Corporate Social Responsibility Hub
Our Transformation
Being a supplier of low carbon heating technologies, carbon reduction and sustainability is a part of who we are. We strive to manage business operations in an environmentally responsible manner, complying with relevant environmental legislation and regulations. Through our Quality Environmental Policy ISO14001, we are committed to continuous improvement with products and services, as well as recycling and reducing pollution.
Grant Project Zero
The United Kingdom was the first major economy to set a legally binding target of Net Zero carbon emissions by a target date of 2050. Although a daunting challenge, the date is set, and we all must work collectively to achieve this goal.
Grant Project Zero is Grant UK’s long-term company-wide carbon reduction programme. This transformation initiative helps us focus on our commitment to Net Zero to ensure we do our bit as a Company towards achieving our nation's Net Zero Carbon target.
It considers all business processes from facilities, vehicles and energy usage to waste, business travel and our supply chain.
Our Carbon Footprint
For Grant Project Zero we document the carbon our business operations generate each year. In 2021, we appointed external carbon consultants Carbon Lens to calculate our carbon intensity and support us with managing our resource consumption so that we can be recognised as a carbon neutral business and aim towards Net Zero.
Carbon Lens review the following data:
- Energy used at our HQ in Wiltshire.
- Significant purchases.
- Business Travel.
- Shipping.
- Waste data.
The report covered Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Scopes are a way of classifying different emissions a business generates. Scope 1 covers the emissions that our business directly makes e.g. running company vehicles. Scope 2 covers the indirect emissions e.g. where/how our electricity is being generated. Scope 3 is the largest of all and accounts for all emissions our business is indirectly responsible for throughout our supply chain e.g. where and who we purchase our products from.
This data is then used to calculate our carbon footprint. The emissions have been calculated using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol methods and targets set using the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) principles for achieving Net Zero by 2045.
In 2023, our carbon footprint for scopes 1 and 2 which cover direct and indirect emissions including electricity, waste and fuel usage was calculated as: 210 Tonnes CO2e. Along with scope 3, which also includes any indirect emissions through the supply chain, our footprint was calculated as: 10,285 Tonnes CO2e.
Carbon Savings
We are already making positive steps forward to achieve more sustainable business operations. Today, Grant UK employees are encouraged to reduce waste and recycle whenever possible with the placement of recycling facilities throughout our premises. Since introducing these measures, we have significantly improved waste collections and recycling volumes. In less than a year, cardboard waste reduced by 55%, plastic waste reduced by 52% and the amount of general waste produced onsite also greatly reduced with over a tonne being handled as mixed recyclables.
Low-energy LED lights are used throughout the offices and Training Academy and the vehicles in the Company's fleet are now moving to either fully electric or hybrid models as appropriate.
Our Premises
In addition to our onsite recycling and waste reduction initiatives, sustainability is also a central feature of our premises. Our Company HQ in Swindon, Wiltshire, has been designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible from the choice of materials used within the office spaces and Training Academy through to the renewable heating system fulfilling the site's heating and hot water requirements.
Alongside the biomass heating system which provides heating and hot water, 768 solar panels and storage batteries have been installed as part of the 303kWp Solar PV system which has been fitted onto the roof of both of our units. This system is already fulfilling over 83% of the electricity demand for the main office unit and 91% of the electricity demand for our Training Academy. Generating 50MwH of electricity in June 2023, this system is helping Grant UK to reduce its reliance on the grid and it is hoped that in the future, it will fulfil all our electricity demand as well as feeding renewable electricity into the grid. In the last twelve months, we have exported over 80,000kWh of renewable energy generated by our solar PV to the National Grid [correct March 2024]. Furthermore, any electricity we use from the grid is also renewable so any energy used on site is 100% renewable (view our Renewable Energy Certificate).
Please click here to read more about our HQ's facilities and features.
Our Reduction Roadmap
With an established carbon baseline, our Management Team are committed to challenging and continually reducing the use of carbon over the coming years.
Our long-term commitment is split into three phases:
Reduce
- We further reduce carbon through implementation of new short medium and long term initiatives and amendments to business processes.
Offset
- We contribute to certified carbon offset schemes that are aligned with our business purpose in line with PAS 2060 specifications.
Net Zero
- This is our long term goal which will be hard to achieve while fossil fuels are still a predominant source of heating in GB.
- We will work with our suppliers to fully review our supply chain and business processes with the aim of removing carbon.
Offsetting Our Carbon
Between 2021 and 2023, we supported the Nadarivatu Hydropower Project to offset our carbon emissions in line with PAS 2060. This project was an accredited renewable initiative in Fiji which focused on reducing the use of fossil fuel consumption in energy production while also delivering social benefits to the local communities with employment opportunities and improved infrastructure.
In 2024, we started to support a new project which is also UN Certified – the RIMA Fuel Switch in Brazil. The project works to replace fossil fuel with a renewable biomass fuel source instead and positively contributes to the environment and the local community, both socially as well as economically. The region where the RIMA Fuel Switch project is based is an area home to mining, agriculture and reforestation with the RIMA plant striving to decrease the use of fuel oils and sustainably supporting the local people. View our certificate here.
Climate Neutral Now Initiative
Grant UK is participating in the UN Climate Neutral Now Initiative. The Initiative encourages companies to recognise their carbon impact right now and act to achieve a climate neutral world by 2050. It is a support tool that is used to promote voluntary action on climate change, and to provide recognition. To be part of the initiative we signed a Climate Neutral Now Pledge, follow three steps - Measure, Reduce and Contribute, and annually report on our carbon saving actions and achievements.
See our 2023 achievement report here.
