In line with the increasing threat posed by the climate crisis, as well as our staff-owned ethics policy and its commitment to actively support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, it was agreed to investigate options for offsetting the company’s carbon emissions.

Carbon offset schemes enable individuals and companies to financially contribute to environmental projects which protect threatened forests and restore forest habitats; these types of projects let companies make reductions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere equivalent to their carbon emissions. Our investigations led us to World Land Trust (WLT) and we have been working with them to achieve a Carbon Balanced status.

WLT’s evidence-based Carbon Balanced programme focuses on nature-based solutions, such as avoiding deforestation, woodland rehabilitation, assisted natural regeneration and tree-planting. As an environmental consultancy, the additional biodiversity benefits associated with these measures really appealed to us. We also felt that WLT’s transparent and flexible project design very much aligns with Environment System’s company ethos of being ready to adapt in line with advances in science.

Since we have been making strides to reduce our carbon emissions for a number of years, WLT were able to use the figures from our annual BS8555 audit to calculate our carbon footprint with the resulting financial contribution enabling us to complete the process. We are now proud to be a certified Carbon Balanced company through WLT.