CO2 Reduction at Bensons Panels

This is a path that we have been pursuing since our current owners, Helen Culloden and Matthew Barton, took control of the business in 2018.

High-efficiency heating boilers, energy-saving double glazing, on-site EV charging, moving from hybrid to 100% electric vehicles, and solar panels, are all examples of what we have implemented to reduce our carbon footprint, and in doing so, our operating costs.

To reflect on the famous quote attributed to Peter Druker "[only] what gets measured gets managed." ... how much CO₂ do we actually emit at Bensons? This is a question that we set out to answer, using the financial year ending March 2023 as our baseline.

To find out more, please download the resulting reporting here.

Our emissions were calculated by following the globally recognised Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), which provides a methodology for calculating and categorising emissions as follows:

• Scope 1 - Direct emissions from sources owned, or controlled by, a company, such as emissions from burning fuel for heating, transportation, or industrial processes.
• Scope 2 - Indirect emissions from the generation of purchases electricity, steam, heat, and cooling that a company uses.
• Scope 3 - All direct emissions that occur in a company's value chain, including emissions from suppliers, transportation, waste disposal, and employee commuting. Overall, there are 15 different Scope 3 categories.

These can be simplified to Burn, Buy, and Beyond.

The overarching message from the analysis is that Bensons as an organisation isn't a high-emitter of CO₂. Across Scope 1 and Scope 2, our emissions are mainly associated with the heating and lighting of our buildings, together with the fuel we burn in our vehicles in the course of our day-to-day activities.

However, when Scope 3 is considered, the picture changes considerably.

The emissions associated with the goods and services that we purchase are an order of magnitude higher than our combined S1 and S2 emissions. When the CO₂ emitted by the use phase of the control panels we manufacture is estimated, this equates to 99.5% of the emissions calculated during this exercise. This is a result of our control panels being powered by electricity (we don't have a 100% clean grid... yet), and operating 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 10 years.

Which begs the question, "What does all of this mean?"

This highlights the need for collaborations across the entire value chain if the UK is to achieve its emission reduction ambitions. Bensons can work towards first becoming a carbon-neutral business, then potentially net zero in time. However, to achieve this, we are heavily dependent upon our suppliers seeking to achieve the same outcome.

Alongside this, is the need for continued investment in optimising electrical systems to minimise energy consumption, and investment in clean energy generation so that the energy we do use, is of the lowest carbon intensity possible.

As we are all aware, this is a complex and expensive problem to solve. However, the costs associated with doing so are small when the cost of mitigating the impacts of climate change is considered.

We all have a part to play, and Bensons is already working to deliver our part of the solution.