Carbon Emission Reduction Plan
Supplier name: Counterweight Limited
Publication date: 12 December 2022
Commitment to achieving Net Zero
Counterweight is committed to the global effort in achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050.
Counterweight commits to go carbon neutral by 2024 with the goal to be carbon negative
from 2025.
The table below summarises the technical abbreviations used throughout the document.
| Abbreviation | Definition |
| CO2 | Carbon dioxide |
| CO2e | Total carbon dioxide emission |
| EVs | Electric vehicles |
| GHG | Greenhouse gas |
| SECR | Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting |
| SBTI | Science Based Target Initiative |
| T&D | Transmission & Distribution |
Baseline Emissions Footprint
Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases that have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. Baseline emissions are the reference point against which emissions reduction can be measured.
| Baseline Year: 2022 |
| Additional Details relating to the Baseline Emissions calculations. |
| Counterweight is a growing SME who has been working largely remote for the past 5 years. Carbon emissions were calculated using the UK Government Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Conversion Factors for Company Reporting. A calculation spreadsheet can be provided upon request. The emission will be calculated according to scope 1 (direct emissions), scope 2 (indirect energy) and scope 3 (other indirect) as shown below. Please see a definition of factors measured in Appendix A. |
| Baseline year emissions: |
| EMISSIONS | TOTAL (tCO2e) |
| Scope 1 | Fuels: 0 kg CO2e Bioenergy: 0 kg CO2e Refrigerant & other: 0 kg CO2e Passenger vehicles: 0 kg CO2e SECR kWh pass & delivery vehicles: 0 kg CO2e TOTAL: 0 kg CO2e |
| Scope 2 | UK Electricity: 0 kg CO2e UK electricity for EVs: 0 kg CO2e SECR kWh UK electricity for EVs: 0 kg CO2e TOTAL: 0 kg CO2e |
| Scope 3 (Included Sources) |
Transmission & distribution (T&D): 0 kg CO2e UK electricity for T&D for EVs: 0 kg CO2e Water supply: 0 kg CO2e Water treatment: 0 kg CO2e Material use: 54,639 kg CO2e Waste disposal:0 kg CO2e Business travel - air: 0 kg CO2e Business travel - sea: 0 kg CO2e Business travel - land: 270 kg CO2e Freighting goods: 23,019 kg CO2e Hotel stay: 125 kg CO2e Homeworking: 5,446 kg CO2e TOTAL: 83,499 kg CO2e |
| Total Emissions | 83,499 kg CO2e |
Current Emissions Reporting
Due to the baseline being 2021/2022, the next reporting will take place 2022/2023.
Emissions reduction targets
As Counterweight is a growing company we project a constant or slight increase in carbon emissions over the next 5 years. The company is re-evaluating various suppliers and supplies to prevent or reduce carbon emissions with the expansion. In order to continue our progress to achieving Net Zero, we have adopted the following carbon reduction targets.
We project that carbon emissions will decrease over the next two years to 0 tCO2e by 2024 by being offset by carbon negative initiatives. This is a reduction of 100%.
Progress against these targets can be seen in the graph below:
The 2022/2023 report will display actuals vs projected.
Carbon Reduction Projects
Carbon Reduction Initiatives
No carbon emission reduction can be measured to date. The next report will be for the 2022/2023 financial year (one year post baseline). In the future we would like to implement following environmental management measures and projects:
- Certification within the next 5 years:
- ISO14001 or PAS 2060 depending on recommendation by consulting professionals
- Reviewing product packaging and delivery and making improvements towards reduced carbon emissions
- Signing up to SBTI
- Identify carbon negative initiatives including but not limited to using renewable energy sources, using green products and supporting “halt deforestation” efforts.
Declaration and Sign Off
This Carbon Reduction Plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 06/21 and associated guidance and reporting standards for Carbon Reduction Plans.
Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the GHG Reporting Protocol corporate standard (1) and uses the appropriate Government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting (2).
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported in accordance with SECR
requirements, and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard (3).
This Carbon Reduction Plan has been reviewed and signed off by the board of directors (or equivalent management body).
