environmental strategies for raw materials producers

Introduction

This page concerns environmental strategies for companies involved in the primary extraction of materials such as minerals, fossil fuels, chemicals and timber, as well as processing into base products like coal, lumber, bricks, cement, metals, plastics, fibres, fabrics and pigments.

This kind of operation can have a very large carbon footprint and should therefore be at the forefront of taking responsibility for their emissions.

Whether or not taking action on the environment is worth doing right now will depend primarily upon the moral stance of your staff and management and, perhaps most importantly, the impact on demand for your services.

Large operations may be required by law to offset their carbon through UN Approved Carbon Trading Schemes, a process which is much more convoluted and expensive.

Small and medium-sized operations (even including some mining companies) are able to use the voluntary offsetting schemes described here.

The usual starting point is for us to create a tailor-made Environmental Strategy Report for your company, to serve as a framework within which you can outline your ambitions, quantify your emissions and assess progress on your various positive actions.

The second part of the process is the attainment of carbon certification, the primary mechanism through which you can broadcast your environmental achievements.

Carbon certification is usually achieved through the purchase of carbon credits (most commonly from tree-planting projects), with the required quantity being determined by the annual calculation of your emissions and the level of certification that you select.

The raw materials sector rarely needs to offset the carbon footprint created by its products, since this are usually better dealt with by the various manufacturers, retailers and consumers further down the supply chain.

This means that there is effectively only one level of certification, namely carbon neutral.

Carbon neutral certification

The primary aim of carbon neutral certification is to offset the emissions that are created by your core operation and infrastructure.

Carbon neutral status does not include taking responsibility for the carbon footprint associated with the raw materials that you produce, which is generally considered unnecessary in this sector.

Carbon neutral status is achieved through the payment of an annual fee, based upon our assessment of your carbon footprint.

In the case of a raw materials producer, this will usually include your indirect staff, offices, transport and associated extras.

It does not include those elements which are directly attributable to the products, such as direct labour, plant and equipment, input materials and direct energy consumption.

Depending on your brand, products and customer expectations, you may also choose to offer your customers the chance to offset the carbon footprint of the products that they buy from you. This can be done in on the voluntary basis described in the Carbon Aware section above or on the more onerous way described in the Carbon Free section below. But this is not an obligation under Carbon Neutral certification.

When it comes to guide prices for the first year, the Environmental Action Report typically works out around GBP 1000 / USD 3600 per million turnover. If you choose to go Carbon Neutral, that usually falls in the range GBP 100-800 / USD 120-960 per employee, depending on your level of emissions. These costs tend to be around 70% lower in subsequent years.

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Services and costs

In this article we describe the services that we offer and the process through which we would guide you, on the way to fulfilling your environmental ambitions.