The Environment Agency yesterday outlined the actions it will take to cut its own carbon emissions by at least 45% and reach net zero by 2030.
In a plan released on 24 May, the Agency said it currently produces about 273,000 tonnes of carbon annually.
Downsizing: As part of the road map, the Environment Agency says it will reduce its overall number of vehicles (picture: Shutterstock)
While most of its emissions stem from construction, computing, ‘commuting’, and the regulator’s fleet, the Agency says “other indirect” sources contribute 26,000 tonnes a year. These sources include waste.
Sir James Bevan, the Agency’s chief executive, said: “Reaching net zero will be one of the biggest challenges the Environment Agency has ever faced. It will require every single one of us to play our part, and to think and act differently.
“We will integrate net zero into every aspect of our work over the coming decade. By learning, sharing best practice and partnering with our suppliers, businesses and communities across the country, we will do everything we can to play our part in becoming a net zero nation and tackling the climate emergency that we all face.”
The Agency has pledged to default to low-carbon concrete when constructing flood defences and other critical infrastructure projects, with more than half of the regulator’s emissions, or around 148,000 tonnes per year, stemming from construction.
It will also use energy-efficient pumps to help move water away from homes during floods, switch to electric cars by 2023, and reduce its overall number of vehicles.
Waste
Emissions from the regulator’s supply chain account for 84% of its total carbon footprint, the Environment Agency says. As such, it says it will work with and influence its suppliers to reduce their carbon emissions alongside its own.
“Reaching net zero will be one of the biggest challenges the Environment Agency has ever faced”
One aspect of this is reducing waste. The Agency says it will work with suppliers to help them take a ‘circular’ approach to waste.
The Agency pointed to its clothing contract, which it says covers not just the supply of new clothes, but the collection and disposal of the old ones so its supplier can make the most of reuse and recycling opportunities.
And, it says its flooring contract requires its supplier to take back off-cuts and process them into new flooring as part of a closed-loop process.
The modular furniture in the Agency’s offices is 99% recoverable at end of use through its design, the regulator claims.
Net zero
The Environment Agency says it is developing an offsetting strategy to address “all remaining” emissions, due out by April 2022.
There is an increasing focus on companies, local authorities and others to commit to net zero ambitions. In 2019 the government committed to the UK reaching net zero by 2050.
Just last week, waste management company Viridor announced a string of plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, with the aim of becoming a net zero company by 2040 (see letsrecycle.com story).
And, at the start of the month Biffa opened a ‘transport hub’ in East London, linking waste sites in the capital with the waste management company’s landfill sites in the north by rail (see letsrecycle.com story). It did so in part to help it reach the net zero carbon emission target by 2050.
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Environment Agency: reaching net zero by 2030
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
