We completed our first Eco audit in August 2020, which was carried out by 3 Acorns, and funded by the City Bridge Trust. This was delayed because of Covid-19, and we were the first to restart and complete our audit. The figures we used were pre-pandemic, to give an accurate account of our carbon footprint under normal operating circumstances.
Our second report was completed in July 2022, and showed us a full year of ordinary usage post-pandemic.
This table shows the headline figures for electricity, energy, water and waste:
| Building energy consumption | 2020 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity (kWh) | 51,000 | 47,300 |
| Electricity CO2 (tons) | (12.7)1 | (10.0)1 |
| Gas (kWh of heat via district heating system) | 76,052 | 101,000 |
| Gas CO2 (tons) | 13.22 | 17.52 |
| Building Energy Carbon Footprint (tons) | 25.9 | 27.5 |
| (Taking green tariff into account – tons) | 13.2 | 17.5 |
| Mains water consumption (litres) | 511,000 | 381,000 |
| Water supply CO2 (tons) | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| Total annual waste (tons) | 85.2 | 6.53 |
| Non-recycled waste (tons) | 57.2 | 3.0 |
| Recycled (tons) | 28.6 | 3.0 |
| Waste CO2 (tons) | 16.5 | 0.06 |
| Recycling rate (%) | 33 | 54 |
Notes on the energy consumption table
1 On green electric tariff Government greenhouse gas reporting standards require reporting of national grid related emissions and voluntary reporting of the renewable component.
2 UK Government carbon conversion factor for gas-powered CHP district heating is 0.173kgCO2/kwh of heat supplied. This compares to 0.183kgCo2/kwh for on-site natural gas heating and 0.233kgCO2/kwh electricity.
3 2022 data supplied by new contractor First Mile. It gives a significantly different total from the usual system of calculating your waste total. This is based on a government coefficient of 0.5kg weight of waste per litre volume collected. This method of calculation results in 86 tons of total waste produced, based on 2 eurobins of general waste and one eurobin of recycled waste produced on average per week.
In addition, as First Mile incinerates all non-recycled waste, the association carbon emissions allocated by the government are a fraction of those accorded to landfill.
Please note: Unfortunately one is not comparing like with like, as electricity and gas consumption would have been impacted by the pandemic and the method of measuring waste disposal has changed. If we stay with the same service providers this year, which we plan to do, our next Eco Audit will be a true reading and we will be able to compare legitimately.
Key information to highlight
- As we are on a 100% renewable electricity tariff, meaning our electricity usage does not count towards our carbon footprint.
- Our energy emissions are around 15kg/m2, which is just over a quarter of the average for a centre like ours. Our modern building is already very energy efficient.
- This report covers our basic areas of operation. We hope to create something more detailed in future years, as our operations and projects grow.