Carbon Reduction Plan

Introduction

8build recognises how important it is to be committed to reducing our carbon emissions, and understanding the impact we have on the environment in everything we do.

This Carbon Reduction Plan, originally formulated in September 2022, sets out how we will improve the way in which we will use our resources to ensure the least harm to our environment.

Whether we are thinking of how to travel to work, what cup to drink from, where we hold a meeting and the vast range of choices we make in our daily life, having sustainability underpinning every choice we make and every action we take must be integral to us delivering our vision, mission and strategic goals.

We have identified where we need to change our behaviour and prioritised the key areas we want to focus on over the next 12-months as detailed in our plan.

We also recognise that many of the measures we plan to take to cut our carbon footprint will also help the us operate more efficiently, cut costs and go some way to protecting us from the inevitable future increases to fuel and energy costs.

Commitment to Achieving Net Zero

8build is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2040.

We are committed to meeting our compliance, legal and regulatory obligations to protect the environment directly through our own initiatives and services and indirectly using our influence to affect the practices of others.

Baseline and Current Emissions Footprint

Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases that have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions.

Baseline emissions are the reference point against which emissions reduction can be measured.

Baseline Year:           April 2020 – March 2021

Since then, the world has changed considerably and with each passing year our knowledge base and that of our clients and supply chain increases.  It is still a mammoth challenge ahead but, with that in mind, we are delighted to see the improvements we have made so far. In the year 22/23, we reduced our emissions by over 27%. This was, in fact, our goal for 2027 so we are ahead of schedule by some margin. We are humble enough to recognise that this may not be sustainable and is very much linked to work type, location and client commitment. However, we will do our best to hold his position for the year ahead.

Greenhouse gas emissions were calculated using UK Government conversion factors for the appropriate reporting year and calculated according to the Environmental Reporting Guidelines.

Additional details relating to the baseline emissions calculations

The financial year, April 2020 to March 2021 was our first year for calculating our emissions for the Carbon Reduction Plan and is therefore used as our baseline.  However, we recognise that our electricity usage for the reporting period was low due to the COVID-19 pandemic and employees working from home.  Similarly, business travel was high due to the closure of public transport and an increased use of vehicles as part of our efforts to maintain social distancing and keep staff safe.

Baseline Year Emissions

• Scope 1: 20.88 tCO₂e
• Scope 2: 28.97 tCO₂e
• Scope 3: 61.45 tCO₂e (Our Scope 3 emissions only included mileage travelled by cars owned or controlled outside 8build.)
• Total: 111.30 tCO₂e

Current Emissions Reporting

Reporting Year:         April 2022 – March 2023

• Scope 1: 25.35 tCO₂e
• Scope 2: 18.34 tCO₂e
• Scope 3: 1,896.32 tCO₂e
  • Our scope 3 emissions breakdown is as follows:
    • Upstream transportation and distribution: 0
    • Waste generated in operations: 1,834.45
    • Business travel: 39.94
    • Employee commuting: 21.93
    • Downstream transportation and distribution 0
  • Employee commuting have been calculated on the basis of:
    • 186 employees, including 6 part-time staff
    • 13 travelling by car
    • 125.25 members of staff travelling 5 days per week and 46.75 members of staff travelling 3 days per week
    • Data from Demographia website – average London commute of 10.2 km per journey
  • Upstream transportation and distribution is 0 as wo do not purchase third-party transportation and distribution services.
  • Downstream transportation and distribution includes the emissions from transportation and distribution of products sold between our operations and the end consumer.  Working in the construction sector, this is not applicable as we do not transport or distribute products to our end-customer and is therefore 0.
• Total Emissions: 1,940.01 tCO₂e

Emissions Reduction Targets

In order to continue or progress to achieving Net Zero, this time last year we adopted the following carbon reduction targets.

We project that carbon emissions will decrease over the next five years to 1,950 tCO₂e by 2027.  This is a reduction of 27%.  Please note that due to the impact of the pandemic on our operating model and the reported emissions deviating from the requirements under this measure (i.e. very limited Scope 3 emissions reporting), our baseline year emissions are substantially lower than the current year.  Therefore, the target emissions have been re-evaluated and adjusted to reflect the more detailed calculations, and ensure they are in-line with the requirements of PPN 06/21. 

Our emissions report for 22/23, shown on the previous page, indicates that we have achieved this already and is represented on the graph below.

Our aim for the coming year is to hold that position and, if possible, reduce it still further by an additional 5%.

Progress against these targets can be seen in the graph below: