Best Foot Forward

NHS East of England commissioned BFF to conduct a carbon and ecological footprint assessment of their main office in Cambridge. The study reviewed the full range of activities of the offices and identified reductions amounting to 16% that could be achieved through short term actions and policies in commuting and business travel, the two largest contributors to the footprint . The report also identified further reductions that could be achieved through energy efficiency measures, reducing consumption of consumables and increasing recycling. The main contact on the project at the SHA stated “Excellent quality of work.  The document is easy to read and flows in a logical manner.  BFF even goes the extra mile and offers to compare your carbon audit with a similar organisation e.g. we were compared with SW SHA. Something we hadn’t thought of and found interesting.”

NHS South West commissioned BFF to conduct a carbon and ecological footprint study of its offices: South West House, Severn Deanery and Peninsula Deanery.  The study reviewed the full range of activities of the offices covering utilities, business travel, commuting, materials and waste.  Staff commuting, business travel and office utilities were the largest contributors to the carbon footprint.  The SDU’s update report includes a Marginal Abatement Cost curve highlighting that improvements in each of these areas have strong positive financial and carbon returns. BFF worked with NHS SW to identify reduction recommendations to achieve the 2015 reduction target, covering each significant component of the footprint.  The project was concluded with a workshop disseminating the results with staff and discussions on reduction opportunities.

The Heritage Lottery Fund provides around £180 million of funding to projects across the UK every year. Although these projects provide lasting benefits to local communities, HLF acknowledges that they also have a carbon impact which can’t be ignored. In order to quantify the scale of greenhouse gas emissions associated with HLF-funded projects, and to facilitate mitigation, a robust carbon footprinting tool was needed that could be used by funding applicants. Following on from an initial scoping project, conducted in 2009, Best Foot Forward has developed an innovative solution for the HLF, called HLF Footprinter. The tool, which is presently being piloted with several applicant groups, will help inform the project design process, and has a focus on building utilities consumption and visitor travel. Visit www.footprinter.com to learn more about Footprinter.

The latest update from the NHS Sustainable Development Unit confirms that the Business as Usual trajectory for NHS emissions inexorably rises and sets a target to reduce the emissions by 10% by 2015 (based on a 2007 baseline).  NHS South of Tyne and Wear covers three primary care trusts: Gateshead, Sunderland and South Tyneside.  To support the development of sustainability and carbon reduction strategies for the three primary care trusts, NHS South of Tyne and Wear commissioned BFF to calculate the carbon footprint of each of the three primary care trusts and to put these in the context of the national footprint. BFF also provided a draft outline for a sustainability policy and a carbon management plan in its report which is being used to guide the development of the final sustainability policy and carbon reduction strategy.

Climate change is a fundamental issue for Oxfam which is helping people to cope with severe climate events worldwide, and pressing for the urgency of global emissions reductions. Oxfam GB commissioned BFF to support its own internal emissions reduction activities by tackling one of its most complex areas: procurement. Working closely with an internal team, BFF assessed Oxfam’s investment in products for its shops, emergency equipment and all of the services needed to run the organisation. Following an extensive data collection process, an emissions profile was developed which highlighted the impact of each procurement area, and those investments with the highest carbon intensity. The insight from this progressive project enables Oxfam to make informed decisions on how it can best reduce its own emissions, while continuing to effectively fight poverty. Oxfam commented: “Best Foot Forward took a large, complex project and made it manageable. Their advice on how to approach the task had a balance of pragmatic and strategic thinking, and their commitment to the detail and integrity of the project was highly appreciated.”

The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) is the statutory advisor on sustaining natural beauty, wildlife and the opportunity for outdoor enjoyment in Wales. BFF was commissioned by CCW to revisit a footprint done by us in 2004 - and additionally develop detailed footprint reduction scenarios that explored the effectiveness of a broad range of environmental policies in areas such as business travel and building energy use. Based on this analysis CCW chose a selection of policies which will enable them to meet their footprint reduction targets in 2012/13 and beyond. In addition, CCW is using BFF's new Footprinter™ software to internally monitor progress against these targets.

