MRC goes CO2 free™.
Recruiting is a terribly cut-throat business; not for nothing they are called “head hunters”. The boutique recruitment agency Management Resource Consulting, based in Adelaide, decided that one way of reinforcing its strong ethical sense, and thus differentiating itself from other agencies, was to take responsibility for the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its operations.
Carbon Planet’s team quickly completed a CO2 free™ audit of MRC’s operations and determined that MRC contribute only 13.26 tonnes of CO2 (equivalent) to the atmosphere, and of this figure 81%, 10.65 tonnes, was from professional services, 11% was electricity. Surface transport accounted for 5% and stationery and office supplies accounted for the bulk of the rest.
Carbon Planet’s CO2 free™ audits are written in accordance with the standards outlined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol in the Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (2004). The GHG Protocol is a broad international coalition of businesses, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), government and inter-governmental organisations and operates under the umbrella of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the World Resources Institute (WRI).
The audit recommended that MRC switch to green power, and adopt a low-power policy. When upgrading any electrical equipment, we advised it only consider items with an excellent energy star rating. We also recommended, when MRC upgrades its vehicles next, switching to diesel or hybrid vehicles with much higher fuel economy.
To mitigate the emissions due to professional services we also recommended that MRC adopt a ‘don’t drive to work’ policy and encourage its staff to bus, walk or cycle; or car-pool if necessary. Improved time and motion management can help reduce the distance each staff member has to travel and the introduction of a staff travel log would help measure improvements. Overall applying a green office policy is a great way for an company to reduce emissions. Using technology like Skype or iChat can also reduce emissions.
To offset last year’s emissions, MRC bought 14 carbon credits from Carbon Planet in the form of Forestry NGACs; New South Wales Greenhouse Gas Abatement Certificates. Each Forestry NGAC certifies that a tonne of CO2 has been removed from the atmosphere and will be stored for at least 100 years, using native forests planted on land that was cleared prior to 1990. The NGAS scheme is one of the most carefully audited carbon credit schemes in the world.
As a result of this three step, Measure, Reduce then Offset operation, Management Resource Consulting can truly say it has eliminated its carbon footprint and is entitled to use the CO2 mark. Hooray! — DS
Technorati Tags: Australia, Carbon Planet, climate change, CO2 free™, emissions reduction, green power
