Sustainability

Greenhouse gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. Some occur naturally, and some occur through human activities such as burning fossil fuels. There are 7 main greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change: carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3). To keep things simple, greenhouse gas emissions are commonly grouped together under the term “carbon emissions”.

Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere and are essential for keeping the planet warm enough for life, but excessive emissions from human activities are causing the atmosphere to trap too much heat, resulting in the Earth now being about 1.1°C warmer than pre-industrial levels. A 1.1°C increase might not be much if you’re checking the weather outside, but it’s a huge change to our finally balanced climate, and the impacts are already widespread and obvious (for example the record 40°C heatwave which hit the UK in Summer 2022). These impacts are only going to get worse as the temperature increases, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that global warming must not increase beyond 1.5°C if we are to avoid catastrophic consequences.

The vast majority of climate scientists believe that humans are responsible for climate change. One recent study concluded that there is greater than 99% consensus on human caused climate change in peer-reviewed scientific literature.

The term “Net Zero” is one which is often misused or misunderstood. Many companies are already claiming they have achieved Net Zero, perhaps by offsetting their Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions through planting trees; but in reality, no person, company, or event is even close to achieving what Net Zero must mean if we are to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

A Net Zero world will be one in which humans are no longer increasing the net quantity of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This doesn’t mean that humanity can no longer emit greenhouse gases, instead it means that any greenhouse gases which are emitted are fully balanced out by permanent removals from the atmosphere. Large scale removal of greenhouse gases is, and will continue to be, very (very) difficult, so achieving this state of Net Zero will primarily rely on deep decarbonisation of human activities.

There is no industry standard for the level of decarbonisation required to achieve Net Zero, however the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) Net Zero Standard, the leading framework for climate science-based Net Zero targets, suggests that most companies will need to implement a 90% reduction in Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions to achieve Net Zero.

We are fully committed to doing our part to combat climate change. In 2022 we baselined our Scope 1 and 2 carbon footprint and set an ambitious near-term carbon emissions reduction target with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). We also committed to baselining our Scope 3 footprint in 2023 and set out an ambitious long-term Net Zero roadmap for 2050. In 2023 we will be formalising our Net Zero targets with the SBTi and expect to sign up to a 90% reduction in Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 2050.

Our industry leading R&D team have committed to a comprehensive programme of environmental and sustainable product development, including dedicated projects looking at embodied carbon and circular economy.