Alumasc has partnered with Compare Your Footprint/Green Element, a leading carbon energy management company and sustainability advisers, to independently assess our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in accordance with the UK Government’s ‘Environmental Reporting Guidelines: including streamlined energy and reporting requirements’.
The assessment used the 2024 emission factors published by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The assessment conducted follows the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard and GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance, involving the reporting both location-based and market-based emissions from electricity usage.
The table on page 27 of the Annual Report 2024 summarises Alumasc’s GHG emissions for the reporting year 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. Data for ARP has been included for the period following its acquisition in December 2023. The table covers direct emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) and those associated with employee expensed business mileage, and is expressed in both in absolute terms and per £ million of revenue, which is the most appropriate method to capture levels of business activity.
While the inclusion of ARP means the Group’s GHG emissions have increased in absolute terms, GHG emission intensity reduced by 4.7% compared to the prior year, slightly ahead of the 4% reduction targeted for the year. Since 2018, Alumasc’s GHG emission intensity has reduced by 70%: a result of the Group’s investments in efficient plant and machinery; site rationalisations; installation of solar PV panels; gradual electrification of the Group’s vehicle fleet; and sourcing 100% of the Group’s electricity from renewable sources.
Our near-term targets, established last year and consistent with the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) targets for limiting global warming to below 1.5ºc, are currently being recalculated for the inclusion of ARP. Once completed, these will be verified with the SBTi and used to monitor our progress towards company-level net zero by 2050 or earlier.
The publication of Environmental Performance Declarations (EPDs) across the Group’s product range is underway. These reports detail a product’s lifetime environmental impact, including its carbon footprint, ecotoxicity and contribution to ozone depletion, and allow customers to compare different suppliers and materials. The exercise is planned to complete during 2025, with the data also being used to guide future product design and procurement decisions around our supply chain and sourcing.
As part of our programme to reduce our GHG emissions, this year we have:
- Increased the proportion of electric vehicles in our managed fleet;
- Converted 85% of lighting at our Halstead site to LEDs with PIR sensors (the remainder will be converted over 2024/25);
- Fitted two new energy efficient boilers (Halstead); Continued to reduce business travel by using videoconferencing, where appropriate;
- Continued to upgrade to more efficient plant and machinery, and to reduce energy costs by reducing running times; and
- Continued to purchase 100% of our electricity from renewable sources.
Our Halstead site is planning to replace their air conditioning with more energy efficient units in late 2024; and the closure of our Dover site, and relocation of its activities to Halstead, will continue our commitment to improve efficiency and energy usage.
Full Scope 3 calculations, covering emissions generated by our entire value chain, have now been completed by business covering approximately 75% of the Group’s proforma turnover. While there is currently no regulatory requirement to publish Scope 3 emissions, they are important in understanding our overall environmental impact and developing our net zero plans. Our initial observations confirm that the majority of our Scope 3 emissions arise from the processing of our raw materials, with freight and transportation the next largest source. The key opportunities to reduce Scope 3 emissions are increasing the recycled proportion of purchased raw materials, working with our suppliers to reduce their own carbon footprints, and moving to lower emission methods of goods transportation.
Our focus for the coming year will be on completing and refining the calculations across the whole Group, setting reduction targets, and in supporting our businesses as they develop their own detailed Scope 3 decarbonisation plans.
Scrap and waste
Our manufacturing operations produce very little raw material waste, as it is typically collected, reprocessed and reused in our production processes. Timloc, our most intensive user of plastics, is a signatory to Operation Clean Sweep®, an industry-led programme to prevent plastic particulates from reaching the environment.
Substantially all of our waste streams are now diverted from landfill.
Packaging
The majority of waste we produce is in the form of packaging. We are a member of Valpak for compliance reporting and comply with our obligations under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) regulations.
We have targeted a reduction in singleuse plastics and an increase in the proportion of recycled packaging we use. Our Housebuilding Products division and Wade and Rainclear, within the Water Management division, now exclusively use packaging made from 100% recycled paper for shipping, which is itself 100% recyclable.
We continue to implement measures to reduce the quantity of packaging used and to improve its recyclability.
Supply Chain School of Sustainability
As part of our procurement and management of materials, sustainability leads have joined the Supply Chain School of Management.