarbonisation drive!

Yes, we must be realistic and accept that the global economy remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels for now. You simply have to look at Europe’s plight to appreciate that.

But my headline, courtesy of Mr Shakespeare, doesn’t refer to a never-ending era of doom and gloom. ‘The winter of our discontent’ actually means leaving the dark days behind for sunnier climes.

That’s why corporate giants like KimberlyClark, Masdar of the UAE, Nissan and Baker & Baker remain resolutely focused on the bigger picture.

our energy market to a speedy end. A small milestone was reached in June, when the UK recorded no fuel imports from Russia for the first time ever. Oil imports will be phased out by the end of the year, and gas imports terminated as soon as possible.

This doesn’t mean the UK is importing less gas – we are just replacing it with supplies from elsewhere. But, as a recent BBC report reveals, war has wildly tipped the balance between the UK supply of wholesale gas (which is actually secure) and our energy bills which are set to reach extortionate levels, fuelled by fears of a European energy crisis.

In other words, millions of us face ridiculously high price rises because of the UK’s energy price cap link to international wholesale gas markets, where volatility is off the scale.

Let’s hope this horrendous scenario helps trigger the eventual ‘beginning of the end’ of our dependence on fossil fuels.

This issue of Green Business Journal concentrates on the impressive strides made by forward-thinking companies like these, who are committed to a common long-term goal. They remember why we embarked on the journey in the first place, no matter how painful it may be short term.

The UK is certainly no angel when it comes to pollution, being ranked among the world’s 20 biggest polluters in 2020. But we are pulling our socks up when it matters most, with a new study tipping us as the second most prepared country to meet net emissions by 2050.

And in a roundabout way, the Ukrainian war may be a sign of things to come. The UK has never been a major importer of Russian fossil fuels, but sanctions are bringing their role in

Karen Southern Editor, Green Business Journal

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issue 05

CO NTE NTS

CON T E N TS

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Green Tech 6|8 ESG’s ‘Waterloo’ moment. Nish Kotecha, Chair & Co-Founder of Finboot, says data needs to be infallible to avoid accusations of ‘greenwashing’.

Green Tech 10|11 Eco-innovatory supports female engineers.

Women-led engineering businesses are benefiting from a programme enabling academia-industry collaboration to create low carbon goods, processes & services.

Green Tech 12|13 Changing the behaviour of over seven billion people on Earth is never going to be easy. When it comes to sustainability, though, it’s definitely worth a shot, says Mark Gilligan, director at Wizso.

Green Tech 14|17 Siemens Congleton to hit carbon neutral target – eight years early! Siemens’ Congleton factory is set to achieve carbon neutrality this year - eight years ahead of its original target.

The Big Sustainability Expo 2022 18|19 Many of the most influential suppliers and decision-makers in the country will once again head to Hampshire this September for one of the UK’s leading events dedicated to corporate sustainability and the drive to net zero.

Recycling 22|23 Plastic packaging tax is a form of environmental taxation that came into effect this year, on 1 April 2022. To examine whether plastic packaging tax will prove successful in creating a demand for more sustainable products, professionals should consider the implications of previous taxations, such as the sugar tax.

CO N TENTS

Editor Karen Southern karen.southern@distinctivegroup.co.uk

Design Distinctive Media Group Ltd, 3rd Floor, Tru Knit House, 9-11 Carliol Square, Newcastle, NE1 6UF Tel: 0191 580 5990 distinctivegroup.co.uk

Advertising Distinctive Media Group Ltd, 3rd Floor, Tru Knit House, 9-11 Carliol Square, Newcastle, NE1 6UF Tel: 0191 5805990 distinctivegroup.co.uk

Social

Recycling 26|27 Jonquil Hackenberg, Global head of sustainability and climate response at PA Consulting, discusses how businesses can sustainably access that most precious commodity … water.

Energy 30|33 Niall Hannigan, Chief Financial Officer, of Abu Dhabi Future Energy company, Masdar, explains how private sector developers can help emerging economies achieve their clean energy goals.

Energy 38|39 As energy costs continue to rise, reducing costs and carbon emissions is an increasing priority for business leaders. Shayne Wilson, of Pilot Group, explains why energy management and monitoring is of real strategic importance.

Environment 46|49

Green Business Journal @GreenBusinessJournal

Environment 50|51

Green Business Journal greenbusinessjournal.co.uk

Directors and Officers face mounting pressure on all fronts, from onerous reporting obligations and an ever more stringent regulatory regime, to stakeholders and shareholders.

Net Zero 56|59 Kimberly-Clark’s ambitious sustainability strategy won’t be derailed by current global upheaval, as Oriol Margo, sustainability transformation leader (EMEA), explains to Karen Southern.

Distinctive Media Group Ltd or Green Business Journal cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies that may occur, individual products or services advertised or late entries.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or scanned without prior written permission of the publishers and Green Business Journal

Net Zero 60|63 Tables made from recycled suits. Airpurifying paint. An E-scooter fleet. Welcome to Glasgow’s first net zero office building.

Cadworks-based TLT LLP tell Karen Southern how office life has changed forever.

An innovative Welsh biotech start-up is developing 100% biodegradable, soilenriching products to tackle the mounting problem of agricultural plastic waste.

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GR E E N T E C H N O LO GY F inb o o t

ESG’S ‘WATERLOO’ MOMENT Nish Kotecha, Chair & Co-Founder of Finboot, says data needs to be infallible to avoid accusations of ‘greenwashing’.

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G REEN TEC HN OLOGY Fi n b o o t

ABBA, one of the most successful bands in history, has been performing in London since June. Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid looked real, authentic and amazing for their years. The crowds loved it. Regrettably, the singers were holograms created with weeks of performing on a stage in Stockholm, in front of hundreds of cameras collecting their every movement and using state-of-the-art technology to map the past onto the present.

These avatars look amazing…. “I just look very good for my age,” said Benny. And in the purpose-built auditorium in London’s east-end, they can appear just as real close up.

Many ESG claims are performing a similar illusion. Earlier this summer, Asoka Wöhrmann resigned as CEO of DWS, one of Germany’s largest asset managers, after ESG claims made by the group to support their investment thesis were being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Germany’s financial regulator BaFin.

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GR E E N T E C H O LO GY F inb o o t

G

reenwashing is the term used to describe companies or corporates that are promoted as green on the outside but less so on the inside. There have been some very high-profile examples such as the Volkswagen emissions scandal over the years but ESG mislabeling may surpass them all.

ESG compliance cannot be relegated to a simple checklist. Each element of E ‘Environmental’, S ‘Social’ and G ‘Governance’ needs evidence to support each and every claim. Even where a claim may be assigned a numerical score the assessment (a challenge in itself when measuring qualitative factors such as compliance with Modern Slavery requirements, etc.) the scorecard is not a universally accepted yardstick yet.

Consider, S&P 500 ESG index (by S&P Global the independent index provider), which recently decided to exclude Tesla and include ExxonMobil provoking Elon Musk to say “ESG is a scam. It has been weaponized by phony social justice warriors.”

However, this should not be ESG’s ‘Waterloo’ moment. Throwing out all the good work the renewed focus brings may be convenient in the time of rising inflation, Putin’s war on Ukraine and supply chain shocks all driving up living costs and slowing world growth.

Blockchain technology can provide transparency and create the supply chain agility required in the new normal. In an enterprise, blockchain can be used as a private permissioned framework for a group of stakeholders, such as suppliers, customers and regulators, to manage the sourcing, production and movement of goods dynamically throughout the supply chain. Blockchains are immutable, ensuring that each item of data can be traced back to each stakeholder providing recourse.

Furthermore, each individual asset could be assigned its own digital twin aka “Digital Passport.”

The passport contains the provenance, it’s manufacturing process and its environmental footprint as well as its warranties, etc. This passport can move between owners throughout the manufacturing process to the end consumer and beyond to regulators to provide the necessary evidence to validate ESG claims.

This implies a world of interconnected blockchain networks where data can be shared with those with the right permissions in a compliant, safe and secure manner. In essence, a network of networks where each party can finally trust what they are being told because the history is stored and is immutable.

Blockchain is reengineering business processes and systems to enable a secure, trusted environment of data management and sharing between parties in a trusted way.

NISH KOTECHA Chair & Co-Founder, Finboot finboot.com

I have consistently maintained that if you don’t record it, you can’t measure it and then change it.

The business world needs to adapt to invest in a renewable world where what we take out, is replenished for future generations otherwise we are accelerating our demise. We cannot lose our long-term objective despite the need to adapt to short term pressures. As a result, leaders and forward-thinking companies recognize ESG excellence as a competitive differentiator.

To achieve the ESG advantage, data needs to be correct and accurate from the start, collected in a way that is infallible. The data may not yet support your presentations, but the DWS scandal has demonstrated that the window for unsubstantiated claims is closing - we need accuracy and realism if we are to change our climate trajectory.

Integrating Blockchain into the digital transformation roadmap of the corporation can address this challenge.

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Blockchain is reengineering business processes and systems to enable a secure, trusted environment of data management and sharing between parties in a trusted way. This will allow organisations to exist beyond their current boundaries operating to build a renewable, safe and trusted world.

Some US$ 2 trillion has flowed into ESG themed assets which demonstrates the investor commitment to the cause. This can be used to raise the threshold of corporate claims. Where such claims have the right backing – accountable data on a blockchain, investment should flow, raising bar of operating standards.

We shouldn’t feel ‘blue’... but instead ‘shine like the sun’ on those who are thinking beyond short-term challenges to build a sustainable future when we emerge from these current economic shocks.

Details at agamservices.com

G REEN TEC HN OLOGY N iss an Sunde r l a nd

ENGLAND’S LARGEST PRIVATE WIRE SOLAR CONNECTION NEARLY COMPLETE The 20MW solar project is based at Nissan’s Sunderland car plant.

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ngland’s largest solar park with a private wire connection will shortly be operational.

The project signposts the future as large corporates grapple with ever more stringent government targets around decarbonisation and mounting pressure from investors.

The site has been sold to an investment trust which will own the 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Nissan – another indicator of investor appetite for funding and investing in such projects.

The 20MW solar project, with more than 36,000 solar panels, represents a milestone for Nissan’s EV36Zero project and the company’s journey to carbon neutrality. The car manufacturer aims to be carbon neutral across the lifecycle of its products by 2050.

The new installation, within the Wearside manufacturing facility, will generate enough renewable electricity to supply 20 per cent of the plant’s needs - enough to build every 100% electric Nissan LEAF sold in Europe.

Incentives and targets around decarbonisation for large companies were unveiled at COP26. These included plans to force financial institutions and companies with shares listed on the London Stock Exchange to publish plans from 2023 on how they intend to achieve net zero emissions.

The project, delivered by Newcastle-based Engenera Renewables Group, was recently acquired by Atrato Onsite Energy. Atrato bought the Hylton Plantation Solar Farm – a special purpose vehicle formed to deliver the project – in a £10.6 million deal.

The behind-the-meter private wire solar installation was started late last year. Engenera Renewables Group carried out major design development and site clearance works to prepare the site for the construction of the solar array. As the project

The Nissan solar installation is a massive project and hugely important for a number of reasons.

progresses, Engenera will retain responsibility for undertaking the EPC and O&M contracts for the installation and maintenance of the solar PV system.

Nissan Solar Park.

Lloyd Lawson, Chief Strategy Officer, Engenera, said: “The Nissan solar installation is a massive project and hugely important for a number of reasons. It represents the largest private wire installation Engenera has worked on to date, and also gives Nissan a big boost towards achieving its goals of becoming completely carbon neutral across the lifecycle of its products by fiscal year 2050.

“This investment by Atrato Onsite Energy ensures the long-term certainty of the scheme. It means all parties are getting what they need from the project.

We now look forward to finalising this installation and working closely with Nissan on future projects.”

Bryan Glendinning, CEO Engenera Renewables Group, added: “This installation at Nissan is a very exciting project for us here at Engenera.

NISSAN SUNDERLAND nissan.co.uk

“However, it’s not the only large-scale project we are in the process of delivering. Engenera is already working on the development of over 350MWs of similar utility scale projects throughout the UK and will be starting to deliver these over the coming months.

“We also have capital to deploy and want to hear from any developer who has ready-to-build projects; we are keen to put our expertise and capital to bear and help many more businesses on this important journey.”

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GR E E N T E C H N O LO GY Au te nt ic a Pa r t s

ECO-INNOVATORY SUPPORTS FEMALE ENGINEERS Women-led engineering businesses are benefiting from a programme which enables academia-industry collaboration to create innovative low carbon goods, processes and services.

IRMA GILBERT

PROFESSOR JESS DAVIES

LISA FURLONG

Founder & CEO, Autentica Parts

Professor of Sustainability, Lancaster University

Managing Director, Mole Group Utilities

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utentica Parts, based in Liverpool, is a platform allowing engineers to share designs for parts and components which can be 3D printed by customers anywhere in the world.

It is the brainchild of Irma Gilbert who developed the concept through the Low Carbon EcoInnovatory (LCEI), a business support programme co-delivered

by Lancaster University which gives small companies free access to top academic expertise and resources through funded research and development projects, ranging from one month to a year.

The innovative platform is helping decarbonise the manufacturing supply chain, and reduce customer transportation and logistics costs by 70%, delivery times from three months to 24 hours, and CO2 emissions by up to 40%.

Irma , who now has a team of four and forecasts a turnover of £6m by 2025, praises her collaboration with Lancaster University.

As a woman at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution I needed someone to believe in my ambition...

I saw a transformational opportunity to create a marketplace where engineers could share their designs for parts and components.

Irma’s R&D was accelerated using a fully funded intern who helped create a prototype for the platform which has customers across the world in a variety of industry sectors.

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“As a woman at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution I needed someone to believe in my ambition,” she said. “I saw a transformational opportunity to create a marketplace where engineers could share their designs for parts and components, which could then be uploaded to a platform, licenced and downloaded by customers anywhere in the world for additive manufacture.

“We really are indebted to the support offered

by LCEI and the expertise of Lancaster University which supercharged my ideas to create a platform

G REEN TEC HN OLOGY Autent ic a Pa r t s

transforming supply chains, reducing carbon emissions and building a sustainable future.”

