Blog
Stirland Paterson, Sustainability and Carbon Balancing
“The money that is given to World Land Trust, in my estimation, has more effect on the wild world than almost anything I can think of” – David Attenborough
We all know we need to do more.
The latest climate science sends a clear warning that we must dramatically curb global temperature rise to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change.
This is why, under the Paris Agreement, the global community committed to limit the rise in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. To achieve this, emissions will need to halve by 2030 and reach net-zero no later than 2050.
Governments, businesses, and individuals need to take responsibility for their own actions. This doesn’t mean we need to go back to the preindustrial era, but it does mean that we all have choices we can make that will make a difference. It is understanding what these choices mean which is key.
Over the years, Stirland Paterson have always been conscious of how we impact the environment and what we can do to limit this. From becoming FSC certified to having our environmental management systems approved to ISO 14001, through to making sure our investments allow us to operate in a more sustainable way, our impact is at the forefront of decisions we make.
So, in 2022, we chose to work with carbon specialists Nero Carbon Limited to help us understand exactly what our carbon emissions are and what we can then do to reduce them.
By analysing the past 2 years of our fuel, energy and vehicle activities, Nero was able to calculate our Scope 1 and 2 emissions and help us to put a plan in place to reduce these emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
With so much contradictory claims and information being published, we wanted to make sure that we were taking the right actions to achieve maximum impact. This is why we chose to validate our targets with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a global body that defines and promotes best practices in target setting, provides methods and guidance, and independently validates and recognises companies’ targets.
In June 2023, the SBTi approved Stirland Paterson’s near-term science-based emissions reduction target.
This target commits us to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% by 2030 from a 2021 base year. We are currently working on our long-term target which will be submitted to SBTi later this year.
While measuring and reducing our emissions has been our priority, we are also aware of the immediate need to preserve and protect carbon rich habitats across the globe. These areas are crucial in the fight against climate change, protecting this land from deforestation and degradation prevents the release of CO2 into the atmosphere while preserving invaluable ecosystems.
This is why we have chosen to support the global conservation charity World Land Trust. By offsetting our scope 1 and 2 emissions, we have become operationally Carbon Balanced, helping to fund the critical work of World Land Trust.
Forests are the Lungs of the Earth, producing around 30% of our oxygen. Forests provide habitats for 80% of amphibian species, 75% of Bird species and 68% of mammal species.
This was one choice we could make that would have significant and immediate impact while we work on our longer-term journey to net-zero.
What this means for our customers
Knowing something and taking action can be poles apart. Knowing we all need to reduce our emissions and doing something about it is a simple choice and doesn’t have to be complicated.
We are looking to work with companies who share our ethos and want to help our customers achieve their own goals. By making the simple choice to work with Stirland Paterson you will already be taking action to reduce your scope 3 emissions. You will also be helping World Land Trust protect and restore threatened habitat around the world.
This simple choice will form part of your own story to your customers, demonstrating your own commitment.
Not only that, but there are also numerous ways we can help and advise on steps you can take to reduce the impact of your print. From looking at different materials, reducing the quantity of what you produce, or even moving to a print-on-demand model to remove waste altogether.
Next steps
We are currently working with Nero on a comprehensive assessment of our scope 3 emissions. The results if this assessment will form part of our long-term target of net-zero by 2050 (at the latest). We plan to submit this target to SBTi for validation later in the summer.
We are also working on various projects to help reduce or eliminate our emissions, from adding solar panels to our roof through to electrifying our company fleet.
All our actions will be documented and captured within our annual carbon reporting to ensure we are on track to meet our ambitious targets.
We are keen for our customers to be part of our journey and by supporting each other we will be able to have a bigger, more meaningful impact.