Minimising our carbon footprint & becoming carbon neutral in gas and electricity use
We continue to reduce our carbon footprint. Electricity remains our largest source of emissions and is the focus of our reduction efforts. We continue to target other areas to reduce emissions, particularly our logistics fleet.
Becoming carbon neutral in gas and electricity use
During the year we successfully completed our programme to install LED lighting and Building Energy Management Systems across our store estate.This programme helped to reduce our energy consumption by 34% with improvements to pet welfare.
Since October 2017 we have become carbon neutral in relation to our use of natural gas and electricity across all of our stores, veterinary practices, distribution centres and support offices. To achieve this, we are now sourcing green renewable electricity and purchasing Gold Standard carbon offsets equal to the volume of natural gas we use across the estate to heat our stores and vet practices.
The full year carbon saving is significant. As our electricity is now carbon neutral, we expect to reduce CO2 emissions from electricity consumption by more than 30,000 tonnes per year. For each tonne of CO2 emitted from the gas used to heat our premises, we now also purchase one gold standard UN-backed carbon offset. Purchasing carbon offsets supports families and communities in some of the poorest countries in the world. For example, one project we are supporting in Kenya provides families with a new cooking stove. These new stoves are more efficient than open fires and significantly reduce the harmful air pollution to which young children are exposed. These projects support UN sustainable development goals.
Total carbon footprint
| Tonnes CO2e emissions | |||
| 2017/18 (Location-based) |
2017/18 (Market-based) |
2016/17 | |
| Scope 1 | 9,649 | 9,649 | 9,619 |
| Scope 2 | 21,584 | 9,974 | 28,840 |
| Scope 3 | 5,799 | 5,799 | 6,620 |
| Total | 37,031 | 25,422 | 45,079 |
| tCO2e per £m revenue | 41.20 | 28.28 | 54.04 |
| Inclusion of 1,200 carbon offsets | 35,831 | 24,222 | |
- Methodology: We have applied the UK Government’s 2017 Conversion Factors for Company Reporting and GHG Protocol standards in order to quantify and report our greenhouse gas emissions.
- Methodology: An operational control approach has been used to define to reporting process. A financial control approach was used for previous years.
- Boundary: Pets at Home leases a small number of company cars, emissions from these had previously been reported in error as Scope 3 emissions in previous years. From this reporting year these emissions will be reported correctly as Scope 1 emissions.
- Additional inclusions: This is the first year that we have included the emissions from our stand-alone vet practices and referral centres. The impact of these is de minimis.
- Exclusions: Due to technical issues with data collection, fugitive emissions from air conditioning and refrigeration are not reported although these are considered minimal.
- Estimation: Forecasted energy consumption used for budgeting purposes has been applied in the occasional instance where estimation was required.
- Independent verification: Our 2018 Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions are verified to a limited level of assurance by Ramboll Environment & Health Limited using the ISO 14064-3 standard. A link to the verification statement is available on the Pets at Home website.
- Normalisation: We have chosen to report gross Scope 1 and 2 emissions in tones of CO2 e per £m revenue as this is a common metric used in corporate greenhouse gas reporting.
- Market-based criteria: Since October 2017 we have procured 100% renewable electricity backed by REGOs and assessed for conformance with GHG Protocol Scope 2 Quality Criteria. An emission factor of zero has therefore been applied since that date to calculate our Scope 2 market-based figure, whilst a location-based factor was used to calculate Scope 3 emissions from transmission and distribution losses.
- Carbon offsets: We work with ClimateCare to offset our Scope 1 GHG emissions (equivalent to the emissions from the natural gas used in our buildings) through best practice Gold Standard emissions reduction projects, which both cut carbon and improve lives. Our support for the distribution of clean cook stoves, through the Paradigm Healthy Cookstoves and Water Treatment Project, is cutting indoor air pollution and waterborne disease, as well as tackling climate change. The notice of retirement be found here.