We Will Reduce Our Impact

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We Will Reduce Our Impact

In a nutshell:

Greenhouse gases act like the glass walls of a greenhouse, trapping heat and causing the planet to warm up.

This warming effect is causing our climate to change. Carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels is the main contributor.

Scientists have concluded that halting climate change entails eliminating humanity’s net emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, i.e., achieving net zero. Therefore, it is essential that all actors make every effort to reduce their carbon footprint.

Our efficient use of resources will also be vital to achieving sustainability. Reducing excessive use of precious natural resources like water and cutting down on the amount of waste we generate and send to landfill will all bring substantial benefits.

What this means:

Over the coming years, credit unions will be endeavouring to reduce the climate impact of their activities and to become more sustainable. As an initial step, it will be helpful to better understand the existing environmental impact of our activities, consider how we measure our impact and put reduction plans in place.

Carbon Emissions and Energy Use

The international standard set out in the GHG (Green House Gas) Protocol provides a robust framework on which to build our approach. It classifies emissions into 3 scopes;

Scope 1– These are direct emissions from credit union assets. Most likely this will be a stationary asset, i.e. buildings but may also include mobile assets like company vehicles.

Scope 2 – These are emissions relating to powering owned assets, in a credit union context this will essentially be emissions relating to the electricity used to power their assets.

Scope 3 – These are the most difficult emissions to calculate and are further sub-divided into 15 categories in the Protocol. They are the indirect emissions relating to our activities and may be broken down as a) upstream (e.g. services we use in our operations) or b) downstream (e.g. the impact of the things we finance through lending). The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials is a collective of international financial service providers who have built on the work of the GHG Protocol and published a Standard specific for the financial services industry. Under this Standard, there is guidance for the accounting of emissions relating to mortgages, motor loans, commercial loans and some investment asset classes applicable to credit unions.

Examples in a Credit Union Context:

Scope 1 (Direct)

Scope 2 (Indirect, owned)

Scope 3 (Indirect, not owned)

Our buildings – gas or oil burned in onsite boilers to heat them
Company vehicles

Emissions from electricity used to power our buildings

Upstream:

Our staff traveling to the office or work-related events
Our IT systems hosted on servers that consume a lot of power
Supplies like paper and ink are transported to and consumed in our offices

Downstream:

We provide home improvement lending for energy inefficient homes
We provide car loans for diesel and petrol vehicles
We provide mortgages for energy inefficient homes
We provide business loans for polluting activities
Our investments may be used for environmentally damaging purposes

Resource Use

Reducing resource use can be an area where all within the organisation can be engaged in an informal way. Some of the simplest measures that can get employees engaged with the Sustainability Strategy will be the small things we can all do to reduce resource use, like lowering thermostats, eliminating single use coffee cups and switching off lights and computers when closing the office.

4 steps to impact reduction:

Did you know?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the scientific adviser to the UN) has set the global target date for net zero at 2050 if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. This also involves peaking global emissions by 2025 and reducing emissions by 50% by 2030 (relative to 2019). Aligned to this advice, the EU has set a target of reducing European emissions by 55% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050. In Ireland, our target is a reduction of 51% by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
The World Wildlife Fund estimate that our current level of resource use is totally unsustainable. Based on current consumption, we use 50% more natural resources than earth can sustainably provide. If trends continue it is estimated that by 2050 we would need 3 earths to meet consumption demand.

Steps that won’t take much effort:

In terms of measuring your carbon footprint or the efficiency of resource use, data is key. Much of this will be readily available, but you may not yet be in the habit of collating it all. Begin to check utility bills for information like kWh (kilowatt hours) or units of electricity consumed (many suppliers will further specify grams of CO₂ produced per kWh). Likewise your water utility provider may give information on litres used. Record this information where available in one central spreadsheet and where there is a data gap, take note of this.
Establish a baseline year. This might be this year, last year or any recent year (try not to go beyond 2 years) for which you have sufficient data. The measurements taken in this year will be your baseline upon which future progress will be shown. For example, you might target a 50% reduction in the emissions of your baseline year by 2032.
Begin to request information from suppliers. Some of the services we use will result in a large quantity of emissions, for example, data centres used by our IT suppliers. While this will initially be very difficult to monitor, all companies are on a journey towards greater accountability. More reputable suppliers will be making efforts report to their customers on the environmental impact of the services they provide.

Steps that will have a big impact:

Get an energy audit to help you measure your impact and engage an energy consultant to help you set out your action plan for reduction. Often these will be two distinct specialities however, some firms may be able to cater for both. Following these engagements you should have a good handle on your current level of emissions and an action plan for reduction. You may be eligible for a €2,000 voucher towards the costs of your energy audit from the SEAI if working with one of their approved contractors (see resources below).
Set your reduction targets and appoint a person of appropriate seniority to have overall responsibility for achieving them. Your targets may initially be to achieve net zero for your own operations by 2035 for example. This would mean focusing on Scopes 1, 2 and some of Scope 3 while you grow your capabilities. Ultimately, credit unions may well become adept at measuring and reporting on the impact of their financed activities, however this is an area where even the largest, best resourced banks in the world are struggling so it should not distract from focusing on our own operations in the early days.
Incorporate your performance against targets into your regular reporting – keep the board up to date in board reports and keep members informed through the annual Sustainability Report.

Resources:

Climate Toolkit 4 Business – a helpful resource from the Government –

https://www.climatetoolkit4business.gov.ie/

SME Climate Hub – an excellent carbon counting tool –

https://smeclimatehub.org/start-measuring/

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol – the global standard for emissions measuring –

https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/standards/ghg-protocol-revised.pdf

SEAI Energy Audits Overview – with information on approved contractors and grant assistance –

https://www.seai.ie/business-and-public-sector/small-and-medium-business/supports/energy-audits/