Sustainable reporting, carbon reporting, scope 3 emissions and ESG, are terms that we need to familiarise ourselves with as we all become more environmentally aware and look at ways to implement energy efficient processes throughout our companies. And for many of us, this has become an inherent part of running a business.
The latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) report published on 10th February shows that over 70% of companies across the UK are taking action to reduce their carbon emissions – up from 50% in 2021. What is interesting, is that this development is likely to increase further with potential legislation making sustainability reporting mandatory.
So, what can we do? We talk to Suzanne Devlin, environmental and sustainability manager at waste and resource management company, RiverRidge. She said, “At RiverRidge we’ve made our own carbon pledge to reduce our carbon emissions by 50% by 2030, but the wider question really is, how are the decision makers going to gain access to the information required for these reports, more specifically, the scope 3 emissions report?”
Scope 3 emissions aren’t produced by the company itself or from activities owned or controlled by them, but by those they are indirectly responsible for up and down the supply chain. So, it is the suppliers that must step up to the task of providing clear and concise scope 3 data to their customers to facilitate their future sustainability reporting obligations.
Suzanne continues, “Waste management is one important element of a company’s Scope 3 emissions calculation. It encompasses both the journey of waste and its management once it has been collected. Sadly, it is the collection of that waste using traditional combustion vehicles that is the single largest contributor to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from the waste sector. This is something that we at RiverRidge are addressing.”
Award winning RiverRidge, is an innovator and disruptor, and is the leading waste and resource management company in Northern Ireland. As it looks to the next decade, one thing that it has anticipated, is the requirement of scope 3 reporting for its customers.
“For some time now we’ve been able to offer our customers enhanced reporting, which details statistics including the carbon cost of their waste disposal and having visibility of this information not only provides rich scope 3 data, but more importantly, encourages companies to rethink their waste behaviour driving their individual business to be more sustainable.”
RiverRidge is also focussed on achieving the highest level of recycling, with systems that achieve the lowest carbon footprint, and is targeting a zero to landfill outcome for all of its customers.
The company is leading the way as a responsible and sustainable business. It recently took delivery of its first Bio-Gas vehicle which runs entirely on fuel derived from food waste. In time, the company will produce all of its own biofuel for its fleet of vehicles from a new Anaerobic Digestion facility, which is planned as part of its overall innovative waste operations.
Suzanne concluded, “RiverRidge has always been and continues to be at the forefront of innovation. It offers customers the most carbon efficient haulage and treatment offering in the marketplace, so when you choose RiverRidge as your waste and resource management provider, you are choosing a partner who will help you achieve your low carbon ambitions for the future and a more sustainable business.”
Suzanne Devlin (pictured), Environmental and Sustainability Manager, RiverRidge.