Signed on behalf of the Counterweight: Laura Sloman, CEO
Laura Sloman, CEO
Date: 12/12/2022
(2) https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-conversion-factors-for-company-reporting
(3) https://ghgprotocol.org/standards/scope-3-standard
Appendix A: Definition of Carbon Emission Factors Measured
Scope 1 factors
| Fuels | Fuels conversion factors should be used for primary fuel sources combusted at a site or in an asset owned or controlled by the reporting organisation. |
| Bioenergy | Bioenergy conversion factors should be used for the combustion of fuels produced from recently living sources (such as trees) at a site or in an asset under the direct control of the reporting organisation. |
| Refrigerant & other | Refrigerant and process conversion factors should be used for the purpose of reporting leakage from air-conditioning and refrigeration units or the release to the atmosphere of other gases that have a global warming potential. |
| Passenger vehicles | Passenger vehicles conversion factors should be used to report travel in cars and on motorcycles owned or controlled by the reporting organisation. This does not include vehicles owned by employees that are used for business purposes. |
| Delivery vehicles | Delivery vehicle conversion factors should be used to report travel in vans and heavy goods vehicles that are owned or controlled by the reporting organisation. This does not include hired vans or courier services provided by other organisations. |
| SECR kWh pass & delivery vehs | Participants required to report under the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) should use these factors to calculate the energy use, in kWh, from road vehicles where they only have mileage or km data, for example from expense claims. |
Scope 2 factors
| UK electricity | UK electricity conversion factors should be used to report on electricity used by an organisation at sites owned or controlled by them. This is reported as a Scope 2 (indirect) emission. The conversion factors in this listing are for the electricity supplied to the grid that organisations purchase - this does not include the emissions associated with the transmission and distribution of electricity. |
| Overseas electricity | Overseas electricity conversion factors should be used to report on electricity used by an organisation at international sites owned and controlled by them. Electricity should be reported as a Scope 2, indirect emissions source. |
| UK electricity for EVs |
UK electricity conversion factors for electric vehicles should be used to report on electricity used by an organisation at sites owned/controlled by them (where this is not already reported), or public recharging stations. This is reported as a Scope 2, indirect emission. The conversion factors in this listing are for the electricity supplied to the grid that organisations purchase (or from public charging stations) - they do not include the emissions associated with the transmission and distribution of electricity. Care should be taken to avoid double counting with an organisation's general electricity consumption. |
| SECR kWh UK electricity for EVs |
Participants required to report under the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) should use these factors to calculate the energy use, in kWh, from electric vehicles, where they only have mileage or km data, for example from expense claims. The SECR factors should be used to report on electricity used by electric vehicles owned/controlled by them (where this is not already reported within the total organisation's electricity consumption), or public recharging stations. The kWh factors in this listing are for the electricity supplied to the grid that organisations purchase (or from public charging stations) - they do not include the emissions associated with the transmission and distribution of electricity. Care should be taken to avoid double counting with an organisation's general electricity consumption. |
| Heat and steam |
Heat and steam conversion factors should be used to report emissions within organisations that purchase heat or steam energy for heating purposes or for use in specific industrial processes. District heat and steam factors are also available. |
Scope 3 factors
https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/standards/Scope3_Calculation_Guidance_0.pdf
| WTT- fuels | Well-to-tank (WTT) fuels conversion factors should be used to account for the upstream Scope 3 emissions associated with extraction, refining and transportation of the raw fuel sources to an organisation’s site (or asset) prior to their combustion. |
| WTT- bioenergy | WTT bioenergy conversion factors should be used for the emissions associated with upstream Scope 3 extraction, refining and transportation of the bioenergy sources prior to their combustion. |
| Transmission and distribution | Transmission and distribution (T&D) conversion factors should be used to report the Scope 3 emissions associated with grid losses (the energy loss that occurs in getting the electricity from the power plant to the organisations that purchase it). |
| UK electricity T&D for EVs | Transmission and distribution (T&D) factors for electric vehicles should be used to report the Scope 3 emissions associated with grid losses (the energy loss that occurs in getting the electricity from the power plant to the organisations that purchase it). |
| WTT- UK electricity | WTT conversion factors for UK and overseas electricity should be used to report the Scope 3 emissions of extraction, refining and transportation of primary fuels before their use in the generation of electricity. It should be noted that electricity generation, and transmission and distribution losses have separate WTT emissions assigned to them. |