Lisa Furlong, Managing Director of constructionbased civil engineers, Mole Group Utilities, based on the Wirral, has also benefited from LCEI. Having already pioneered its unique horizontal directional drilling (HDD) technologies to excavate underground pathways for cables, pipes and network links, Lisa used a funded internship to develop a marketing and communications plan which demonstrated its environmental credentials and unique methods.

LCEi is delivered by Lancaster University’s Centre for Global Eco-Innovation led by Jess Davies, Professor in Sustainability.

Jess, an engineer and environmental scientist, said: “Engineers bring problem-solving skill sets to the table, which are really important to developing sustainable practices, products or services across many areas including traditional areas like energy, transport and wastewater, but also they have much to offer other challenges such as supporting biodiversity.

“One of the main challenges for women starting out in engineering is seeing it as a profession for them – having great female role models is incredibly important.

“Irma and Lisa are great examples to show what women can achieve in engineering and we are thrilled to hear that the kind of access to opportunities, resources and support we have offered through our programme has helped with their development as eco-innovation leaders.

“As a programme, we want to champion SMEs to play a leading role in addressing climate and environmental emergencies. But it is also important that we champion the diversity of these innovators to help overcome barriers and change the traditional culture and norms. We can help drive change by diversifying networks. We need diverse perspectives and lived experiences to form a better understanding of the many dimensions of the problem and we are going to need all the creativity that comes with diversity to help us find good solutions to the major environmental problems of our times.”

LCEI is a business R&D consortium, backed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and led by Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) alongside partners Lancaster University and the University of Liverpool.

Since its launch in 2015, the Low Carbon EcoInnovatory has supported 350 businesses on projects which have saved 10,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Read more about Lancaster University’s eco-innovatory.

AUTENTICA PARTS autentica-carparts.com

GR E E N T E C H N O LO GY Wizso

HUMAN INDUSTRY VS BUSINESS INDUSTRY, WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PLANET? Changing the behaviour of over seven billion people on Earth is never going to be easy. When it comes to sustainability, though, it’s definitely worth a shot, says Mark Gilligan, director at Wizso.

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G REEN TEC HN OLOGY Wizso

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ith any cultural changes, we often look to business leaders around the world to make the first moves, trial new concepts and pave the way for the smaller players in the game. The sustainability shift seen by this generation is no different.

Individuals can make small changes which will have a big impact, but businesses have the ability to make important changes that can alter our direction of travel for the better.

On average, we spend over one-third of our lives at work and so understandably become products of our surroundings. Many of our habits and traits can be attributed to our workplace environments, presenting an important opportunity for businesses.

Being or working towards becoming ESG compliant is now an expected policy for most businesses, but the work shouldn’t stop there. We need to look at what other impactful changes are available through the workplace.

The important thing to note is, it is about education and behavioural changes. These people are more likely to reuse their water bottle outside the office too, recycle at home and carry a shopping bag with them. The goal should be to make changes in business that are achievable for people to replicate in their everyday life as well.

Businesses carry out many ESG decisions and operations on a high-end scale which massively influences climate change and sustainability, but we cannot overlook the opportunity available to educate at a grassroots level and help people understand their individual impact.

Initiatives like providing Wizso tablets in workplace toilets is a perfect example of this.

The product is simple.

A small eco-friendly tablet is released from a dispenser into the user’s toilet bowl before or after taking a pee. It reacts on impact with the water, delivering a fresh smell while changing the colour and leaving it recognisably clean, thus giving the user the confidence not to flush. A simple concept with huge results.

A small eco-friendly tablet is released from a dispenser into the user’s toilet bowl before or after taking a pee. It reacts on impact with the water, delivering a fresh smell while changing the colour and leaving it recognisably clean.

Business is about people and they should work with their people to help them make better sustainable choices, both in and outside of work. To have the ability to influence a cultural change for the better is the opportunity many would wish for, but few get the chance to do and one that should be made the most of.

It can’t be a one-way dialogue; we aren’t going to progress with actual impactful changes if we don’t work with our people and educate where we can. Small changes made on a big scale can have huge results.

Simply introducing the plastic bag charge and encouraging reuse water bottles has massively reduced plastic waste. Operating a recycling policy in offices and limited printer use saves paper and in turn, trees. But what do these policies have in common? They aren’t board level operations or executive procedures; they are simple everyday occurrences which involve people making better choices to protect our planet and improve sustainability.

MARK GILLIGAN Director, Wizso wizso.com

Each time it is used, and the toilet hasn’t been flushed, we save approximately 7.5 litres of fresh water and approx. 5 grams of carbon from being emitted.

Rolling out an initiative like Wizso could begin in the office but be easily replicated at home. With the water shortage and cost of living crises currently front of mind, we need to apply concepts whereby a simple change by an individual can actually have a massive impact on climate change and family finance.

Who is responsible for our planet and its sustainability? The answer is twofold: businesses and people. The challenge is to make the most of the relationship between the two to bring about the cultural and behavioral changes so desperately needed to improve our sustainability performance.

Wizso is a eco-friendly tablet which leaves toilet water smelling fresh and clean after a pee, so users don’t have to flush every time.

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GR E E N T E C H N O LO GY S ie me n s Con g le ton

G REEN TEC HN OLOGY S iemens Con g le ton

SIEMENS CONGLETON TO HIT CARBON NEUTRAL TARGET – EIGHT YEARS EARLY! Aerial shot of Siemens-Congleton.

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GR E E N T E C H N O LO GY S ie me n s Con g le ton

Siemens’ Congleton factory is set to achieve carbon neutrality this year eight years ahead of its original target.

OLIVIA WHITLAM

ANDREW PETERS

FAYE BOWSER

Head of Sustainability, Siemens Plc

Managing Director, Siemens Digital Industries Congleton

Head of Siemens’ Energy & Performance Services GB&I

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he operation, which manufactures over 1.2m controls and drives per year, has deployed a range of sustainable solutions for energy generation and demand with support from Siemens’ energy and performance services business, Smart Infrastructure.

These include generating 75kw of renewable energy through a hydro-electric plant at Havannah Weir on the River Dane and using carbon neutral certified biogas to power its on-site gas engine.

These measures alone saved over £250,000 pounds a year and took the 80% powerindependent factory off the grid.

Combined with reducing waste to landfill to zero and EV charging for staff and visitors, the Cheshire site is eight years ahead of Siemens’ original 2015 commitment to ensure carbon neutral operations by 2030.

Andrew Peters, Managing Director of Siemens Digital Industries Congleton, said: “Siemens believes that sustainability is a force for good and can deliver value for all its stakeholders. We want to help customers achieve sustainable growth and to transform their industries through decarbonisation. The first step of that is for us to achieve these ambitions in our own operations.”

Siemens believes that sustainability is a force for good and can deliver value for all its stakeholders. We want to help customers achieve sustainable growth and to transform their industries through decarbonisation.

Siemens Congleton also adopted a building management system which automatically drives energy efficiency improvements, and modern windows and LED lighting have reduced the total energy bill by 13% and 30% respectively.

The biogas generator at Siemens Congleton.

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The 50-year-old Siemens Congleton factory began its sustainability journey in 1990 when it started manufacturing drives for industry. In 2018 the factory became fully digital through lean manufacturing methods to achieve continuous improvement and by adopting leading-edge Industry 4.0 processes.

G REEN TEC HN OLOGY S iemens Con g le ton

Using Virtual Reality, Digital Twin, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Advanced Robotics, Cloud Technology and Additive Manufacturing, the plant has produced up to 50,000 variations of its products to meet demand, increased productivity by driving down costs, and improved efficiency.

In 1990, 400 workers made 50,000 variable speed drives and controls a year. Today, a similar number of workers produce 1.2 million electrical devices - including 600,000 variable speed drives (VSDs) - within the same physical footprint.

The factory is surrounded by industrial units and housing estates, with no room to expand, meaning Congleton has one of the highest productivity rates per m2 of any Siemens’ sites.

Faye Bowser, Head of Siemens’ Energy & Performance Services GB&I, said: “The climate emergency puts the demand on businesses of all sizes and sectors to really accelerate their efforts for decarbonisation. But a challenge is that often decarbonisation isn’t their core business. So, at Energy and Performance Services we make it our business to use our skills, our knowledge and our tools to help our customers transition to net zero in a way that contributes to their business priorities.

“Despite us being from the Siemens family, we have approached working with Congleton the same we do with any organisation. It has been fantastic.

The hydro-electric plant at Havannah Weir on the River Dane.

“We have ended up with an engineered roadmap to net zero that considers timelines, finance, digital services, all there to safeguard business continuity, and to have a method to continuously identify more opportunities to reduce carbon on site.”

As a global operation, Siemens is committed to ensure all its operations are carbon neutral by 2030 and for all production facilities and buildings to achieve net zero-carbon footprint by 2030.

Progress has been recognised by The Carbon Trust, which partners organisations to achieve sciencebased targets. In June Siemens was awarded its Route to Net Zero Standard tier one certification for ‘Taking Action’.

SIEMENS CONGLETON new.siemens.com/uk

Olivia Whitlam, Head of Sustainability, Siemens Plc, concluded: “We have 8,600 people spread across offices and 11 manufacturing sites across the UK and we are creating innovation up and down the country with sustainability at the core of our operations and services. Our Congleton factory is paving the way for sustainability whilst setting a great example on how manufacturers can join this amazing journey to net zero.”

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BIG S USTAI N A BIL IT Y E X P O

T he S o u t he r n S u s t a i n a bi li t y Pa r tners hi p

THE BIG SUSTAINABILITY EXPO 2022 SET TO OPEN FOR THE 7 TH YEAR Many of the most influential suppliers and decision-makers in the country will once again head to Hampshire this September for one of the UK’s leading events dedicated to corporate sustainability and the drive to net zero.

G

reen Business Journal caught up with organisers, The Southern Sustainability Partnership as they prepare to open The Big Sustainability Expo (Southampton) for the 7th year. A leading UK platform designed to highlight the importance of corporate sustainability and the drive towards net-zero carbon. With one of the most comprehensive line-ups of products, services, technologies, innovations and experts making their mark today.

A vital, free resource, the Expo offers practical advice and solutions from over 100 different exhibitors and two Keynote speaker theatres. In 2022 the Expo will open alongside two co-events: A clean transport showcase Big Green Wheels 2022 – and the Local Authority Collaboration Forum 2022.

Co-directors Anita Potten and Lynda Daniels left us in no doubt as to the importance of an environmental strategy to protect the future of our businesses. Having successfully run a company that supports the public and private sector in their quest to operate more responsibly - this duo has witnessed first-hand the loss of long-term business by organisations that have failed to prioritise this vital topic.

Anita Potten: Protecting your organisation is why we do what we do. Like us we have no doubt you’ve nurtured a culture of outstanding quality and customer service. It’s what we all strive to achieve. But that alone is no longer enough. With far greater scrutiny of the supply chain, we are now urging SMEs to look at what their customers

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are doing to reduce their own impact on the environment. Having witnessed the ripple effect through the supply chain, as one company is forced to clean up its act, so they refuse to jeopardise efforts by buying from a less responsible supplier themselves.

Lynda Daniels adds: We’ve all read the headlines.

Large corporations playing their part in helping the planet. But what came first? Their company or saving the planet? Undoubtedly, their journey began with a need to meet environmental legislation, and it was from those early directives that corporations woke up to its significant benefits. Not least, enormous cost savings matched by increased profits gained from a more positive brand perception. And, of course, they are inevitably helping the planet. So, please, view this as a positive. There are far-reaching benefits and no longer just within the confines of our large corporations.

The duo concurs, it starts with joined-up thinking between departments. Shining a spotlight on areas of operations that may have gone unscrutinised as a business grows. This should incorporate what comes into your businesses versus what goes out as waste. Clearer thinking that will see you keep more of those hard-earned profits. More centralised purchasing is a great move, it ensures you are less wasteful and may also provide stronger buying power. Track your energy data...what you use and where you use it – there are great tools out there today. You may be horrified to learn what you are

BIG SU STAIN ABILITY EXP O

T he S o ut her n Su st ain a bil i t y Par t ne rshi p

Expo Show Floor.

using – even when the company is closed. Then, visit the Expo for ways to reduce energy and waste and so much more – it’s easier than you think.

The Expo prides itself on being one of the most comprehensive events in the UK calendar. With the aim of covering as many different products, technologies, services, innovations and solutions as possible in order to help their UK-wide delegates meet their own project challenges.

No organisation is doing everything, they are keen to stress. And no company has all the answers.

But the answer right now is to begin to adopt your own environmental strategy. Step-by-step – this is a marathon not a sprint. Create your own journey with advice you can pick up on the day. One that

The Big Sustainability Expo opens on September 22nd at the home of premiership football club Southampton’s St. Mary’s Stadium, to a UK-wide audience that includes many of our largest corporations, SME’s, nonprofit and charity.

has a well-defined, manageable framework and one that your business can hold accountable.

This can still be achieved while considering the nuances of your industry sector and, very early on, they promise you will view this as less as a burden and more as a smart, effective way to run every business.

Their parting shot, they told us is to point out that this is a topic you cannot afford to ignore. It is embedding itself into every aspect of business today. It provides the ability to meet finance, funding, tender and stakeholder expectations. To meet new and existing customer expectations and attract the retain the best workforce. Start doing something now, they urge, shout about it on your literature, your website and on social media. Do it now before your customers ask the question no business wants to hear if it cannot meet their expectations. And your efforts will be richly rewarded with reduced running costs and more streamlined processes.

THE BIG SUSTAINABILITY EXPO southernsustainability.co.uk

The Big Sustainability Expo opens on September 22nd at the home of premiership football club Southampton’s St. Mary’s Stadium, to a UKwide audience that includes many of our largest corporations, SME’s, non-profit and charity.

Together with our public sector local authorities, rail, MoD, NHS Trusts, universities and colleges.

The message is clear, you can no longer afford to ignore this topic, so educate yourself and your team. The event is FREE to attend for everyone. info@southernsustainability.co.uk 01202 971186

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SMART I E N VI RO NM E NTA L Wate r le s s Te ch B re a k th ro u g h

WATERLESS TECH BREAKTHROUGH – THE ECO-SOLUTION TO CUTTING CO2, AND HALVING URINAL RUNNING COSTS Businesses could save over £1,200 on their annual water bills for every three urinals installed, at the same time as slashing CO2, simply by switching to waterless urinals.