Hertfordshire Constabulary polices an area of 632 square miles, with a population of well over a million. To achieve this the force employs more than 4,000 police and support staff at 40+ sites across the county. BFF was commissioned to calculate a base year carbon and ecological footprint – and describe the scale and profile of emissions from a wide range of sources including energy use, procurement, operational travel, commuting and waste management. The base year information was used to guide the development of footprint reduction policies at a departmental level – a process facilitated by BFF. Finally, the project had the additional aim of embedding environmental accounting capacity within the constabulary so that staff can calculate future footprints using BFF’s Footprinter™ carbon accounting tool.

Hertfordshire County Council provides services to over one million residents including schools, libraries, care services, highway maintenance and transport services. The Council wished to measure the climate change and resource use impacts of all of its functions, and commissioned BFF to conduct carbon and ecological footprint analyses and deliver a software solution (Footprinter™) to enable ongoing measurement by the Council. Our work went beyond the present requirements for National Indicator 185 to also show full supply chain emissions and included commuting of Council staff. John Rumble from the Council stated: “We recognised the challenge of the assessment, but the results provide a true reflection of the emissions we can influence, and the Footprinter tool enables us to closely manage these on an ongoing basis.”  This is the first study of its type and enables Hertfordshire County Council to adopt a sophisticated, holistic approach to managing emissions.

Orbit Group is one of the largest housing groups in the UK, employing over 1,800 people and managing thousands of homes and supported housing. Orbit Group has been working with consultants Beyond Green to develop a far-reaching sustainability strategy, and BFF was commissioned to supplement this work with detailed carbon and ecological footprint assessments of three of the Group’s office operations. The footprinting process was explained to the Green Team, and the results enabled members to understand the Group’s emissions profile, compare offices and develop targeted carbon management plans. Clive Webb from Orbit Group commented: “Carrying out the footprinting project has been a really useful learning process for us as an organisation with the results helping to focus our efforts into areas we may not have otherwise addressed. I would like to personally thank the BFF team for all of their help and support during the project."

CABE (The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) commissioned BFF to undertake a second Carbon and Ecological Footprint analysis to compare the organisation’s recent footprint against our first study completed in 2007. CABE has instituted a number of carbon reduction plans in various areas of office activity and over two years has been able to reduce their total carbon footprint by 9%, or by 32% per member of staff.  The most effective actions to reduce the footprint were: a significant reduction of flights for business travel, a decrease in electricity consumption and switching from virgin to recycled paper. The value of our iterative footprinting process is highlighted by CABE’s Huw Jackson “Best Foot Forward’s metrics helped us to firstly understand where our impacts lay, then to target reductions and ultimately demonstrate a real reduction in our emissions”

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) gives grants to projects involving the local, regional and national heritage of the UK using money from the National Lottery for Good Causes. The HLF already requires organisations to report on environmental considerations as part of the application, and for this project BFF was commissioned to explore the feasibility to introduce carbon accounting as part of the application process. We identified the potential for applicants to forecast data on building energy use and visitor transport modes which can be converted to greenhouse gas emissions using an online calculator, such as the trial HLF Footprinter™ developed as part our work. Applicants would be able to use the tool to model alternative low carbon solutions, and the HLF could use footprint results as part of their assessment process

The Energy Saving Trust is a non-profit and independent organisation, funded by the government and the private sector, which provides free impartial advice to help households reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. The Energy Saving Trust is reviewing its suite of customer facing tools and required an examination of current footprinting tools and how they may be developed in the future to provide visitors to their website with the most accurate and comprehensive information.  The Energy Saving Trust commissioned BFF to undertake a thorough review of carbon footprint calculators available for consumers and households. The review covered over 30 online calculators assessing them in terms of user attributes and technical ability. The study then assessed likely drivers and how they will shape the future of such tools.

