Your Pathway to Net Zero
Take your journey to net zero one step at a time
Your road to reaching net zero for your business can feel like a monumental task. You don’t know where to begin, and even if you do, making plans can feel overwhelming.
The secret is to develop a prioritised plan of action which means you can take the journey one step at a time. A journey that will end in a greener energy future for your business.
We are helping many organisations, such as Apollo Fire in Hampshire, to understand their pathway to net zero carbon. By assessing what needs to be done, building a staged plan of action, and putting them in touch with delivery partners, they are delivering on their goals.
What is Net Zero?
Before talking about pathways, what do we actually mean by net zero?
Net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activity to as close to zero as possible and implementing ways to absorb any remaining emissions from the atmosphere (such as through oceans and forests). Countries, including the UK, have committed to reaching net zero by 2050.
The UK Net Zero Strategy
From heating our homes to filling up our cars, burning fossil fuels release greenhouses gases that increase global temperatures. With this in mind, the UK Government is working on various ways to reduce carbon emissions.
For businesses, this means that if they make no changes to the way they operate, their emissions profile will automatically show a considerable reduction over the coming decade. This is because the UK electricity grid is forecast to reduce carbon intensity as more renewable power generation comes online.
But that alone won’t hit the net zero target. And that’s why lots of businesses are looking to play their part by cutting energy waste and finding more sustainable options across three areas of scope:
· Scope 1 – The fuel they burn themselves
· Scope 2 – The energy they consume
· Scope 3 – The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Chain, or the indirect emissions from their activity, but from sources they don’t own or control
Reaching net zero across all these areas is a huge task, so taking your journey one step at a time makes the task less daunting and the approach more achievable.
Apollo Fire: Their Net Zero Ambition
One recent client taking a manageable approach to their net zero targets is Apollo Fire, a specialist manufactures of fire detection and alarm devices. They have built a sustainability framework to ensure the decisions they make now positively affect the future. And through this approach, they pledged to be Net Zero by 2040 for scopes 1 and 2 and 2050 at the latest for all three.
Earlier this year, Apollo brought us on board to help them build a workable journey to reach their target of achieving Net Zero ahead of 2040 for scope 1 and 2 emissions.
“Apollo Fire is committed to reducing our environmental impact and has already made substantial investments to reduce our carbon emissions including a large solar array. The recent energy crisis helped focus our attention further on driving down energy usage and costs, and we engaged Greener Energy Futures to give us a comprehensive and objective view on how we could do this. They provided a systematic approach to reducing our costs that has allowed us to prioritise and helped us identify and develop projects that could see us taking £100,000+ from our energy bills.”
Apollo Fire: Taking it one step at a time
Our approach is always to begin with an audit before building a staged and feasible series of activities. Following a non-invasive walkaround energy audit of Apollo’s property, we identified opportunities to reduce energy waste across three stages.
Stage 1 – The Next 12 to 24 months
· A period of delivering immediately addressable energy conservation measures such as lighting upgrades
· Feasibility studies for larger projects, such as solar PV extensions
· Metering, monitoring and review of power, heating, and cooling to define details for longer-term projects
Stage 2 – 2 to 5 years
· A period of delivering projects deemed feasible at Stage 1, such as chiller and fan coil refurbishments
· Continued feasibility studies to update and develop the ongoing decarbonisation pathway.
Stage 3 – Beyond 5 years
· Continued delivery of any projects previously identified but not yet delivered
· Development of plans for full heating decarbonisation
Conclusion
Apollo Fire is now on its way to reaching Net Zero. By implementing short-term gains and continuing with feasibility projects for longer-term benefits, they can continue with their commitment to sustainability and responsibility.
For more organisations taking systematic pathways to net zero, take a look at others we have helped:
Charity Arts centre: Knowle West Media Centre
Community charity: Southmead Development Trust
Charity Working Farm: Hartcliffe City Farm
School: Sheiling School
BIO: Apollo Fire
Apollo Fire are specialists in the manufacture of fire detection and alarm services. Their purpose is simple; to keep people safe from fire every second of every day.
Their commitment to Life Safety extends beyond just the detection of fire and into operating responsibly. Their sustainability framework prioritises three key objectives: Climate Change, A Circular Economy and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Based in Havant, Hampshire, they operate regional offices in the UK, China, Dubai and Germany and support a worldwide network of partners and distributors.
Find Out More About Apollo Fire
Find Our More About Apollo Fire’s commitment to Climate Change