The findings have been released by Smarti Environmental, the UK’s leading waterless urinal business, which will be on Stand 72 at the Big Sustainability Expo 22.

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he savings are possible with the installation of its latest product, the eco-friendly Vortex triple seal valve (TSV), which has been designed to cut urinal running costs by over half, at the same time as dramatically lowering carbon footprints, eliminating bad urinal smells, blockages and eradicating the spread of infections caused by flushing urinals.

The smart-tech, eco-friendly, retro-fit Vortex valve ends the need for water in urinals, saving on average 100,000 litres of clean water and 105kg CO2 per urinal, per year. It also prevents airborne infections caused by spray during flushing, which has been shown to spread 500,000 germs per inch, per flush, landing on skin, surfaces and clothing, spreading viruses including Covid-19, influenza and norovirus.

The Vortex TSV, fits 98% of all urinals, and enables businesses to retain their existing urinal bowls while cutting annual running costs by over 50%, compared to conventional water-flush alternatives.

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Based on average water bills across the UK, Smarti Environmental’s Vortex valve provides an annual saving of circa £630 on a typical bay of three urinals supplied by one cistern, rising to a saving of up to circa £1,230 in the South West.

Confirmed as the fastest flowing waterless urinal solution on the market, the fully recyclable, British-manufactured, hygienic one-way multi valve system, traps all odours so that the foul drain smells become a thing of the past.

The Vortex valve also accelerates the flow of urine down into the drainpipe, and includes an eco-friendly bio-block enzyme ring and integrated bio-tablet which breaks down uric acid and bio film proteins during use, making urine PH neutral – a world first! This means less energy is required in sewerage treatment processing, further reducing environmental impact. When the enzyme ring depletes, it turns from blue to clear, ready to be replaced using a simple non-touch key change-out system.

SM ARTI EN V IRO N M ENTAL Waterless Te ch B re a k thro u g h

Combined with Smarti Environmental’s SteriKleer enzyme in-pipe pipe-pods, the Vortex multi-valve solution actively lubricates sewerage pipes, breaking down all biofilms and uric salts in pipework to prevent blocked pipes.

With the absence of water, calcium build-up caused by a chemical reaction between water and urine cannot occur. This ends the all-too-common experience of bad drain smells, floods and overflow when water-flush urinal pipes become calcified and back-up. Importantly, this prevents expensive and entirely avoidable plumbing and maintenance costs often experienced by businesses including airports, holiday parks, pubs, hotels and tourist attractions.

Using 100% environmentally friendly enzyme technology – including its 24-hour odour and

Fitting waterless Vortex TSV triple seal valves guarantees an end to foul-smelling urinals, but more than that, it allows you to share the environmental benefits that going waterless brings; a fact that staff and guests increasingly look for, appreciate and remember, especially as the world moves to Net Zero status.

bacteria suppressing SteriKleen surface spray – Smarti Environmental also eliminates the need for harsh bleaches, cleaning fluids or drain un-blockers.

Commenting on the launch of the all-new Vortex TSV Valve, Kimberley Hill, New Business Development Manager at Smarti Environmental, said: “In all sectors, clean, fresh-smelling, and freeflowing urinals matter. Guests, staff and members of the public remember the good, the bad and the ugly.

“Fitting waterless Vortex TSV triple seal valves guarantees an end to foul-smelling urinals, but more than that, it allows you to share the environmental benefits that going waterless brings; a fact that staff and guests increasingly look for, appreciate and remember, especially as the world moves to Net Zero status.”

SMARTI ENVIRONMENTAL smartilimited.com

Kimberley added: “We’re committed to helping all sectors cut carbon and costs through the adoption of the waterless urinals, which is why, we offer organisations with 100 or more urinals in their group a free washroom trial for 3 months, and free installation of our retro-fit waterless valves.

Smaller businesses can benefit too, as our waterless technology brings overall running costs down by more than 50% compared to the cost of running conventional flushing urinals.”

As part of the Vortex TSV valve offer, Smarti Environmental undertakes a free site survey, identifying the current amount of water used and projected savings. For the trial, urinal drainage pipes are checked and, if in need of replacement, are installed at no cost within the fully serviced package option.

Cisterns are removed and waterless valves fitted, all typically in just one day, minimising down-time.

Visit smartilimited.com or join us on stand 72 at the Big Sustainability Expo 22 for more information. Call 01392 311 202 for a no obligation washroom survey and quote.

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R E CYC LI N G

P l a s t ic Pack a g i ng Ta x

PLASTIC PACKAGING TAX: WILL ECONOMIC INCENTIVE ENCOURAGE BUSINESSES TO PRIORITISE ENVIRONMENT? Plastic packaging tax is a form of environmental taxation that came into effect this year, on 1 April 2022. To examine whether plastic packaging tax will prove successful in creating a demand for more sustainable products, professionals should consider the implications of previous taxations such as the sugar tax.

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n 2018, the government introduced a levy on soft drinks that contained more than 5g of sugar per 100ml. This resulted in the sugar content of soft drinks reducing significantly. In fact, according to a study by the University of Cambridge, households consumed drinks with 10 per cent less sugar in the first year that this came into effect.

This suggests that the plastic packaging tax will prove to be just as successful, encouraging manufacturers and importers to reduce the amount of non-recyclable materials used. Here is a closer examination of the taxation and which companies it is likely to affect.

What is the purpose of plastic packaging tax?

The UK plastic packaging tax charges companies that manufacture or import packaging that is made out of less than 30 per cent recycled plastic. The standard taxation is £200 per tonne of plastic packaging.

PLASTIC PAKAGING TAX

This applies to all manner of plastic packaging, whether it is used by companies or consumers.

Plastic packaging used in the supply chain, such as bubble wrap and packaging peanuts, is equal to consumer single-use plastics, from disposable utensils to coffee cups made of plastic.

The taxation will reduce the number of plastic products made from pure virgin material from entering landfill. It will also reduce how much is being used for waste-to-energy incineration and encourage businesses to create sustainable solutions, such as designing innovative cosmetic containers and recyclable food packaging.

Preventing a valuable resource ending up in landfills Plastic packaging tax will incentivise a number of people within the packaging industry. First and

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foremost, manufacturers and importers of plastic packaging exceeding 10 tonnes per year may face charges.

In addition to manufacturers and importers, the taxation can also affect businesses that buy plastic packaging. To avoid any unnecessary charges, packaging buyers and new product managers should keep a record of their purchasing history and consider buying from companies that favour recycled plastics.

This has the possibility of creating a demand for more plastics made from recyclable materials within the industry.

Judit Guerra-Falcon, product sustainability and compliance manager at Waddington Europe, which produces rigid plastic packaging, explains: “The goal of the UK Plastic Packaging tax is to provide an economic incentive for business to use more recycled plastics in the manufacturing of packaging. As a result, collection levels of plastic waste will increase. This may help to prevent this valuable material resource ending up in landfills or being incinerated.”

In fact, the taxation is estimated to increase the demand for sustainable plastic packaging by 40 per cent, saving as much as 200,000 tonnes of carbon in 2022 to 2023.

The implications of the plastic packaging tax remain inconclusive, although governmental bodies will continue to monitor the use of plastic packaging in the coming months. However, the demand for sustainable plastic products is obvious, meaning that corporations and packaging buyers have the opportunity to prioritise the environment.

Article courtesy of Waddington Europe, a European thermoforming packaging specialist division of Novolex.alarms and emergency lighting.

RECY CL I NG

P l a st ic Pack a g i n g Ta x

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R E CYC LI N G G i ga m i ne

THE BRIGHT FUTURE OF EV BATTERIES HAS ITS CHALLENGES Peter Cowan, Director at Gigamine, argues that recycling existing materials is a matter of urgency.

“Ambition,” said Elvis Presley, “is a dream with a V8 engine.” I disagree. Ambition is a dream with an EV engine. That dream is fast becoming reality. In 2018 there were about 5.5 million

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electric cars on the world’s roads. By the end of 2021 this had tripled to 16.5 million. Nearly 500,000 of these are on British roads alone. We are witnessing a technological revolution.

RECY CL I NG G i ga m i ne

Roadblocks There are snags. The main one is that demand is outpacing supply. The automotive sector’s world battery demand could exceed 2,800 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by 2030, more than double the forecast for 2025. But it faces shortages in lithium, nickel, cobalt and other of the main elements in EV batteries. It is, therefore, vital that the EV automotive sector – which by 2026 will account for half of the demand for cobalt, ahead of phones and computers – secures enough raw materials for the industry to grow.

Lithium is almost everywhere on earth, but the pace of extraction and refinement is slow.

- Elon Musk

Shortages are not scarcities. There is no scarcity of the elements themselves. As Elon Musk, the Tony Stark of EV, wrote: “Lithium is almost everywhere on earth, but the pace of extraction and refinement is slow.” Because demand remains high, lithium prices have soared this year to 438% higher than last. The war in Ukraine, which has scuppered supply chains in countless other industries, destabilised the global supply of nickel – Russia being one of its top producers. The same story applies to palladium.

An ambitious circle

The colourfully-named ‘Mr Nickel’ – mining expert Joe Lowry – said: “In the next two years, even though there will be significant growth in supply, it will be less than demand, so the gap will just continue to grow.” So will the number of competitors for these raw materials. Newcomers enter the market every year. Established players, Musk included, have toyed with entering the mining industry to circumvent the exorbitant price of buying from others. Battery manufacturer CATL has already invested in four mining companies since 2018.

for lithium-ion battery recycling and reuse,

There are some short-term solutions. Companies can invest in more efficient batteries that use less of a given material. The Advanced Propulsion Centre reports that, by 2030, up to 25% of EV cars manufactured in Europe will have LFP – lithium iron phosphate, or LiFePO4 – batteries, which use less nickel. These can take about 2,000 charge cycles, four to seven times as many as lithium-ion or lead acid.

running. Recycling existing materials is therefore

PETER COWAN

a matter of urgency. It would establish a fine

Director, Gigamine

But clearly this is not so much a solution as a trade-off. Using less nickel is no answer to the shortage of lithium – and the supply of both is determined at the moment by capricious market forces. Even if the supply of certain materials picks up, it may still struggle to meet demand. The Cobalt Institute, for example, reported: “From 2024-26 supply growth will average 8% per year, compared to more than 12% for demand.”

Such are the pressures on the future of EV battery use. Failure to adapt is not an option. We face a climate crisis which all but necessitates a transition to renewable energy. EVs must play a significant role in our drive to net zero. But for EV to remain viable we must, for all the above reasons, develop a way to recycle and reuse the raw materials upon which it depends.

The ambition is to develop a sustainable model and a business that can be scaled globally. The technology exists. As things stand, however, refineries capable of separating and extracting minerals from used batteries are inefficient. Nor are they to be found in the UK. This last point makes little sense. The UK has the second largest electric car market in Europe, trailing Germany but ahead of France. That market is set to grow. It can take up to 20 years for a new mine (most of them in central Africa) to get up and

example, right at the heart of the government’s green agenda, of a truly circular economy:

gigamine.co.uk

the decoupling of economic activity from the consumption of finite resources. It is the best, and perhaps the only, option for making clean energy sources viable long term, as the recycling of raw materials presents an opportunity for second-life applications.

Though in its early stages of development, EV battery recycling is a global business opportunity.

Investors in it can be part of a movement to achieve what was once thought impossible – just as Elvis Presley could never have imagined popping his beloved V8 in the green recycling bin.

Gigamine is a UK-based startup developing technology to recycle lithium-ion EV batteries.

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R E CYC LI N G PA Cons u l t i ng

GREENER WAYS TO ACCESS WATER Jonquil Hackenberg, Global head of sustainability and climate response at PA Consulting, discusses how businesses can sustainably access that most precious commodity - water.

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or businesses, water demand is only going to increase, and in the very near future it will be vital to access water in new ways. This is a challenge for many organisations. But get it right, and it doesn’t just help with water supplies, it has a real impact on bringing down carbon use.

That’s because water production, conveyancing and purification takes up an inordinate amount of energy. So, reducing and reusing water has even more impact than you might immediately realise.

In fact, our recent research suggests that organisations have the potential to save 86 billion cubic metres of water between now and 2030.

That’s equivalent to the yearly water consumption of Japan, and a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 12 million tonnes. Or to put it another way, it is equivalent to delivering up to a quarter of the cuts required to achieve the Paris Agreement targets. In the future, resource scarcity will be the key driver behind competition, not just the end consumer. It seems like a no-brainer for businesses to get on top of this.

What gets in the way? The perception for many people that water is ‘free’ or ‘cheap’ doesn’t help.

The perception for many people is that water is free or cheap.

In the Western world, few organisations are really putting a value on water. With climate change and more risks to supply that is changing – but slowly.

Many businesses are leaning heavily on public water supplies, with a large proportion of those we spoke to (46%) using this as their primary source.

Data can be another blocker. Finding greener ways to access water depends on understanding your existing usage. Around a third (35%) of leaders we spoke to highlighted the low uptake of technology as a barrier to monitoring water usage and its link to carbon emissions. The inability to share data, disincentives for data sharing, poor quality data and the incompatibility of data all play a part.

So what can you do to access water in greener ways?

Think beyond fresh Fresh water doesn’t have to be the default.

Water innovators are working hard to create more usable water, whether that’s converting wastewater into reusable water or providing new water sources at the point of need by making greywater potable. With so much of the world’s water found in oceans, desalination is an obvious route to more usable water. But it’s a trade-off: the energy used to produce it is currently up to 23 times that used for conventional water, which increases costs and carbon.

What’s more, the chemicals used to clean water have a significant impact on biodiversity, with chemical pollutants being released through reverse osmosis. However, the technology is always improving. For example, Desolenator

RECY CL I NG PA Con s ul t i n g

recently developed a system that uses solar power to desalinate seawater. As these kind of green desalination techniques come online, leaders should be looking out for what’s possible: working to technology roadmaps that keep a close eye on the value potential of emerging and scaled technologies.

