Businesses urged to count their carbon

Thursday 02 January 2020

A series of workshops have kickstarted a campaign to get Jersey businesses calculating their environmental impact as the island works towards its goal of being carbon neutral in 2030.

Eco Active have been holding workshops to help local parishes and businesses to keep tabs on the greenhouse gases they generate in Jersey and are now urging other companies to follow suit.

This comes after Deputy Rob Ward’s successful proposition declaring a climate emergency and committing Jersey to becoming carbon-neutral by 2030. 

Jane Burns, Eco Active Programme Manager said: “By calculating their emissions, organisations can begin to understand their role in tackling the climate emergency, and we are encouraged by the positive feedback we have had from businesses. 

Pictured: Jersey joined other jurisdictions in declaring a 'climate emergency'.

“We hope to be rolling out more workshops and, in the meantime, we encourage anyone to download a copy of the spreadsheet we have devised so they can calculate their own emissions. 

“This is a practical way for businesses to see where they are now and to set goals of where they want to be in the future. Eco Active can then help to identify how to reduce energy use which should see a financial saving as well as an emissions reduction. 

“We must also remember that our direct emissions are measured and reported internationally, therefore we are able to see that our actions and policies can make a difference.” 

One of the businesses to participate in the recent workshops was Jersey Dairy.

Pictured: Jersey Dairy was one of the businesses to take part in the carbon calculating workshop.

Its Managing Director, Eamon Fenlon remarked: “Jersey Dairy are working hard to lower the environmental impacts of processing the milk produced by Jersey cows in the Island. Understanding the emissions we are directly responsible for through our use of fossil fuels and electricity will help us better understand how we can reduce our emissions further.

“All dairy farms in Jersey are working towards the LEAF Marque standard which is a farm assurance system, showing that food has been grown sustainably with care for the environment. 

“Part of the LEAF audit is an integrated farm management system which includes improvement on energy efficiencies. Working with eco active to calculate the emissions associated with our business operations will ultimately help us to be more energy efficient.”