UK mover Burke Bros claims it has become the first mover globally to gain PAS 2060, an international certification of carbon neutrality. The standard, published by the British Standards Institution in 2010 enables organisations to demonstrate the credibility of their carbon neutral claims.
The company, which is aiming to achieve net zero 10 years ahead of deadline, has ensured that all emissions associated with the business have been calculated and offset through the purchase of United Nations Carbon Credits.
Burke Bros’s Transport Manager, Steve Pitt, said: ‘The journey to net zero is long, especially within an industry that heavily relies upon HGV and sea transportation, where zero carbon technology is still realistically a decade away. The climate crisis didn’t happen overnight, and it certainly won’t be solved overnight, but the fact that Burke Bros Moving Group has now established its boundary period carbon footprint, means it can now begin executing the plan to reduce them to net zero by 2040.’
Laura Burke, Financial Controller said: ‘This is part of a longer environmental journey to achieve net zero [a minimum 90 per cent reduction in boundary emissions only mitigating the embedded emissions through the purchase of carbon offsets] by 2040. We will continue measuring our progress and reporting regularly as part of our commitment to the global climate crisis.’
Paul Lucas, Business Development Manager, added that having achieved PAS 2060 certification, customers of the firm’s removal and storage services ‘won’t inherit our carbon footprint and we will directly reduce the emissions of the companies to which we supply’.
He said: ‘Part of the next stage in this project is to mobilise our supply chain to ensure it is aligned to our business-critical commitment to net zero 2040. Our supply chain accounts for more than 58 per cent of our total carbon footprint, so without its alignment we will not be able to achieve our goal.’
He added that the company’s future procurement processes will insist on suppliers demonstrating their own ‘robust commitment to net zero’.
(Picture, from left) Charlotte Crowshaw, Marketing Officer; Steve Pitt, Transport Manager; Chris Burke, Director; Paul Lucas, Business Development Manager; and Laura Burke, Financial Controller)