Look at the life cycle of the water you use – and think circular Reusing water is an obvious win for most businesses. It starts a shift in thinking. Water and carbon should be considered as part of the circular economy – an opportunity to recover the embedded value from everything once it’s used.

Whether it’s connecting green desalination to more efficient irrigation, or more efficient storage linking up with green wastewater treatment and re-use solutions, there are an abundance of possibilities to ensure water is used in an efficient, circular way.

To do this well, you’ll need to consider the whole lifecycle of water across your activities. We mapped out water usage across a typical value chain across a selection of industries. When we spoke to organisations about this, they told us that some of

the biggest gains can be made in the ‘make’ part of the process – regardless of industries surveyed.

Collaborate, don’t compete The traditional approach of different organisations competing for the same water, or only thinking of their own water needs, must end. Instead, imagine if major water users in geographical areas worked together in a systems-based approach, collectively striving for the lowest energy demand and environmental impact. On the East Coast of India, for example, are several large-scale representatives from each of our surveyed sectors.

These organisations will have their own targets and technologies. By connecting and scaling both digital and physical innovation and approaches across the region, organisations in water scarce areas could drive greater change. This is good for the planet, and good business sense too.

JONQUIL HACKENBERG Global Head of Sustainability & Climate Response, PA Consulting paconsulting.com

Accessing water in greener ways isn’t just a tick box exercise. It means looking at water in every part of your operations and beyond to see where the opportunities are. The benefit goes beyond being able to keep business afloat – offering opportunities to collaborate for a greater good and lower carbon emissions at the same time.

Overview of water inputs and outputs across a typical value chain

Diagram taken from PA Consulting’s report - The Big Drop: the untapped potential of water.

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UN I VE R S I T Y O F ST RAT H CLY D E Su s t a i n a ble E ne r g y F utures MB A

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTURES MBA IS FIRST OF ITS KIND The University of Strathclyde Business School in Glasgow has launched a first of its kind MBA in Sustainable Energy Futures in response to the current global energy challenges and the drive to reach net zero by 2050.

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he new MBA programme has been cocreated by industry leaders, who understand the practical challenges facing the sector, alongside esteemed academics, resulting in a cutting-edge course with current and relevant content to drive solutions. Aimed at managers and leaders working in the energy and related industry as well as the wider energy value chain, the course is designed to provide future leaders with the knowledge, skills and behaviours to stimulate change, innovation and adopt a systemsthinking approach to the challenges that we are seeing in the world today.

strategies for innovation, change and social innovation.

Participants will gain the knowledge to support their organisations understand the implication of NetZero and can work alongside other industry leaders to create

“As well as an innovative design and co-creation of the programme content, we have been equally focused on the cohort size and structure. It was

Dr Phil Considine, Director of Executive Education at Strathclyde Business School said, “We are excited to be bringing this programme to market. We are facing unprecedented systemic pressure driven by a wide range of factors including geo-politics, climate change, net zero, cost of living, pension deficits, migration of people and global equity markets. Part of the solution to these problems relies on new ways of building, consuming and paying for gas and power. The MBA Sustainable Energy Futures provides the knowledge and skills required to navigate these challenges.

U N IV ERSITY O F STRATHCLYDE

Su st ain a ble E ner g y F ut ure s M B A

important to us that all elements of the energy value chain from generation, transmission and trading, to pressure groups, suppliers, customers and the regulator are represented. We want to create an environment where problems are being critiqueds, analysed and solved in a holistic manner. Not only is this a hugely relevant MBA, but we expect the systems approach to create new practices that will contribute solutions to some of the most pressing global problems.”

Phil Considine added, “A key challenge is funding the path to NetZero our reputation in the UK for finance research and teaching, positions us well to develop new thinking in this area. We have used all our experience to design an applied, experiential and personalised programme course for industry leaders that will provide a framework for a better future.”

Mark Reddin, Director of Operations Enablement

at Ovo Energy and programme sponsor said, “Strathclyde is known for its triple-accredited MBA (I have first-hand experience of this) and now we’ve created a programme which really listens to the global issues around climate change. I’m fortunate to be able to work with other leading industry bodies and experts to shape a programme that helps decisionmakers develop a systems-thinking approach and develop a new mindset relevant to driving meaningful change within the energy sector. As the sponsor of the “Applied Strategic Management” module, I’m keen to stress the importance of looking at the strategy and scenario planning process from a people perspective… really digging deep into evaluating impacts across a broad range of stakeholders.”

UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE strath.ac.uk/business

Core modules will include topics such as Strategic Leadership Development, Accounting & Financial Practise of Energy Transactions, Energy Supply & Trading, as well as completion of a final project that will tackle a management challenge specific to the participant’s sector and organisation.

Pioneering Innovative For eligible organisations this MBA programme As well as an innovative Sustainable can be part funded via the Apprenticeship Levy. design and co-creation of The inaugural programme will begin in September 2022, for further information visit MBA in the programme content, we International Sustainable Energy Futures. We also offer have been equally focused Strathclyde you the opportunity to attend one of our taster on the cohort size and structure.

theinnext one schedule for 11th August The sessions, final word business education

will explore the topic on environmental beliefbehaviour gap the Green Gap by Professor Iain MBA inUniversity Sustainable Black, of Strathclyde Business School, registerFutures here.

Energy

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NE E NE WS R GY Ma s d a r

ACCELERATING THE RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSITION FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

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EN ERGY Ma s d ar

Niall Hannigan, Chief Financial Officer of Abu Dhabi Future Energy company Masdar, explains how private sector developers can help emerging economies achieve their clean energy goals.

The future of the Earth’s climate and energy transition increasingly hinges on the capacity of emerging economies to transition to cleaner energy production effectively and quickly.

Development of clean energy is not only going to help countries reach their climate objectives, but also crucially build resilience to volatile prices, improve energy security and ease overall energy costs. This is particularly important in countries which we know are most vulnerable to the climate crisis.

Commercially viable renewable energy will be key to ensure that developing countries can make

good progress towards their climate goals, while simultaneously meeting economic challenges.

Increasing energy access for these countries is undoubtedly a challenge, but it is also a significant opportunity to develop an even more economical renewable energy sector.

This dual task of renewable energy development and meeting net-zero climate goals will require investment in renewable energy amounting to trillions of dollars – considerably more than can be raised through public funds alone, which means both private and institutional capital have a key role to play.

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E N E R GY Ma s d a r

I

t will be key for private sector developers, such as Masdar, to consider how we can support these developing countries in creating an attractive environment for private and institutional capital and continuing to grow as investment destinations.

But these require substantial investment to become commercially viable. This funding gap needs a two-pronged approach with investment in existing and newer technologies, and this should be a central focus for the private sector.

The private sector investment needed by emerging economies

Collaboration across the board is key

We know that developing countries and regions are particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis, so it is crucial that they have access to competitive and affordable clean energy. Key to this is scaling up private-sector investment.

A recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that despite record levels of interest in sustainable investing, the financial flow required to limit warming to below 2 °C by 2030 is three to six times lower than needed. Clean energy investments in emerging and developing economies need to change considerably. According to the International Energy Association, annual clean energy investment in these countries needs to increase by more than seven times – from less than USD 150 billion last year to over USD 1 trillion by 2030 – if we are going to put the world on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

MBR Solar Park-Dubai.

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There is more provision for the successful transition to green energy than ever before – in addition to the well-established wind, solar and hydro technologies, exciting developments in the advancement of green hydrogen, carbon capture utilisation storage (CCUS) and battery storage, will all be key.

Growing amounts of investment are pouring into sustainability and green energy, yet this capital is not always being directed towards the emerging economies that need it the most. It can often be challenging to cultivate reliable and attractive investment ecosystems in these regions, and to generate investment appetite and attract both private and institutional capital.

This is why collaboration is central to bringing together key stakeholders from across government, the development and investment community, and financial institutions. In this way, we can create a stable investment environment and framework, establish credibility for the renewables program, and ultimately support the ability for companies like Masdar to deliver competitive renewable energy on a sustainable basis. With the urgent need for successful and affordable renewable energy, it’s increasingly important that stakeholders work together effectively to really lay the groundwork for success.

To this end, Masdar has developed strategic relationships with international development finance institutions (DFIs), including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Asian Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation

EN ERGY Ma s d ar

(IFC). Masdar has been successfully working with DFIs including these to successfully progress and present ground-breaking renewable energy projects in different developing countries.

Collaboration will also be important to generating innovative financing solutions that allow developers and financiers to build their involvement in emerging markets. For example, at Masdar we have been working closely with Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the UAE’s export credit agency, to work on solutions which support and enable the participation of commercial banks in the financing of renewable energy projects in these emerging economies. These partnerships are essential to ensuring we can attract the additional capital needed, thereby boosting cost competitiveness.

As partners continue to effectively collaborate, opportunities will increase. If governments in

Growing amounts of investment are pouring into sustainability and green energy.

emerging economies continue to work with DFIs and developers such as Masdar, the development of large-scale renewable energy programs focused on competitively priced clean energy for citizens can progress sustainably, providing real energy security for these countries.

It’s crucial that developing countries like the Seychelles have access to affordable clean energy.

Today’s energy challenges are so wide-reaching that no single company or sector can tackle clean energy alone. Close collaboration between government, finance and industry is key. The three must work as partners to ensure that both short and long-term investments in industrial decarbonisation are sustainable and affordable.

Established in 2006, Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, is a global leader in renewable energy and sustainable urban development. Masdar means “source” in Arabic.

MASDAR masdar.ae

Their mandate is to help maintain the leadership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the global energy sector, while supporting the diversification of both its economy and energy sources for the benefit of future generations.

Masdar is developing commercially viable renewable energy projects in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) and international markets, and champions innovation in clean technologies. The company is currently building the world’s most sustainable city.

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E N E R GY H ydro ck

EV UPTAKE IS FACING BUMPS IN THE ROAD IF WE DON’T FIX CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE With the government preparing to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030, the uptake of electric vehicles is set to increase 20-fold over the next seven years. This would undoubtedly play a major part in helping us decarbonise our country and reach our net zero target by 2050.

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EN ERGY H ydro ck

B

ut, across the UK, our current charging infrastructure is unable to sustain this predicted growth. Estimates show we would need to be delivering ten times the current number of charging points before the 2030 cutoff. And it’s not just the number of chargers we need to look at. If we want to avoid the seemingly random concentration of infrastructure in a few hubs around the country, and vast areas without access to public EV charging, we need to adopt an evidence-led strategy to charging infrastructure which will avoid businesses and local authorities wasting money installing the wrong types of chargers in the wrong places.

but is also a problem that can increase costs by overestimating demand on the national grid.

Across the UK, almost one in five public charging points are rapid chargers. That’s great if your vehicle is low on charge and you are stopping off for a quick trip to your local shopping centre.

However, if you are parking for a longer duration your vehicle doesn’t need to be charged within twenty minutes.

This is the only way we will be able to build consumer confidence in EVs. With 80 charging points per 100,000 people in London currently, compared with just 10 Yorkshire and the Humber, it’s time we found a better solution for the effective roll out of charging infrastructure in the UK.

The need for a data-led approach

Understanding assets, and consumers Since the government’s ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ set out the plans to phase-out petrol and diesel cars, companies and councils around the UK have been taking steps to ensure they are prepared with adequate EV charging provisions.

Afterall, failure to cater for electric vehicle drivers will ultimately isolate businesses of all types from a large, growing customer base. Similarly, councils must consider how EV charging supports local centres, protects critical revenue streams, and democratises EV uptake. But we need to look more closely at the type of infrastructure that is being installed. More often than not, due to a lack of a data-led approach, critical errors are made in terms of the number and type of charging points needed.

Incorrectly assessing what is needed across an asset portfolio is not just a costly financial error

Understanding consumer behaviours and the needs of an individual asset is key to implementing a successful EV charging strategy which will help consumer make the jump to an electric vehicle.

It is time for us to look to data-driven strategies to help make informed decisions on EV charging provision. Currently, decisions often worth millions of pounds, are being made without real insights, creating unnecessary risk and expenses, and sometimes resulting in a lack of infrastructure which hampers EV take up. The cost of EV chargers vary considerably, particularly between lower powered AC chargers and higher powered DC units - where grid capacity is a constraint, we have seen grid connection costs between £50,000 to £2m per MW. Overprovision can be an expensive mistake which can lead to both high costs and loss of revenue.

With StratEV, Hydrock’s bespoke EV charging modelling tool, we can draw together data to predict charger usage, power demand and revenue to provide efficient solutions that reduce cost and maximise future uptake. The benefit of modelling when developing an EV charging strategy is the degree of certainty that the data-led approach provides. Devising an EV infrastructure strategy using data takes the guesswork out of the equation and helps make informed decisions.

JAMES MCKECHNIE National Director - Transportation & Mobility Analytics, Hydrock hydrock.com

The future is EV

Devising an EV infrastructure strategy using data takes the guesswork out of the equation and helps make informed decisions.

We all make conscious efforts to be more sustainable – from using a reusable water bottle to separating our cardboard parcel boxes in the rubbish. The transition to electric vehicles is a key part of building a more sustainable future – but for this to happen we must deliver the right charging infrastructure. Drivers, from all corners of the country, need to be confident that the move to an electric vehicle is a sustainable solution, and this means providing them with the certainty that they will be able to charge their car wherever they are. This can only be achieved by adopting a data-led approach which will eliminate inflated infrastructure costs and risks.

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E N E R GY

C OPA - DATA

MANAGING THE ENERGY CRISIS IN UK MANUFACTURING The UK’s energy price cap has been rising at a colossal rate. While domestic rates are being kept below the threshold, albeit still gutwrenchingly expensive, business rates are not covered by the cap, meaning there are wild variations in costs for business energy. Martyn Williams, managing director of COPA-DATA, gives his advice for curbing industry’s rising energy costs.

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holesale energy costs are now at record high levels. No extent of shopping around for a better rate can avoid the reality that energy will cost you more, regardless of your supplier. In industry, energy costs have always been a substantial but essential expense — particularly for facilities that operate with a vast array of equipment.

have the capital expenditure to invest in more efficient machinery.

