Best Foot Forward

Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) is the UK arm of Molson Coors, the Global Family Brewer and has a market share of over 20% of the UK beer market. Molson Coors (UK) commissioned BFF to assess the carbon footprint of five Carling packaging variants (two types of cans, one type of bottle, and two types of keg) to identify opportunities across the business for reducing their carbon intensity.  BFF calculated the climate change impact from the production of Carling beer at all three Molson Coors (UK) breweries, following the product life-cycle carbon footprint methodology set out in PAS 2050.  James Wyse, Environment Manager at Molson Coors (UK) declared “BFF’s analysis has provided really valuable insight into the climate change impacts of our five Carling products, and quantified the importance of different forms of packaging. We will now use these findings to further improve our sustainability decision-making, helping to reduce our carbon impact and supporting our broader agenda around Corporate Responsibility.”

learndirect is the UK’s largest online learning provider, delivering courses to 247,000 learners from 650 locations in the past year. learndirect’s offering includes a broad range of National Vocational Qualifications and Skills for Life courses. The learndirect delivery model is currently being evaluated, to ensure that it continues to be well positioned to meet the needs of learners in the future. As part of that evaluation, learndirect wanted insight into the carbon footprint of various alternate delivery options, and BFF was engaged to model and compare several possible options. In particular, the study highlighted the significance of staff and learner travel in learndirect’s existing model, and a range of opportunities for reductions in the future. learndirect is continuing to use this work to shape its emergent strategy. learndirect’s Katie Heard said: "Best Foot Forward’s pragmatic approach allowed us to move past the technical complexity around carbon and gain real insight into the carbon footprint of our various future options."

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.

A recent report from the NHS SDU on potential carbon reduction measures identified changes in models of care as one of 8 significant transformational changes to achieve the carbon reduction targets.  NHS Bristol, working with an innovative provider partnership between University Hospitals Bristol and Healthcare At Home, had been trialling a new model of care for routine oncology care by treating patients at home rather than at the hospital. NHS Bristol commissioned BFF to assess the carbon footprint impact of this change to the model of care. The changes were assessed during an initial start-up period and the results used to inform development of the service.

NHS Bristol was investigating a change in the model of care for Breast Care Services in the region. BFF analysed and modelled the carbon emissions from staff commuting, patient travel and utilities associated with the proposed model and compared these anticipated changes to the current model of patient care.  The study identified that the carbon emissions from building energy use and staff and patient transport are equivalent.  Consequently, the carbon emissions impact of changes to these models of care can depend as much upon changes in the energy intensity of the buildings providing the services as on changes to transport distance and mode.

This study was commissioned by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and estimated the total carbon footprint of the GLA’s IT estate. BFF worked with Computacenter and reviewed the energy consumption and embodied carbon of the GLA’s 700-plus desktops, 180 servers, printers, laptops and monitors. This revealed an IT carbon footprint of almost 430 tCO₂ per year, with in use emissions representing 55% of this total. David Munn, Head of IT at the GLA explained: “We want to ensure that our IT services are both cost-effective and environmentally efficient. By including future IT projects in the scope of the study, we were able to identify what new technologies would give us the best financial and environmental return on investment.” As part of the audit, BFF therefore calculated how five proposed IT projects would impact the GLA’s carbon footprint. Virtualisation came out as the greatest carbon payback per pound invested, followed by video-conferencing, hosting, thin client and multi-function devices. Learn more from recorded interviews with the project team.

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”

Tube Lines is working on behalf of London Underground to implement a ‘Low Carbon Station’ initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the operation of its underground stations. BFF was commissioned, in partnership with Green2020 and Decarbonize, by Tube Lines to perform an assessment including total carbon savings and carbon payback of seventeen proposed low carbon technology solutions. These include improvements in energy efficiency, demand management and the installation of renewable energy technologies. Working closely with Tube Lines’ engineers, potential savings compared to existing operations were calculated for selected underground stations and our study is now being used to inform operators about preferential actions to reduce emissions across the network.

Cloud Nine designs and constructs energy-efficient timber buildings. The Cloud Nine process involves offsite building in Poland followed by assembly at clients’ plots. Although the operational energy performance of the buildings is well-understood, Cloud Nine commissioned a scoping study from BFF to investigate the climate change impacts of production including the embodied carbon of materials and emissions from transporting finished products from Central Europe to the UK. Our study demonstrated that transport emissions are relatively small compared to the embodied carbon of common construction materials. By following PAS2050 accounting rules we also found that timber buildings perform well because of the valuable carbon sequestration role of long-lasting wood.

Encos Ltd is developing a variety of construction materials including bricks from recycled, 'waste' products. Encos Ltd is based on work from the University of Leeds and supported by the intellectual property development business, IP Group plc. Encos Ltd commissioned BFF to investigate the GHG emissions from their products compared to industry standards, including the embodied carbon of the raw materials and alternative kiln-firing regimes. The results are being used to support the technical development goals and the business case for producing low-carbon bricks.

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”.  

California-based Fetzer Vineyards commissioned BFF to compare the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions associated with manufacturing and transporting existing bottles (2008) against the manufacturing and transport emissions of new, lightweight bottles (2009). The results from the analysis show that there will be greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of about 14% or 2,985 US tons CO₂e from switching to lighter glass bottles in 2009.

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.

Local authorities are increasingly required to control organisational emissions and lead the management of emissions authority-wide. Luton Borough Council appointed BFF to undertake a holistic carbon and ecological footprint analysis of its corporate activities and the region as a whole. This included the assessment of the effectiveness of regional transport policies and where the council should concentrate efforts to meet corporate emissions targets under the new Carbon Reduction Commitment.

The Forestry Commission is hosting increasing numbers of music events on its land, and is acutely aware of the potential impacts of these activities. BFF was selected to examine the events management process and develop a tool to enable footprint assessments of future events.

National Express wanted to compare the carbon footprint of travelling between London and Edinburgh by different modes. The model BFF developed accounted for distances, emissions factors and occupancy rates of travel by plane, car and train. The results were used to underpin the national advertising campaign from National Express to guarantee their claims were transparent and justifiable.

Councils in the UK are under pressure to increase their operating efficiency. The Department for Communities and Local Government commissioned us to assess council services and compare the carbon footprints of electronic and other information delivery channels by Sunderland City Council. The results demonstrated that electronic delivery is more carbon efficient, and extrapolating the findings estimated potential annual savings of up to 14,000t carbon dioxide if all councils moved towards electronic delivery.

The environmental impact of FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) packaging is often scrutinised. Wine bottles are one of the heaviest packaging items, so some retailers are moving to PET in an effort to reduce product weight. Our work for WRAP assessed the carbon balance of glass and PET wine bottles filled in the UK. There are a number of variables which determine the overall carbon efficiencies, and are all detailed in the publicly available report.

Fitting out commercial and retail spaces has been identified as highly resource intensive. We worked with Pacific Interiors to assess the material flows, transport and energy demands of these activities and so derive the footprint for an office fit-out. The analysis suggested ‘lower carbon’ fit-out options where savings could be made.

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.

In the music world there has been debate over the environmental footprint of music bands jetting around the world. Radiohead was concerned about its impact, and commissioned BFF to footprint its tours in the US. The study drew wide boundaries – including fans' travel, merchandising, waste and energy – and demonstrated that the overriding impact is from the travel of thousands of fans. Radiohead is now taking steps to help their fans minimse their travel emissions, as well as reducing the band's direct footprint.

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.