| WTT- heat and steam | WTT heat and steam conversion factors should be used to report emissions from the extraction, refinement and transportation of primary fuels that generate the heat and steam organisations purchase. |
| Water supply | Water supply conversion factors should be used to account for water delivered through the mains supply network. |
| Water treatment | Water treatment conversion factors should be used for water returned to the sewage system through mains drains. |
| Material use | Material use conversion factors should be used to report on consumption of procured materials based on their origin (that is, comprised of primary material or recycled materials). For primary materials, these factors cover the extraction, primary processing, manufacture and transportation of materials to the point of sale, not the materials in use. For secondary materials, the factors cover sorting, processing, manufacture and transportation to the point of sale, not the materials in use. These factors are useful for reporting efficiencies gained through reduced procurement of material or the benefit of procuring items that are the product of a previous recycling process. |
| Waste disposal | Waste-disposal figures should be used for end-of-life disposal of different materials using a variety of different disposal methods. |
| Business travel- air | Air conversion factors should be used to report Scope 3 emissions for individuals flying for work purposes. |
| WTT- business travel- air | WTT business travel – air conversion factors should be used to account for the upstream Scope 3 emissions associated with extraction, refining and transportation of the aviation fuel to the plane before take-off. |
| Business travel- sea | Sea-based conversion factors should be used to report travel for business purposes on ferries. |
| WTT- business travel- sea | WTT business travel – sea-based conversion factors should be used to report the upstream Scope 3 emissions associated with extraction, refining and transportation of fuel for ferries on which members of an organisation may travel for business purposes. |
| Business travel-land | Land-based conversion factors should be used for travel for business purposes in assets not owned or directly operated by a business. This includes mileage for business purposes in, for example, cars owned by employees, public transport and hire cars. |
| WTT- pass vehs travel- land | WTT conversion factors for passenger vehicles and business travel on land should be used to report the upstream Scope 3 emissions associated with extraction, refining and transportation of the raw fuels before they are used to power the transport mode. |
| Freighting goods | Freighting goods factors should be used specifically for the shipment of goods over land, by sea or by air through a third-party company. Factors are available for a whole vehicle's worth of goods or per tonne of goods shipped via a specific transport mode. |
| WTT- delivery vehs & freight | WTT conversion factors for delivery vehicles and freighting goods should be used to report the upstream Scope 3 emissions associated with extraction, refining and transportation of the raw fuels before they are used to power the transport mode. |
| Hotel Stay | Hotel stay factors should be used to report emissions associated with overnight hotel stays. The emissions from hotel stays are reported as a Scope 3 emissions source. |
| Managed assets-electricity | Managed assets conversion factors for electricity should be used to report on electricity used at a site or in an asset not directly owned or operated by the reporting organisation (such as space in a data centre). This is reported as a Scope 3 (indirect) emission and is a voluntary accounting practice. The conversion factors in this listing are for the electricity supplied to the grid that the organisation pays for directly or indirectly. They are also for the electricity supplied to the grid that organisations purchase - they do not include the emissions associated with the transmission and distribution of electricity. |
| Managed assets-vehicles | Managed assets conversion factors for vehicles should be used to report emissions from vehicles that are used by a reporting organisation, but are not owned by them and generally do not appear on the organisation's balance sheet. The emissions from managed assets are reported as a Scope 3 emissions source. |
| Home-working | Home-working factors should be used to report emissions associated with company staff working from home. The emissions from home-working are reported as a Scope 3 emissions source. |
Other
| Outside of scopes | Outside of scopes includes biogenic CO2 factors that should be used to account for the direct carbon dioxide (CO2) impact of burning biomass and biofuels, including when reporting emissions from electricity consumption. Biogenic CO2 emissions are one of several activities labelled ‘outside of scopes’ by the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard because the Scope 1 impact of these fuels has been determined to be a net ‘0’ (since the fuel source itself absorbs an equivalent amount of CO2 during the growth phase as the amount of CO2 released through combustion). Full reporting of any fuel from a biogenic source, including electricity, should have the biogenic CO2 value documented to ensure complete accounting for the emissions created. |
| Conversions | The conversion values should be used to change units of, for example, energy, mass and volume into alternative units. This is particularly useful where an organisation is collecting data in units of measure that do not have conversion factors that can be directly used to determine a carbon emission total. |
| The fuel properties can be used to determine the typical calorific values/densities of most common fuels. |