The legacy dilemma

For facilities with energy intensive equipment, there are ways to improve efficiency by installing complementary automation, such as variable speed drives (VSDs) or soft starters to manage the energy output of motors, replacing oversized motors and pumps, and running pumps at their efficiency speeds. However, these efforts can be misplaced if manufacturers do not have a full overview of where energy is being consumed.

Many industrial facilities still operate on legacy machinery. If not most of the equipment on site, at least some will have been in operation for several years or decades and are likely to have poor energy credentials. Unfortunately, much like the consumers now wistfully regretting their decision not to invest in solar panels, most manufacturers simply don’t

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Unfortunately, one of the most common barriers to efficiency has been competition from other revenue-generating projects for funds. However, the current cost of energy is now at a level that cannot be ignored should businesses want to maintain their profits and, in some cases, stay afloat.

EN ERGY

C OPA -DATA

Capturing energy data

Actioning energy analysis

The backbone of good energy management is the collection and analysis of energy data.

Manufacturers need clear insight on how much energy is being used, where and what for. While many manufacturers believe they do have some kind of energy data management system (EDMS) in place, these are often relatively basic. In fact, some are only as sophisticated as a domestic smart meter and are inadequate for an industrial facility.

A common drawback of many energy management initiatives is actioning consumption data. There’s so much data that managers often don’t know where to begin, particularly if data analysis and modification have to be done manually. To reap the benefits of an EDMS investment, it’s best to look for a platform that can offer visualisation of energy usage data in a single location.

Ideally, manufacturers need an EDMS that can collect data from equipment of any age or manufacturer. Legacy equipment often is not Internet of Things (IoT) compatible, so it is advisable to opt for an EDMS that can communicate across a range of protocols. This can ensure it will connect with the programmable logic controller (PLC) in question. Often, you will not yield as much data from legacy machinery as native IoT-enabled equipment, but they can provide enough insight to identify key pain points.

Manufacturers need clear insight on how much energy is being used, where and what for.

For instance, a dashboard that shows the performance of all equipment within a facility, allowing manufacturers to identify any aspects of the plant that are not efficient. Let’s say a plant manager spots a conveyor operating for several hours per week when it is not needed — a simple modification of switching this machine off periodically could yield a decent energy saving.

Likewise, the system could also spot opportunities for significant energy savings, such as an under loaded motor that needs replacing or a fault in the HVAC system.

COPA-DATA copadata.com/en

For example, zenon functions as an EDMS, and can also provide alerts for any deviations in energy usage. For manufacturers with many industrial assets, this can identify energy flow issues before they cause spikes in consumption and cost.

Industry will not be supported by Ofgem’s price cap — and there is no sign of support from the Chancellor for businesses in this area - so manufacturers must take energy management into their own hands and invest in technology to support energy initiatives.

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E N E R GY P ilo t Gro u p

YOU CAN’T MANAGE WHAT YOU’RE NOT MEASURING As energy costs continue to rise, reducing costs and carbon emissions is an increasing priority for business leaders. Shayne Wilson, of Pilot Group, explains why energy management and monitoring is of real strategic importance.

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s energy costs soar, energy management and monitoring has never been more significant. According to energy analysts Cornwall Insight, SMEs have faced an average gas bill hike of more than 250% in the last year alone.

Another price increase is expected in October, where, according to the most recent forecasts, we should expect energy prices to rise even further, by a staggering 51%.

Despite this, in a study carried out by the Office for National Statistics, nearly half of all businesses surveyed reported they are not implementing any actions to reduce their carbon emissions.

The three main challenges preventing these businesses from taking action are:

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concern over the cost of implementation lack of expertise to assess different options for change lack of knowledge on how to measure energy outputs.

Decreasing energy consumption reduces running costs for businesses, lowers carbon emissions and shows customers that a company is environmentally conscious. So why is it proving so difficult to convince business owners to take a serious look at their energy outputs and learn how to make it more efficient?

Increased awareness around the strategic importance of energy management and monitoring is vital to overcome these barriers for change. After all, you can’t improve what you

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P ilo t Gro u p

apart from base load consumption such as fire alarms and emergency lighting.

Why is it proving so difficult to convince business owners to take a serious look at their energy outputs? don’t know – and that lack of understanding can be overcome with simple steps.

Advanced meters and smart meters can each provide an accurate measurement of energy use. There are many different types of advanced monitoring systems to build a detailed picture of energy useage. However, simply obtaining your half hourly meter information from your electricity provider can be the starting point to help provide valuable insights into your energy efficiency.

Smart meters are also booming in popularity as they provide real time readings of energy use, and automatically send readings to suppliers.

Smart meters and half hourly meter readings allow you to monitor and analyse energy-use patterns throughout the day, which can then be assessed against operational hours. For a business that operates 9am to 5pm, you will most likely see spikes in energy consumption during that time, with zero energy usage outside of these hours,

Seeing large spikes outside of operational hours is costly and easily fixable through an energy management system to measure energy consumption.

Recent years have seen a proliferation in energy management system technology, bringing sophisticated systems and processes into play.

Sub-metering is growing in popularity, as a method that gathers more granular energy consumption information about a business or site, pinning down the energy usage across different areas of buildings and pieces of equipment. This also often acts as an early warning system for any equipment that may need maintenance.

PILOT GROUP thepilotgroup.co.uk

It’s vital that businesses consistently monitor and measure energy usage: the more data you have, the more detailed your energy profile will be.

There’s a common fear that green technology is a costly investment, however, most energy efficient solutions are relatively inexpensive, and the question I always ask my customers is: can you afford not to?

Research by the Carbon Trust shows that most businesses can achieve meaningful cost savings through cutting energy consumption and that even low and no-cost action can usually reduce costs by at least 10%.

And looking at the three main barriers which stop businesses from implementing energy management, it is clear they are all easy to overcome.

Pilot Group designs smart, safe and sustainable infrastructure solutions, with clients ranging from SMES to Amazon, Tesco, National Rail, and local authorities.

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E N E R GY U K 100

ENERGY PRICE CAP: ‘FIX THE ROOF WHILE THE SUN IS SHINING’ Responding to confirmation that the Ofgem price cap will rise a staggering 80% to a record high of £3,549, Polly Billington, Chief Executive of UK100*, says that with households already beset by a cost-of-living crisis, it’s impossible to see how many families will cope with an average energy bill rise of over £1,500 a year. will permanently slash energy bills.

We need support for an emergency energy efficiency strategy that prioritises, first and most urgently, upgrading Britain’s social housing stock. Local and regional leaders are ready to deliver those improvements and reduce bills for their constituents. But they need backing from the central government.

Britain has some of the draughtiest homes in Europe. If our radiators kicked out five-pound notes instead of warm air, we would see wads of them escaping from homes up and down the country every winter. Our homes are leaking money and energy.

But energy efficiency isn’t sexy. It doesn’t ignite culture wars. And it doesn’t sell newspapers.

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e are looking down the barrel of a bleak winter across Britain. It is clear that urgent action is needed to help communities now.

But while cash handouts are a vital short-term measure to support the most vulnerable across the country, we cannot pretend that those funds are going anywhere but straight back to the energy firms already making record profits.

The handouts already budgeted for will cost taxpayers £21bn. How much will that bill increase when the cap rises again in January?

UK100 uk100.org

Doubling down on earlier and repeated calls for a nationwide energy efficiency drive to bring down bills and accelerate Net Zero progress, Polly adds:”With energy prices sky-high and only forecast to get higher, and millions facing fuel poverty, it is finally the time to grasp the energy efficiency nettle.

The cheapest energy is the energy we don’t use, and we need a nationwide drive to improve the energy efficiency of our homes — a drive that

This can be the only explanation for why the Government has seemingly passed up almost every possible opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of Britain’s homes, including recently scrapping a £1bn scheme to do just that.

Whoever takes the keys to Number 10 needs to face up to the challenge and focus on real solutions, not just throwing good money after bad.

Short-term help is desperately needed in the face of the current crisis, but the only way to tackle it in the medium and long-term is to fix the roof while the sun is shining. And not just the roof.

We need to insulate the walls and triple-glaze the windows too. End the wait. Insulate.

UK100 will host a “Tackling the Energy Price Crisis” summit on 17 November, in cooperation with the West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and Mayor Tracy Brabin, that will focus on the role of local and regional leaders in delivering energy efficiency upgrades.

The event will also launch a new social housing retrofit report detailing the cost of upgrading all of Britain’s social homes and the benefits to households in energy bill savings alongside the jobs dividend.

Register for the event here. More details on speakers will be announced shortly.

*UK100 is the network of council leaders and mayors committed to Net Zero and clean air.

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NEWS

CO2R ail

NEW TRAINS CLEAN AIR OF CO2 Railways could help counter climate change and remove CO2 from the air by capturing the sustainable energy generated when trains brake and decelerate.

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S start-up CO2Rail Company has been working with a global team of researchers, including engineers from the University of Sheffield, to design Direct Air Capture (DAC), a technology to remove carbon dioxide from the air via special carriages on existing trains.

The system works by using the large intakes of air that extend up into the slipstream of the moving train to move ambient air into a large cylindrical CO2 collection chamber.

A chemical process separates the CO2 from the air and the carbon dioxide-free air travels out of the back or underside of the car and returns to the atmosphere.

When a sufficient amount is captured, the chamber is closed and the harvested CO2 is collected, concentrated, and stored in a liquid reservoir until it can be emptied from the train into normal CO2 rail tank cars. It is then transported into the circular carbon economy as feedstock or to geological landfill sites.

These processes are powered by on-board generated, sustainable energy sources that require no external energy input or off-duty charging cycles.

When a train pumps the brakes, its energy braking system converts the train’s forward momentum into electrical energy in a similar way to a regenerative electric vehicle. Currently, this energy dissipates in the form of heat and is discharged out of the top of the vehicle during every braking manoeuvre.

Research co-author, Professor Peter Styring from the University of Sheffield and Director of the UK Centre for Carbon Dioxide Utilisation, explained: “Currently the enormous amount of sustainable energy created when a train brakes or decelerates is simply lost.

“The technology will harvest meaningful quantities of CO2 at far lower costs and has the potential to reach annual productivity of 0.45 gigatons by 2030, 2.9 gigatons by 2050, and 7.8 gigatons by 2075 with each car having an annual capacity of 3,000 tonnes of CO2 in the near term.”

Each complete braking manoeuvre generates enough energy to power 20 average homes for an entire day.

Unlike stationary DAC operations, which require large areas to build equipment and construct renewable sources of energy to power them, CO2Rail would be transient and generally unseen by the public.

A CO2Rail car could help harvest harmful emissions.

Eric Bachman of CO2Rail Company said: “On average, each complete braking manoeuvre generates enough energy to power 20 average homes for an entire day, so it is not a trivial amount of energy.

“Multiply this by every stop or deceleration for nearly every train in the world and you have about 105 times more energy than the Hoover Dam produces within that same period, and that was a hydro-electric construction project that took six years and cost $760 million in today’s dollars.”

He added: “Imagine stepping onto a train each morning, seeing the CO2Rail cars attached, and knowing that your commute to work each day is actually helping to mitigate climate change.

CO2Rail co2rail.com

“It will work the same with freight, if there is a choice between rail and another mode of transportation, I think this technology will sway many shippers.”

The team found each direct air capture car can harvest about 6,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the air per year – and more as the technology develops. Since trains are capable of hosting multiple CO2Rail cars, each train will harvest a corresponding multiple of CO2 tonnage.

This, along with other significant savings, such as land, brings projected cost at scale down to less than $50 per tonne and makes the technology not only commercially viable but commercially attractive.

The team is also working on a similar system to remove CO2 emissions from the exhausts of diesel-powered locomotives which are still common around the world.

The research “Rail-Based Direct Air Carbon Capture” is published in the Future Energy section of the journal Joule.

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COODE N TAX CO N S U LT IN G Pro duc t L au nch

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CO O D EN TAX CO N SU LTI NG Pro duc t L aunch

LAUNCHING YOUR NEW PRODUCT CAN BE MORE OF A FINANCE BOOST THAN YOU THINK A product launch is always a fantastic opportunity for a company to celebrate their success, but we’d also like to celebrate your failures too! More on that later.

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COODE N TAX CO N S U LT IN G Pro duc t L au nch

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ou might be celebrating further after reading this article because instead of following in the footsteps of a significant number of your peers and competitors, or indeed your own business in previous years, you’ve realized that your product launch also represents the point at which a significant failure arises, often without anyone really noticing, or even worse caring. This year you’re going to do something different, you’re going to pick up the phone and have a conversation about Research and Development Tax Credits with an expert.

A spin-off company from a restaurant chain, has done just that and is on the verge of submitting a claim for a repayable tax credit of £45k for their plant-based food product development.

It’s one of those, “unknown, unknown” moments that exist everywhere in business, but after being available for 22 years, Research and Development Tax Credits should no longer be one of them, but it is and alas, thousands of businesses continue to miss their right to claim this most generous of tax reliefs.

COODEN TAX CONSULTING coodentaxconsulting.co.uk

We are one of those experts, we’re only small, but we do have some substance behind our claims, we’ve been operating for 9 years now and have supported nearly 200 companies to claim more than £25m in R&D Tax Credits claims.

We celebrate your failure as much, perhaps more than we celebrate your success. It sounds strange but we celebrate your failure because we know that failure while difficult in the short term, will open up the opportunity for you to claim Research and Development Tax Credits, whether you are paying tax or not. they can boost your cashflow.

The over-riding fundamentals for a successful claim for R&D Tax Relief are: There has to be a project (developing a new/ improved product) There has to be an advance in science or technology (you probably aren’t going to launch a new product that is worse than what you already have, or than the market already has)

If you aren’t quite ready to launch this year, but you and your team have been working thorough several ideas during the same time period and may be one or two of them are still going through the product development process, not having a finished product doesn’t prevent you from claiming now! In fact, you can claim for a completely failed project.

Let’s get back to your new product! It’s taken you nearly three years to get from concept to launch, along the way you’ve had Eureka moments and more abject failures than perhaps you would care to mention in polite company. You could claim Tax Relief on the bulk if not all of that threeyear activity depending on the timing of your accounting year end.

