Sustainability Policy

Introduction

All businesses need to achieve a Net Zero goal before 2050 if the global climate target to stay within 1.5 degrees of global warming since pre-industrial times, is to be achieved.

SUPERGUTTERVAC LIMITED has made a start since its incorporation in September 2022 to put sustainability at the heart of all business activities. It has key targets and strategies to improve the business’s sustainability in the future.

When smaller businesses start to measure and reduce their emissions, the effects cascade through the value chain. We hope that our net zero and other sustainability goals and strategies will motivate other businesses within our sector, our clients, our suppliers and our employees.

Aims for first year of business

• To encourage when practical car/van sharing for any employees/contractors
• To encourage use of public transport – particularly trains – for employees/ contractors
• To cluster jobs geographically, to save on wasted mileage
• To minimise waste sent to landfill – the majority of our waste from gutters is ready made compost – we will encourage customers to spread the organic waste on their shrubs
• To lobby our main supplier of gutter parts to encourage them to sell individual seals, thus enabling us to stop replacing whole parts and sending good quality plastic to landfill
• To be polite, friendly and considerate of our clients needs
• To monitor our carbon footprint
• To pay above the living wage to contractors/employees
• To ensure our suppliers get paid within 21 days

Achievements in first year to September 2023

1. 3 hours of sustainability consultancy and advice with TBLA and MC funded by Colbea
2. Registered with Ecologi Zero to get started on our first 12-month calculation of Scope 1,2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Registered with the Prompt Payment Code
4. Have van shared and used public transport to get to jobs on numerous occasions

Ambitions for the future/ closing remarks

We hope to grow the business substantially over the next few years, we will be employing local people to save on commuting mileage. When finances allow we will upgrade our vans to electric and source the electricity from renewable sources.

Where possible, machinery will be repaired rather than replaced . We aim to send as little as possible to landfill. As a small business ourselves we recognise that prompt payment to staff/contractors and suppliers is essential. We recognise that we all need to be making changes, no matter how small they seem – collectively they will make a difference

Glossary

CO2e Carbon dioxide equivalent. Each greenhouse gas is given a relative factor based on their comparative global warming potential over a 100-year timeframe. E.g. 1 tonne of Methane is reported as 25 tonnes of CO2e

Carbon neutral  A business can claim to be carbon neutral when it has measured its greenhouse gas (CO2e) emissions, offset historic emissions, and published a target & plan to reduce these emissions to net zero by at least 2050

Net zero According to the SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative) most businesses can claim to be net zero once they have reduced their emissions by at least 90% from their baseline year. Global net zero will be achieved when the total amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) released, and the amount removed from the atmosphere reaches an equilibrium.