AMEC is a FTSE100 company providing services to the world’s energy, power and process industries. AMEC has developed a carbon management programme designed to reduce the carbon intensity of its global operations. BFF was approached and commissioned by AMEC to provide a carbon management tool to capture, target, manage and report greenhouse gas information from its many business units worldwide. BFF delivered AMEC’s requirements with a tailored version of BFF’s web-based Footprinter™ software. AMEC  Footprinter™ captures office and site footprints at the local level, and can aggregate results to the corporate level. Linzie Forrester, AMEC Sustainability Programme Manager, said: “AMEC Footprinter™ will be integral in reducing our carbon footprint. It is already giving insight into where our business has both carbon and cost hotspots”.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a well-provisioned local energy supply, low cost energy and the highest per capita Ecological Footprint in the world.  To support emissions reductions efforts from the user-end, EWS-WWF commissioned Touchpoints Consulting and BFF to produce two calculators for public-engagement on energy use in households, with a goal of informing the public and encouraging engagement through their individual pledges for household emissions reduction. BFF produced a detailed model of energy use in UAE homes. This was incorporated into two web calculators, one for quick assessments, and a more detailed application showing reduction options and financial cost-saving opportunities. These calculators underpin the Heroes of the UAE campaign.

Ihobe is a publicly-owned company created to support the achievement of the Basque Country’s environmental policy targets. Its main activities include providing advice to industry and local authorities on issues such as waste, pollution and product innovation. Ihobe commissioned BFF to develop a footprinting tool, Ihobe k-aztarna Footprinter™, to facilitate action on climate change in the industrial sector of the Basque economy.  Footprinter allows companies to calculate the footprint of their organisation – or products they manufacture. Using the tool’s scenario function companies can also compare different carbon reduction actions.

Balfour Beatty is one of the UK’s leading PFI contractors and in 2007 the company completed the construction of a new school building for Portland School as part of the Bassetlaw Schools Project. Balfour Beatty commissioned BFF to produce a carbon and ecological footprint of the construction and operations of the school. We found that the footprint of construction is equivalent to three years of school operations, and our results are now forming part of a carbon management system to measure, monitor and reduce the environmental impact of the building. The results of the study are expected to influence developments and decisions made by Balfour Beatty as part of future education sector contracts.

BRITA manufactures water filtration products for household and commercial applications. Sustainability is a core pillar of the company, and so its UK office in Oxfordshire worked with BFF to measure the carbon footprint of its operations. The baseline footprint showed that the highest impact comes from employee travel, and BRITA is using the findings to develop the site’s sustainability strategy and specifically target reductions in travel emissions. BRITA is committed to ongoing emissions monitoring, and is using BFF’s Office Footprinter^™ to internally calculate the site’s footprint in the future.

The Guinness Partnership is a housing association that works to develop and maintain affordable homes across the UK. The Partnership recognises that its operations have an impact on the environment and is developing a Sustainability Strategy to mitigate its future impacts. BFF contributed to this strategy by assessing the carbon and ecological footprints of three of the main office sites. The assessment included profiles of one volunteer from each site to determine their workplace and personal footprints, which demonstrated the impacts of their daily activities and lifestyle choices. The footprint results are being used to communicate internally and externally, and to guide ongoing reduction activities.

The InterContinental Hotels Group – host to over 160 million stays per year – commissioned BFF to provide sustainability metrics on the environmental impact of accommodating their guests. We assessed the carbon and ecological footprints of a sample of their hotels from around the world, and found an almost equal split of emissions between Scopes 1 & 2, and Scope 3. We allocated impacts on a ‘per room night’ basis to allow comparisons between hotels, and found that energy use in the best performing hotel resulted in emissions of 22kg CO₂ per room per night, with an average across the group of 59kg CO₂ per room per night. Our metrics were the key first step that allowed IHG to understand the footprint of its operations, and strategies are now being developed to “make a night with IHG more carbon efficient”.  

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) is an internationally-acclaimed architectural practice which seeks to incorporate sustainability issues into all their projects. RSHP was keen to address similar considerations in the operation of its own offices. The practice commissioned BFF to follow ISO14064 to assess the carbon footprint of its London office to obtain a baseline against which to develop a strategy for reducing its environmental impacts.

Sheppard Robson is one of the largest architectural practices in the UK and has won major awards for design and innovation. Sheppard Robson commissioned BFF to assess the carbon and ecological footprints of their annual office activities in London and Manchester. The results from the study have enabled them to develop a strategy to monitor and reduce their footprint in the future.

Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. Ofcom commissioned us to undertake a full carbon and ecological footprint analysis of all offices, publications, data storage and vehicle fleets. The results from the study are being used to develop targets for Ofcom to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions year on year.

Sunderland based people and property business, Gentoo, is aiming to create a benchmark to measure and therefore effectively manage their environmental impact in order to contribute to the UK’s Carbon Reduction Commitment. BFF was commissioned by Gentoo to carry out a comprehensive footprint assessment (both carbon and ecological) of its entire business as part of its ongoing work aimed at improving the efficiency of the Group and lessening its impact on the environment.

The ARENA Network Carbon Reduction Program has been established to assist small-to-medium-sized enterprises across Northern Ireland with their energy consumption. ARENA Network—the environmental arm of Business in the Community— commissioned BFF to provide a footprinting application for use by SMEs engaged with the Program. We developed Footprinter™ NI and it is now freely available to users on the Program’s website.

The government-funded Envirowise programme is dedicated to improving resource efficiency in UK businesses. BFF was commissioned to develop a simple tool to demonstrate the relationship between resource use, costs and carbon efficiency. The resulting 'Envirowise Indicator' can be used by visitors to their website.

We have completed numerous office footprints and wanted to develop a tool for clients to have in-house to enable ongoing footprint measurment. 'Office Footprinter' is the first completed product in the Footprinter series, and is being used by a number of clients for tracking Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Office Footprinter is a subscription-based model although a free trial version is available on the dedicated Footprinter website.

This study analysed the operations of three Wildlife Trusts and the RSWT headquarters in Newark, for 2006-7. Two environmental impact indicators were calculated for several components of Trust activities: ecological footprints in terms of global hectares, and CO₂ emissions, both direct and embodied. Results enabled benchmarking of performance between Trusts, normalised to take account of variations in staff numbers and areas of land managed. The footprint figures report office-based and land-based activities, and the future goal is to minimise these impacts while still delivering the land and habitat conservation services which are core to all RSWT activities.

CABE (The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) plays a key role in raising awareness of sustainability across the industry. CABE wanted to manage its own footprint, so commissioned BFF to calculate the ecological and carbon footprint of its office activities.

Trócaire is the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland with its head office in Maynooth and international offices around the world. Trócaire campaigns on climate change issues and wished to carefully assess its own impacts as an organisation. BFF calculated the carbon and ecological footprints of three Irish and three international Trócaire offices as well as all international travel. Our findings helped Trócaire understand the relative impacts of different activities, and allowed it to start tackling the major challenge for an international aid agency of minimising air travel.

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) used BFF to calculate the total carbon footprint of its HQ offices. The results were used by their Sustainable Development Team to investigate opportunities for BERR to target plans to reduce its footprint. BFF was invited to share the findings with Whitehall's Sustainable Development Policy Working Group.

The CBI plays a pivotal role representing UK businesses, and closely follows the climate change debate. BFF was commissioned to undertake a footprint of the CBI's own operations to demonstrate where its own impacts lie. The results influenced their coporate carbon reduction strategy.

The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) manages a number of rural estates and National Nature Reserves. BFF was approached by CCW to consider the impact of its utility usage, but our wider study showed the highest emissions actually come from material inputs and staff transport. CCW used these results to target emissions reduction actions.

The National Health Service (NHS) is one of the world’s largest employers, and its size and function necessitate intensive resource use. BFF’s ‘Material Health’ study investigates the mass balance and ecological footprint of the NHS in England and Wales - the first time a measure of this kind had been attempted. The objective of the study was to influence future environmental policy while supporting the NHS’s primary purpose of improving the health of the nation. The Material Health report has been broadly received as an insightful and sophisticated analysis of a highly complex organisation.

We have been training organisations and individuals on the ecological footprint since 2004. Over 300 people have passed through the training course, which is delivered from our Oxford offices and externally for clients. The course explains the principle of ecological footprinting, and provides opportunities for practical application of the methodology with a series of case studies.