If you aren’t quite ready to launch this year, but you and your team have been working thorough several ideas during the same time period and may be one or two of them are still going through the product development process, not having a finished product doesn’t prevent you from claiming now! In fact, you can claim for a completely failed project.

The good news is those failures are great news for your cashflow, they clearly weren’t at the time,

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but they are now. “Why” do I hear you ask? Well, normally your failure would go hand in hand with a scientific or technological challenge that you were trying to overcome. After all, we don’t set out to fail, it just seems to happen naturally!

The advance has to be achieved by overcoming some form of scientific or technological challenge (the main way to overcome these is by learning and adapting through failure) The solution to the challenge cannot be readily deducible by a competent professional operating in the field.

If you look back through your new product development, you’ll no doubt see it littered with failures and the one or two products that do make it to the point of launch didn’t get there by some fluke, they got there through overcoming every single technical or scientific challenge you were presented with.

Now you just have one final hurdle to get over, and that hurdle is of your own making, you just have to talk to an expert to confirm that you can claim. Go on, dare you, go to your browser, type in https://calendly.com/cooden/fandd, or if you are reading the online version click on the link.

Book a Find Out in Fifteen Minutes discovery section with our Director, Simon Bulteel and start your next journey, we promise it will be worth it, just to know, for sure! Speak to you soon.

G REEN CO M M U TE IN ITIATI VE Co st o f L iv in g C r i si s

AS THE COST-OF-LIVING CRISIS STARTS TO HIT HARD, IT’S TIME TO DITCH THE CAR FOR GREENER AND CHEAPER CHOICES The soaring cost-of-living means it’s a worrying time for many people. Energy prices have risen to unprecedented levels and will increase further in the autumn. Food prices are rising fast and tough decisions are being taken by families as they choose between heating and eating.

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any workers are struggling with the cost of commuting to work. Transportation costs are increasing with car ownership becoming more expensive as insurance premiums rise and fuel costs soar. Public transport has also seen an unprecedented surge in ticket prices.

Meanwhile, pressure is also mounting for organisations to reduce their environmental impact and achieve net zero status. However, addressing the climate emergency is about more than switching to electric vehicles. Multiple studies warn that driving overall must be reduced to hit climate targets.

Active travel makes a real difference Employers can support staff during the cost-of-living crisis by improving their staff benefits offering. A positive change in commuting habits can be promoted by giving employees access to the Cycle to Work Scheme. Under the scheme, employees are encouraged to ditch the car and switch to cycling for their commute. Commuting by bike can save employees time and money, reduce harmful emissions, and improve individual health and fitness.

A Fairer Cycle to Work Scheme Green Commute Initiative’s Cycle to Work Scheme gives access to significant savings of 33.25% to 48.25% on any type of cycle. The salary sacrifice payments come from the employee’s gross salary, reducing their tax and NI obligation. The interest-free payments can be spread over 3 to 48 months making it a very manageable monthly expenditure for employees. There are no ‘ownership fees’ so employees make the maximum possible savings available to them. GCI is a not-for-profit social enterprise with a vision for a cleaner and healthier future for everyone.

When more people cycle, everyone wins. greencommuteinitiative.uk

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E N VI RON ME N T P l a nt S e a

Our aim is to make seaweedbased bioplastic mulch film readily available to farmers and for it to be competitively priced.

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EN V IRO N MENT P l a nt S e a

SEAWEED SOLUTION TO PLASTIC POLLUTION DEVELOPED IN WALES An innovative Welsh biotech start-up is developing 100% biodegradable, soil-enriching products to tackle the mounting problem of agricultural plastic waste.

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E N VI RON ME N T P l a nt S e a

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lantSea is testing a seaweed-based bioplastic to replace agricultural plastic sheets, also known as mulch film, used to increase crop yields.

producing seaweed-based biopolymers to create bio-plastic mulch films for growing food crops more sustainably, with plans to roll them out commercially to farmers.

A staggering 45,000 tonnes of agricultural plastics are reportedly produced every year in the UK, according to a Defra 2010 study - and sheets spread over the soil to serve as a plastic mulch film1 make up over 40% of the total agri-plastic market.

Co-founder Rhiannon Rees says there is an urgent need for sustainable alternatives: “Farmers use plastic mulch film to protect plants from insects and weeds, to keep the ground warm, and ultimately, achieve higher yields.

They are great for lettuce and other salad crops.

The Environment Agency has highlighted agriplastic waste as a concern, because much of the 71% of land dedicated to farming in the UK is close to watercourses.2 A study on microplastics in freshwater and soils from the Royal Society3, shows that some scientists believe there are higher concentrations of microplastics in rivers than in the sea, and there is evidence that the presence of microplastics in organisms can affect their habits by reduced feeding, decreased movement, and increased buoyancy, which affects feeding and swimming behaviour.

Seaweed solution PlantSea, supported by AberInnovation business support programmes for industry, is

A used starch-based mulch before it is ploughed into the soil.

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“Plastic mulch films go to landfill, and although there are some biodegradable films available that are made from starches, unless they are ploughed back into the soil and left for one year, they don’t degrade into compost.

“Our prototypes of seaweed film are biodegrading well in soil with no need to plough them in,” says Rhiannon.

“Seaweed is a very versatile, sustainable plant, which is readily available in the ocean. It grows 20 times faster than trees and it absorbs huge amounts of carbon.

“Seaweed farming is in its infancy in the UK, but it’s huge in Southeast Asia and some parts of Northern Europe, and it’s a great industry for coastal communities.

EN V IRO N MENT P l a nt S e a

Seaweed has a lot of untapped potential.

“Our aim is to make seaweed-based bioplastic mulch film readily available to farmers and for it to be competitively priced,” explains Rhiannon.

“We’re looking for investment and collaborators to bring this project to commercial scale,” adds Rhiannon.

Rhiannon says seaweed has a lot of untapped potential for other uses. “We’ve been developing sachets and pods we can put liquid in, which can replace PVOH water-soluble polymers, used to wrap dishwasher or laundry tablets.

Dr Rhian Hayward MBE is chief executive officer for AberInnovation and says the aim is to help businesses like PlantSea to start, scale and succeed.

“Bridging the gap from academia and research to industry is what we do, and our members can access not only funding, bwut networking, events, advice and support.”

“There’s also a need for biodegradable bale wrap, which we’re also looking at, as well as storage for dried goods, such as food and powders,” she adds.

Launchpad and Productivity 2 Prosperity funding PlantSea launched their business at AberInnovation at Aberystwyth University, which has been pivotal to the development of the business through providing access to funding.

“We have utilised the Mid Wales Challenge Led Launchpad programme which has helped us to do more research with Belfast University so we can learn about the seaweed polymers and what they can and can’t do,” says Rhiannon.

“We also received funding for a research assistant, which means we are now in a position to scale up from lab to industry.

The Mid Wales Challenge Led Launchpad and Productivity 2 Prosperity programme, delivered by AberInnovation and funded by the UK Government’s Community Renewal Fund provides successful start-up firms with funding to help them develop novel solutions through research and innovation. The Productivity 2 Prosperity programme allowed the successful businesses to receive a £5k cash grant, dedicated support through an Accelerator Manager and access to a series of key workshops and presentations. The Challenge Led Launchpad saw businesses awarded the funding matched with a placement student, which enables students in mid Wales to find relevant work experience which develops their skills and providing industry experience in the area where they live.

RHIANNON REES Co-Founder, PlantSea plantsea.co.uk

1.

https://www.gov.uk/ government/news/ summary-of-responses-toconsultation-on-proposalson-non-packagingagricultural-plastics-published

2.

https://environmentagency. blog.gov.uk/2020/11/27/ why-plastics-used-on-farmsis-worth-talking-about/

3.

https://royalsociety.org/-/ media/policy/projects/ microplastics/microplasticsreport-executive-summary.pdf

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E N VI RON ME N T

Maye r B row n I nte r n at ion al L LP

THE ROLE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS IN PROMOTING ESG Directors and Officers face mounting pressure on all fronts, from onerous reporting obligations and an ever more stringent regulatory regime, to stakeholders and shareholders. James Whitaker, Partner and Co-Lead of ESG Practice, Mayer Brown International LLP, examines how changes to the Companies Act could make the current climate even tougher.

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ot withstanding the early signs, in certain quarters, of something of a backlash against the rapid growth of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing, the conduct of those responsible for running companies continues to be scrutinised through an ever-keener ‘ESG lens’.

Environmental sustainability, and the activities and impact of companies in that context, continues to be a highly significant focal point for multiple stakeholders, both within and outside organisations. The remarkable evolution of the legislative and regulatory regimes governing climate disclosures in particular over recent years, principally in the European Union, as well as the United Kingdom, provides an increasingly stringent backdrop against which companies and their directors must now operate. The pace of that evolution shows little sign of slowing.

At the EU level, it is widely expected that the forthcoming EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence will impose an obligation on directors of companies within the scope of the Directive to take into account the “human rights, climate and environmental consequences, including in the long term, of their decisions”. Further afield, whilst their fate presently seems somewhat uncertain, the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent introduction of proposed climate reporting requirements also indicates the trend towards tougher regulatory frameworks with regard to sustainability.

In the UK, the recent Companies (Strategic Report) (Climate-related Financial Disclosure) Regulations 2022 impose new sustainability reporting requirements (non-compliance with which can result in

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personal exposures for directors). This represents a clear example of how the UK Government’s Net Zero Strategy (which, of course, was very recently challenged in the High Court), with its focus on climate reporting and disclosure obligations, may play out in the legislative domain.

The regulatory enforcement backdrop is also toughening. Recent announcements of commitments and priorities, and activity, by European and UK financial regulators (ESMA and the FCA respectively), the UK competition watchdog (the CMA), and advertising regulators (for example, the UK Advertising Standards Agency), to name a few, provide clear indications that regulators are focused on how companies are operating, what they are doing, what they are saying, and what they are selling, with regard to ESG-related issues.

The news, in March 2022, of ClientEarth’s prospective derivative action against the Board of Directors of Shell based on allegations of breaches of statutory directors’ duties in the context of

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climate risks, reflects an emerging litigation risk for company directors in this context also.

terms of developing (and likely forthcoming) requirements and expectations.

Whilst an awareness of the changing legislative and regulatory requirements, and the increasing expectations on companies with regard to climate issues, and the decarbonisation of the economy in particular, is plainly important, there is a clear, positive, role for those responsible for leading companies to play. Campaigns such as the Better Business Act Campaign are actively seeking – with the support of a growing number of signatory companies – revisions to the wording (and scope) of the statutory duty for directors to “act in the way [the director] considers, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole”, to impose more stringent requirements than merely having to “have regard” to various factors.

In particular, the IoD report suggested that, in line with the UK’s decarbonisation targets and with the global United Nations’ initiative to encourage small and medium businesses to commit to decarbonisation targets, a clear goal be defined with regard to all businesses achieving net zero in their operations. Secondly, the report called for incentives around net zero performance, including specifically potentially lower corporation tax rates for businesses that achieve net zero within a specified timeframe (or higher rates for other businesses), to be examined.

Relatedly, it recommended that a clear methodology – and clear requirements to report – be established for businesses’ carbon accounting, which could then be used to determine the appropriate corporation tax band for a given company. Finally, the report recommended a governmental assessment of the existing support frameworks for businesses looking to decarbonise.

Environmental sustainability, and the activities and impact of companies in that context, continues to be a highly significant focal point for multiple stakeholders, both within and outside organisations.

Earlier this year, the Institute of Directors published its policy paper entitled ‘The Green Incentive: how to put net zero at the heart of business planning’, arguing that in order for the UK Government’s target of reaching net zero by 2050, significant work needed to be done to incentivise businesses, and smaller businesses in particular, to take action to decarbonise the economy. The report made a number of specific recommendations which, whilst aimed at the UK Government, are instructive from the perspective of company directors also, in

JAMES WHITAKER Partner & Co-Lead, Mayer Brown International LLP mayerbrown.com/en

Taken in the round, then, these developments provide a clear indication not only of the direction of travel, in terms of the more robust legislative and regulatory framework within which companies are operating, but also of the expectations of company directors, and the role they have to play, in terms of steering their companies towards more environmentally sustainable operations. Whilst ultimately there will be little choice other than to comply with increasing regulatory and stakeholder demands in this context, the evolving landscape also provides a potentially valuable opportunity for business leaders to develop best-in-class practices.

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Baker & Baker HQ is based in NW England.

E N VI RON ME N T B a ke r & B a ke r

DRIVING SUSTAINABLE WATER USE IN MANUFACTURING John Lindsay, CEO of Baker & Baker, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of bakery products, discusses why monitoring and reducing water usage should be a key element of any business’s sustainability strategy, and considers how food and drink manufacturers can reduce their consumption.

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ith climate change widely reported to be the cause of this summer’s recordbreaking heatwave and subsequent droughts, it’s a stark reminder that the UK can’t take its water supply for granted. And, as scientists predict that scorching summers will become the norm, we must act now and tackle the pressing issue of water security head on.

The 2030 Water Resources Group estimates that water demand will exceed current supply by 40% by 2030. Furthermore, with a report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) finding that around 30% of Europe’s population is affected by water stress during the average year, it’s time for businesses to examine their water consumption and how they can improve.

Industrial and manufacturing companies are among the heaviest users of water throughout the

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supply chain to help source, make, pack, transport and stock goods, yet water is often overlooked by businesses trying to enhance their sustainability credentials. Sourcing, processing, treating and transporting water all has a direct impact on carbon emissions.

As a food manufacturer, we are acutely aware that industrial water consumption has an impact on the world’s water supply and our carbon footprint.

Food production and consumption alone are responsible for around 30% of global carbon emissions (1), so reducing water usage has a positive impact on a business’s carbon footprint. After agriculture, food production is the second highest consuming industry of water (2) and, with global and local demand for water increasing, the food and drink sector has a crucial role to play in safeguarding and improving water security.

EN V IRO N MENT B a ker & B a ke r

It’s estimated that 3 billion litres of water are lost to leaks every day across England and Wales.

that are committed to improving their sustainability and curtailing environmental impact. And, of course, reducing water is not just better for the environment - it can help to drive down operating costs and save money too.

Manufacturers need to start accessing and using water in new ways and there are many realistic measures that they can introduce to improve their water management.

