Having commissioned Carbon Footprint Ltd to conduct an independent audit earlier this year, which found that The Sash Window Workshop had reduced their emissions by an impressive 39%, the company decided the next step was to offset their emissions.
However, as an environmentally responsible company, The Sash Window Workshop felt that this wasn’t enough. So, they decided to offset all the emissions that they produced and then go further still and offset additional carbon from the atmosphere to achieve Carbon Neutral Plus.
The Sash Window Workshop believe that they are the first timber window and door company in the UK to achieve Carbon Neutral Plus status, which means that you are required to offset 125% of your carbon emissions.
When choosing which projects to support to reduce carbon emissions, the company felt it was important to choose projects that would make a real difference to local communities at the same time as reducing carbon emissions.
With the assistance of Carbon Footprint Ltd, they set out to invest in carbon offsetting projects that were Gold Standard CERs, Gold Standard Verified Emission Reductions (VERs) or Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) certified.
After assessing the different options, The Sash Window Workshop decided to invest in two offsetting projects, one of which focused on reducing deforestation in the Amazon and a second which helps provide improved cookstoves in Uganda.
The largest remaining rainforest on our planet, the Amazon is known for its biodiversity. The project works to prevent unplanned deforestation in native forests, caused by logging, squatting and attempts to implement pastures, and provides legal land-use permits for villages that actively participate in forest protection. It is expected to help avoid over 22 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over a 40-year period by managing the land to reduce deforestation, through rigorous monitoring and enforcement.
Wood fuels for cooking is one of the major causes of deforestation in Uganda. Over 95% of the population of Uganda rely on fuels such as wood or charcoal for cooking on fuel intensive traditional cooking stoves, which emit high levels of carbon. The cookstoves project helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by distributing fuel-efficient stoves which reduce fuel consumption and reduce the cost for poor families while improving health by reducing pollution.
The Sash Window Workshop are proud to support both these worthy causes and the company is committed to reducing their carbon footprint further and improving sustainability.
Richard Dollar, managing director at The Sash Window Workshop, commented: “We are delighted to have achieved Carbon Neutral Plus status, reflecting our company ethics and belief in the importance of helping protect and preserve things for future generations.
"We are proud to be leading the timber window and door industry in reducing and offsetting carbon emissions and hope to encourage others in the industry to follow our footsteps and become more environmentally friendly.
"In the future we hope to reduce our carbon emissions further still and, as the technology continues to improve, we will look to make the necessary changes to achieve this.”
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