Taking action on water Moderation equals conservation Water is essential to the food we eat, but how can we, as an industry, use water more efficiently to minimise the impact of water stress on people and the environment?

At Baker & Baker, we have been putting an increased focus on sustainable business practices and we’re proud to be among some of the UK’s top food and drink companies to officially support WRAP’s new Roadmap towards water security for food and drink supply.

The ‘Water Roadmap’ seeks to improve the quality and availability of water, working towards a target of sourcing 50% of the UK’s fresh food from areas with sustainable water management. It delivers a practical framework to help food and drink businesses know what steps they can take to increase water efficiency in their operations and help preserve this precious resource.

It’s estimated that 3 billion litres of water are lost to leaks every day across England and Wales, so leak detection should be a key element of any business’s water strategy. By monitoring water usage, firms will be able to spot and address leaks more quickly, reducing wastage.

Similarly, investing in water-efficient technologies, such as timers and controls to automate water usage, can reduce water consumption and waste.

Recycling water by using modern ‘grey’ water systems also helps reduce usage.

Baker & Baker’s strategy is to reduce water use and increase re-use where possible. Under our roadmap commitments, we will be developing water reduction targets for each of our four UK plants early next year, aiming for incremental improvements year-onyear. These targets will be published so that we can transparently demonstrate our progress.

Providing a clear and logical route for improving water management, the new Water Roadmap directly addresses climate risk and water stewardship. It sets out the steps businesses must take individually and collectively to deliver this vision by progressing through the five stages of the WWF Water Stewardship ladder.

Although small improvements will be possible via eliminating leaks or other efficiencies, we will also be considering projects such as reducing water usage during equipment clean-downs without compromising on food safety and regulatory requirements.

Participating companies are encouraged to adapt their supply chains and incorporate a number of targets, including:

We also use the WWF Water Risk Filter – a comprehensive resource that helps businesses to identify water risk hotspots globally. It’s invaluable for businesses with international supply chains that source raw materials from countries or regions suffering from water stress or pollution.

monitoring water use in their operations and improving efficiency identifying water risk hotspots in their supply chain identifying suppliers operating in ‘high water stress’ areas and encouraging them to engage with local water stewardship initiatives The roadmap also highlights the milestones that businesses need to reach and how they report their progress to ensure that the intended results are achieved.

As we head towards a carbon-free future, meeting ambitious Environmental Social Governance (ESG) goals present opportunities for businesses to adapt their processes as part of their managed journey to net zero.

Having a realistic water management strategy in place is an important first step for manufacturers

JOHN LINDSAY CEO, Baker & Baker bakerandbaker.eu

The Environment Agency has warned that 3,400 million more litres of water could be needed every day by 2050 if we don’t take action to address our water security. Water management must be embedded into the sustainability strategy of any business to help protect our water resources, restore biodiversity and achieve Net Zero goals.

About Baker & Baker Baker & Baker, wholly owned by Rhône Capital, is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of Bakery Products. Operating across 12 sites in seven countries the business is headquartered at its UK site on the Wirral in the North West of England. More details at wrap.org.uk and bakerandbaker.eu.

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Source: WRAP, UK Food System GHG Emissions report

2.

Source: ResearchGate, water consuming sectors in the UK

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T H E GR E E N E R M A N U FA CT U R IN G S H OW K o e l nme s s e , Colo g ne

THE GREENER MANUFACTURING SHOW RETURNS TO KOELNMESSE, COLOGNE The Greener Manufacturing Show Returns to Koelnmesse, Cologne, Germany with Cutting-Edge Innovations to Accelerate your Transition Towards a More Sustainable Future on 9-10 November 2022

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he must-attend event to see sustainable manufacturing solutions, The Greener Manufacturing Show Europe, co-located with Plastic Waste Free World Expo and Conference, returns to Koelnmesse, Cologne, Germany, for its second year on 9-10 November.

Pioneering industry exhibitors will showcase the latest tech to help you reduce emissions and improve sustainability across your value chain. Alongside the exhibition, the conference will host 130+ renowned industry speakers.

In 2022 more than 3,000 high-quality visitors and key industry brands will be attending, including Circularise, Lenzing, Siemens, Trinseo, Valmet, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Prevent Waste Alliance, and event sponsors Mondi.

Launched in 2021, the trade fair and conference attracted just under 2,000 in-person attendees, despite Covid-19 restrictions.

It was apparent that companies from many sectors have begun placing sustainability at the top of their agenda.

Mike Robinson, the CEO of the company that organises the event Trans-Global Events, said: “When we created the event concept, we could clearly see that there was a very urgent need for manufacturing industries to find new sustainable and environmental solutions.

“The desire to develop more sustainable products is a global shift, where many are adopting new technologies and strategies to help reduce the negative effects of industry on the environment.”

The Greener Manufacturing Show is co-located with Plastic Waste Free World Conference & Expo and purchasing a single conference pass gives you access to both events.

“The first edition Plastic Waste Free World Conference & Expo launched in 2019 with the goal of helping manufacturing companies find new solutions to help tackle the global plastic waste crisis – whether this is through new materials, eco-design, consumer engagement strategies, or innovative end-of-life solutions.

“The Greener Manufacturing Show released during the Covid-19 pandemic, and with just under 2,000 in-person attendees in 2021, it showed that companies from many different sectors are placing sustainability at the very top of their agenda,” said Robinson.

The conference streams will cover different sectors and a wide range of topics, including: Sustainability In Manufacturing Retail, Consumer Goods & Packaging Fashion & Textiles Sustainable Materials Not only does the event allow businesses to attract a growing number of sustainability-conscious customers, but it also provides exhibitors with opportunities to expand into various markets.

The Plastic Waste Free World Conference & Expo that took place in Atlanta in June gave Sirane Group, one of the exhibitors, the

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chance to expand into the US market.

Sirane Group’s NPD Lead Rachel McKenna wrote: “Atlanta has provided us with a great opportunity to share our technologies with the market.

“In the USA, we have recently partnered with PrintPack; they are supplying commercial reels of EarthFilm, offering in-house printing for customers. As of August 2022, Sirane will be opening a pouch conversion facility in Grand Prairie, Dallas, Texas.”

The Greener Manufacturing Show and Plastic Waste Free World will also help businesses comply with sustainability policies being developed worldwide as governments aim to reduce their environmental impact.

The EU will in the near future enforce new regulations across several industries.

Soon, construction products will be required to be greener and safer.

Reporting and tagging information across the value chain will become essential in adhering to sustainability standards.

EU member states will be obligated to pay a levy of €0.80/kg of non-recycled packaging waste.

Fashion companies will need to rethink textile designs to increase the life span of garments and to make them easier to recycle.

Make sure to take advantage of the numerous opportunities, solutions and innovations available at the Greener Manufacturing Show Europe co-located with Plastic Waste Free World to succeed in a fast-transitioning world focused on sustainability.

For more information visit: www.greener-manufacturing.com www.plasticfree-world.com

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NE T Z E RO

Kimberly-Clark

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N ET ZERO

K imb erl y - C l a r k

KIMBERLY-CLARK: SUSTAINABILITY IS OUR FUTURE Kimberly-Clark’s ambitious sustainability strategy won’t be derailed by current global upheaval, as Oriol Margo, sustainability transformation leader (EMEA), explains to Karen Southern.

We’re living in unprecedented times.

The rulebook for industry ‘norms’ has been ripped up as economic turmoil continues. So does sustainability still have value in the current climate?

The answer is a firm ‘yes’, according to Oriol. Kimberly-Clark, he says, remains focused on the bigger picture when it comes to sustainability, with plans to halve direct (Scope 1 and 2) emissions by 2030. Plans are also underway to cut indirect (Scope 3) emissions by 20% within the same timeframe.

The US multinational produces a vast amount of consumer products (toilet rolls, wipes, nappies, sanitary products) that are global household names … think Huggies, Kleenex, Andrex. With a customer base representing a staggering quarter of the global population – or two billion people – using its products every day, it follows that the company’s manufacturing processes and consumer habits have been historically environmentally intensive.

“We get asked about the value of sustainability a lot, and of course it’s a difficult situation,” Oriol explains.

“We are tackling many inflationary pressures in energy and materials, and ideally wouldn’t want to pass these costs on to our consumers.

“Kimberly-Clark prefers to focus on the long-term outlook, not short-term challenges. Our strategies, targets and ambitions haven’t changed. We are here to deliver what customers want, and they tell us they still want sustainable choices.”

Oriol concedes, however, there is a clear gap between intent and outcome in consumer behaviour. “It takes only a few seconds to choose a product, and sustainability is not always the top choice for purchasing.

“Even before this crisis, the majority of consumers weren’t prepared to pay more for sustainability.

This was already a challenge for us, so we decided to concentrate on innovation in new energy sources and materials which will help us maintain and improve performance and affordability.

“Our teams are used to adapting to change, you know, it’s not a problem for them. They remain totally committed to reducing our environmental footprint to its smallest possible size.”

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Kimberly-Clark

Three mill employees with Kleenex at Barrow.

Oriol points out that Kimberly-Clark has long championed good environmental husbandry, “but the challenge now is to deliver grassroots ‘greener’ solutions quicker than ever.”

Energy and climate concerns are naturally high on the company agenda, and Kimberly-Clark is using the UK as an incubator market for testing and piloting some of its latest net zero strategies, which include bumping up hydrogen and biomethane production. “The regulatory framework is moving fast here, and we have a good track record of partnering with government agencies,” Oriol explains.

We’re looking to reduce emissions here by 76% between 2015 and 2023, and have recently invested £92m in state-of-the-art manufacturing assets.

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“Investment to decarbonise gas and electricity is intensive, running into billions of pounds, and we’re not in the business of energy generation, so another of our strategies is partnering. We act as an anchor for long-term commitments that enable such investment.

“We’ve partnered with Octopus Energy on a new Scottish wind farm (a Kimberly-Clark EMEA first) to make almost 80% of our UK electrical power renewable. Octopus has invested £75m in this project, and we are in it for the long run. From here, we will use similar investment models for hydrogen and other innovations. Materials is a different challenge, but basically we are building a model to evaluate a proper return on sustainability – not just monetary but non-monetary returns as well.

“Our teams are also working on an internal mechanism for an holistic assessment of these returns, which will really support our decisionmaking.”

Elsewhere, a biomass boiler – again an EMEA company first – has been installed at a Spanish manufacturing facility to reduce gas consumption emissions by 40%, with biomass mostly sourced from waste forest residues within 100km.

Kimberly-Clark is also channelling formidable resources into plastic product and packaging alternatives, including biodegradable, recycled

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K imb erl y - C l a r k

and reused materials. For instance, plasticfree Huggies Naturals baby wipes are already available in the UK, but the drive for continuous improvement and performance is relentless.

their infrastructure. Not necessarily because the consumer is asking for change, but because the impact may be different than it is in Europe.”

“We keep a close eye on the EU regulatory framework – sometimes it’s not clear how directives on certain products will evolve, so we continue to explore a number of options,” Oriol explains.

Change may be the one constant in life, but while Oriol doesn’t see any trends of particular concern, he notes there is a definite shift in support for circularity. “Many of our products are single use, so we do need to look at a true circular economy.

Leaving aside the EU’s perspective, how does the UK’s attitude to sustainability compare with the rest of the EMEA?

“With this in mind, Kimberly-Clark recently became a majority stakeholder in Thinx, a company working on reusable feminine care.

“I would say that the UK is moving a bit faster on the net zero support mechanisms front than other markets, and we certainly get a lot of feedback on materials, plastics and circularity.

“It’s a very new area of R&D for us and the solutions aren’t all cut and dried. We’re looking at hybrid solutions, such as reusable frames with disposable parts, but we are very aware that our customers want a wide range of choices to meet their individual needs.”

“We’re looking to reduce emissions here by 76% between 2015 and 2023, and have recently invested £92m in state-of-the-art manufacturing assets.”

Oriol does however agree there are significant differences in some regions (outside of Europe), in terms of fewer regulatory guidelines and lower consumer sensitivity to the issues at hand.

“We are aware some of our products may have a bigger impact in certain markets, and we are accelerating our sustainability drive to benefit

Key findings for 2021 are: A reduction of 7.9% in operational (Scope 1 and 2) greenhouse gas emissions, achieving a 40.7% emissions reduction against the 2015 baseline.

Supporting the well-being of 15.7m people in vulnerable communities through initiatives like WaterAid, raising its support for a total of 41.4m people since 2015.

“The pace of change continues to be very fast.

Kimberly-Clark is constantly adapting, hitting new targets, setting new goals. So even within a couple of months – in areas like hydrogen energy – we will have more exciting developments to announce.”

ORIOL MARGO Sustainability Transformation Leader, Kimberly-Clark kimberly-clark.com

In other words, ‘Watch this space!’

Kimberly-Clark’s annual sustainability report* is now available.

Doubling the percentage of recycled content in plastic packaging.

Increasing reusable, recyclable or compostable packing to nearly 84%, progressing towards a 100% goal by 2025.

Obtaining 87% of tissue fibre from environmentally preferred sources.

Reducing water consumption by 34% in waterstressed regions against the 2015 baseline.

Prepared in line with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards “Core” level.

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NE T Z E RO TLT L L P

Cadworks.

N ET ZERO TLT L L P

FORGET WFH – WELCOME TO THE OFFICE OF THE FUTURE Tables made from recycled suits. Air-purifying paint. An E-scooter fleet. Welcome to Glasgow’s first net zero office building. Cadworks-based TLT LLP tell Karen Southern how office life has changed forever.

MARIA CONNOLLY

JOHN PAUL SHERIDAN

Head of Real Estate & Future Energy, TLT

Head of Scotland, TLT

C

adworks is one of Scotland’s most sustainable and progressive buildings.

And the same ethos can be applied to resident law firm TLT, who have prioritised the health and wellbeing of their employees – and the environment – above all else.

The trail-blazing firm launched a new agile approach to working last summer. Their aim was to create a fully flexible, progressive and inclusive workspace, based on three core commitments: More choice for employees to work at a place and time that suits them, their clients and their role.

Investment in new physical and digital environments enabling employees to connect, collaborate and innovate effectively.

Supporting that transition through a culture inclusive of different working styles.

Cadworks fits that brief perfectly, thanks to its cutting-edge design, technology and facilities, and the people at TLT were able to design their own office within the building from scratch, as explained by Maria Connolly, head of real estate and future energy.

“The overall aim is to support agile working, so our space features a large communal area for meetings and hot desking throughout,” she says.

“We’ve also invested in technology upgrades in support of home to office interactions.

Everything is entirely connected to ensure ease of transition from space to space.”

“The impact on the TLT team has been huge,” adds John Paul Sheridan, Head of Scotland at TLT.

“It’s enhanced everyone’s working experience and provided a significant morale booster.”

Eco-office You could say that Cadworks is the ecooffice ‘poster child’, whose impressive list of credentials include: 100% of waste diverted from landfills.

Use of sustainable materials such as air purifying paint, up to 41% recycled glass, minimum of 50% cement replacement in concrete, 100% FSC recycled timber, and up to 80% recycled content steel.

Regenerative braking in lifts to convert kinetic energy to electrical energy.

Air source heat pumps.

LED lighting.

Electrical car charging points.

Reporting on energy consumption to monitor and target areas in need of improvement.

All-electric 100% renewable energy supply.

Green plant wall in reception.

Live air quality testing sensors.

John explains: “It’s the first building in Scotland to use Airlite anti-viral paint technology that turns walls into natural air purifiers (with the same air purification power as around three acres of forest).

“The 100% natural technology is anti-viral, antipollution, anti-bacterial and self-cleaning, with a protective oxidant barrier that decomposes harmful organic and inorganic substances.

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NE T Z E RO TLT L L P

TLT’s office space.

The paint also reduces a building’s solar heat absorption, saving on air conditioning and lowering C02 emissions.

“The lifts have a regenerative braking system which converts kinetic potential energy to electrical energy when the lifts are going down.

“We also have use of an E-scooter fleet and a ‘saddle to seat’ scheme which features the country’s first cycle-in access ramp and bicycleonly parking with 119 bike stations.”

While there are four EV charging points onsite and limited parking for electric cars, Cadworks doesn’t offer traditional parking facilities, as the overall aim is to reduce carbon and create a people-centric, green society. Hence people are encouraged to walk, cycle and use public transport wherever possible.

It’s the first building in Scotland to use Airlite anti-viral paint technology that turns walls into natural air purifiers.

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Sustainable furniture And no, the innovation doesn’t stop there.

TLT has sourced over 100 stationery products containing recycled materials (in many instances, over 50% recycled). Their photocopying paper is PEFC accredited, printers are set to duplex black and white printing by default, and wastepaper is reduced by Follow Me printing.

Maria says: “Along with dry mixed recycling initiatives, we have mains-fed drinking water dispensers, eliminating the need for plastic water bottles. We bottle our own still and sparkling water in our client conference suites and use glasses rather than plastic or disposable drinkware.

“We also use a wide range of catering suppliers with strong sustainability ethics in production.

“Our new furniture uses sustainable materials like cork, felt, rebar, reconstituted polymer and composite panels. Just one storage wall module (based on 2,500mm x 472mm) contains the equivalent of 4,000 bottle tops, 1,600 yoghurt pots, 1,100 cosmetic bottles, 14,000 straws, 2,800 single use plastic cups. “ Maria continues: “Our café tables use 100% recycled textiles from old suits with a biodegradable plastic made of potato or corn starch to make a unique finish.

“All timber used in the new furniture is sourced through Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and responsible supplier schemes. The focus has been on components and materials without chemicals harmful to human health or the environment, which adhere to low VOC emissions

N ET ZERO TLT L L P

Measuring and monitoring TLT’s heating and cooling is provided by highefficiency air source heat pumps with VRF consisting of internal units in the ceiling void and outside units on the roof. Each floor has two separate systems to allow sub-division of the floor.

There’s a DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) lighting control system with graphical front end, which includes energy saving features such as time channel control, presence detection and daylight dimming.

Multifunctional MID approved meters are connected to each distribution board and loads greater than 10kW. All metering is linked back to the landlord’s energy management system (EPMS) to monitor energy usage and charges.

The feedback It’s still early days to predict cost savings as TLT haven’t been in situ for long enough to provide an informed answer. But social media is awash with praise from happy employees.

“And am genuinely blown away by the quality of this workspace. The attention to detail, the tables made from recycled suits, the smell (!) and just the feeling you get in is second to none.”

“Today was my first day in the new TLT LLP offices in the Cadworks building in Glasgow. I was not disappointed! It is a smashing place to meet and work with colleagues and clients.”

“What a fantastic space in which to work. Very proud of Team TLT World for all their work and a big thanks to everyone involved in making our first day in the Cadworks such a great experience. BTW, the photos, stunning as they are, don’t really to justice to the spectacular citywide views. I’m getting a whole new perspective on our beautiful city.”

Does Cadworks represent the future for the working office? “Absolutely,” says John Paul.

People today are increasingly, and rightly so, concerned with ESG. People want to work for businesses that are taking the right steps to help improve the environment and our society, whilst also offering benefits to enhance mental health and wellbeing at work.

TLT LLP tlt.com

“One of the ways which employers can achieve this is by paying particular attention to the environment in which they choose to establish themselves. Choosing an office space that delivers on all these fronts will be a win win for employers and employees, as well as the local environment and community.”

Cadworks has been awarded: ‘Excellent’ standard by the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) – the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for masterplanning projects, infrastructure and buildings.

An A rated Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

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NE T Z E RO

Tunle y E ng i ne e r i ng

CARBON PLANNING: AN EASY GUIDE We are all aware that something needs to be done to reduce our carbon footprint, but many of us have no idea where to start. Dr Torill Bigg, CEng MIChemE, of Tunley Engineering, offers some simple tips for business.

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aturally the best place to start anything is from the beginning and in carbon planning the beginning is to measure where you are now - what your current carbon emissions are.

The principle is exactly the same as setting out to decorate a room; when you go out to buy paint you need to know how much to buy, and for that you need to measure your walls.

1. Measure In carbon planning you need to set a baseline by measuring your current carbon footprint. To complete this you will need to decide what to include and what to leave out; this is called setting your scope and boundary. It’s like deciding which rooms to paint and how many of the walls you are painting. You want to include all relevant emissions sources, and what is relevant is decided by what you have control over and what you are able to make changes to.

So, make an inventory of the assets and activities of your business that are within your control and this is your list of carbon emission sources. If you have a large number of assets such as a fleet of pumping systems then you can record that list at a higher level such as at process level rather than individual component asset level. Next you’ll need to be able to calculate the amount of carbon emissions from each of these sources and you’ll be doing this for one years’ worth of carbon emissions.

Start by recording data that you already have against each of your assets and activities. For example, you might know the total amount of electricity used per site or per submeter, by all of your electrical equipment in kilowatt hours from your electricity invoice or from your meter reading.

Or you may be operating a 12 kilowatt pump at 80% power for 5 hours a day and so could calculate in kilowatt hours the electricity used by that pump.

So, record either electricity in total kilowatt hours over a year, or record an inventory of assets and sum up the total power requirement in kilowatt hours for the year. For your baseline an annual figure of kilowatt hours of electricity is sufficient.

Later more detail will allow you to create a carbon reduction plan itemised asset by asset, but at this stage we are looking to find your starting point.

Likewise, you’ll want to list items that use fuels directly on site such as heating boilers which use gas, or assets that burn oil, all solid fuels or other

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gaseous fuels. And, again, the writing of the item or the amount of that fuel purchased for one year will give you in kilowatt hours a value for those assets.

You can repeat this for vehicles recorded in litres of fuel used, or you could calculate the carbon footprint from the number of miles covered by the vehicles. And then you want to include items such as water used, which can be completed from invoices in cubic metres of water purchased and wastewater treated. Finally, you want to include materials used and also those disposed of. In an office you might be using office paper for printing or photocopying, you might be using cardboard or plastics, manufacturing using metals or glass, or constructing using aggregates - so a list of all of these items will form list of emission sources that you can calculate your carbon footprint from.

2. Calculate Calculating your carbon emissions is not as tricky as it might sound. There are a number of online calculators, or you can consult the information provided by the government. This information is readily available from the UK government, the United States government and the Canadian government, to name a few, so consult the relevant government information on carbon emissions.

This will tell you how to convert kilowatt hours of electricity, cubic metres of water and miles driven in a car, into carbon dioxide equivalents. If you add these numbers to your list you now have a list of assets and activities that are emission sources, the amount of relevant emissions for carbon dioxide, such as kilowatt hours of electricity or litres of diesel, and the emission figures from the government information multiplying the emission figures per litre or kWh by the number of litres or kilowatt hours gives you carbon dioxide equivalents in tonnes or kilogrammes for each individual item. A sum of these is your carbon footprint.

3. Reduce Set realistic changes for each one of the assets and activities that are potential emissions sources.

For example, you might be able to change your electricity tariff to an eco-tariff, whereby the electricity you purchase is generated by a renewable source such as solar panels or wind turbines. You might even be able to set a plan longer term to fit solar panels of your own and so generate your own

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Tunle y E ng ine e r i n g

renewable electricity and also reduce your reliance on the National Grid. You could fit water saving devices, and so reduce the cubic metres of water, reducing at the same time the carbon dioxide equivalents associated with that water. You might elect, longer term, to buy electric vehicles instead of fossil fuel vehicles and even install charging points on the company premises and, with additional use of batteries, this could even be charged from solar panels. The first thing to do at this stage is to reduce demand on energy so you want to look at your assets and consider their efficiency. Any asset giving out too much heat, noise or vibration is running inefficiently and the energy is literally being wasted. So, a maintenance intervention would reduce that wasted energy and automatically make your assets both more efficient and cost effective but have the effect of reducing your carbon footprint too. Win win.

4. Report Now is the time to share with all of your stakeholders; your customers, your suppliers, your employees, your senior management, if you haven’t told them, and the community.

Let everybody know that you are on a carbon reduction journey. Let them know that you have measured your carbon footprint. Let them know that you have set yourself carbon reduction targets. Go forth and put the plans into action.

Monitor your success; with each new initiative measure electricity used before and after servicing machinery and equipment that had previously been inefficient, measure gas use before and after implementing insulation, calculate carbon emissions from diesel vehicles and compare them to the new calculation with electric vehicles.

Monitor monthly over the year and in a year’s time remeasure your carbon footprint - and again tell the world how well you have done!

DR TORILL BIGG Chief Carbon Reducation Engineer, Tunley Engineering tunley-engineering.com

Dr Torill Bigg is a Chartered Engineer with over 20 years’ experience in industry specialising in innovative solutions to environmental protection. Torill holds a PhD from Cranfield University’s School of Industrial and Manufacturing Science, is the author of 7 published peer reviewed papers and is a Member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Her work at Tunley Engineering over the last year has helped cut carbon emissions by 10,000,000 kg of CO2e; she works with companies to assess their Carbon Footprint and develop roadmaps to net zero.

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NE T Z E RO

Lloyd s B a nk i ng Gro u p

FAILURE TO DELIVER ON NET ZERO IS NOT JUST THE FAULT OF POLITICIANS Concerns about unsustainable business practices and inertia within industries may well lead to the downfall of our carbon neutral future, says Professor Ian Thomson, Director of Lloyds Banking Group Centre for Responsible Business.

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hilst this does not account for all business in the UK, the fact of the matter is most UK business are nowhere near on track to achieving net zero targets. There are many reasons for these shortcomings but one of the most egregious is unreliable carbon accounting systems set against the backdrop of a significant gap between consumer expectations on sustainability and action taken by business.

Recent research from The University of Birmingham Business School shows a worrying mismatch between the most commonly used measures of carbon and their true impacts, meaning bogus netzero claims are being made by businesses across the UK. This means when it comes to ‘decarbonising’ the country it can be nearly impossible to identify impactful ways forward.

Under current international carbon accounting standards, emissions from supply chains and after-sale product use and waste are excluded from calculations. This means that supermarkets selling food from more local UK farms have higher reported carbon emissions than those that import their products from overseas. It can also cause walking or cycle to work schemes for staff to add to reported carbon emissions, and nature-based solutions to be ignored altogether.

PROF IAN THOMSON Director, Lloyds Banking Group Centre for Responsible Business

With this confusing and simply nonsensical way of measuring, or not measuring, carbon emissions and the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives, it’s no wonder there is a lack of activity from business when it comes to net zero. A recent survey commissioned

by Birmingham Business School’s Lloyds Banking Group Centre for Responsible Business, facilitated

by YouGov, demonstrated that an astounding 50% of senior business decision makers have no net zero strategy at all whilst 74% of British adults expect businesses to have a net zero strategy.

Further to this, there is a disproportionate focus on profitability even as the public expects a turn towards sustainability; nearly a third of senior business decision makers subscribe to the myth that success is intrinsically and exclusively linked to profitability. In contrast, 42% of the British public maintain that there should be a balance between business profits and ESG attributes.

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Increasingly, consumers and investors are placing value on social and environmental justice. But as of now, few businesses are planning to take the necessary radical steps towards sustainable change. More than that, businesses seem actively unaffected by public pressure; only 7% of businesses responded that a public boycott would make them more sustainable.

Following Net Zero Week earlier this year, we must encourage all business to view sustainable practice and social justice as part of their business model and urge business and government to come together to work on more honest and effective ways of measuring carbon emissions. Sadly, 60% of small business at present do not regularly collaborate with external forces when solving complex issues – this needs to change. With a climate emergency rapidly accelerating in severity, business must view it as a collective issue, not a luxury unafforded. With social inequality skyrocketing, and time ticking forward to our 2050 net zero target, businesses must not only meet the expectations of the British public but take proactive and necessary steps to combat these issues, in turn building trust and creating long term strategies.

It has never been more crucial, or more urgent, for businesses to base their decisions on accurate, well-informed information, and the Birmingham Business School is continuing research to formulate a programme of suggested reforms that will allow for the realisation of the goals set at the United Nations’ COP26 climate talks.

If Net Zero is ever to become a viable option for the UK, it is imperative that UK businesses recognise that they hold the key to a much more sustainable future.

Unreliable carbon accounting measures are preventing UK businesses from reaching targets.

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