Executive Summary

The United Kingdom Government has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and Valcon Group UK Ltd. has aligned to this important milestone in conducting business here in the United Kingdom.

In line with the commitment to sustainable development and intending to improve environmental performance, Valcon Group UK Ltd. has taken steps by incorporating the quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with its activities, incorporating both direct and indirect emissions. Direct emissions are linked to processes controlled by Valcon Group UK Ltd. , such as the burning of fuels, while indirect emissions are those generated in sources not controlled by Valcon Group UK Ltd. , such as electricity consumption.

This report, complied with the support of Carbon Managers Ltd., shows the results of the Valcon Group UK Ltd.’s carbon footprint for the calendar year 2020 – a picture of the Valcon Group UK Ltd.’s GHG emissions for this period – a fundamental step in the environmental strategy of the company within the ISO 14001 scope and in line with a carbon-neutral trajectory.

In total, Valcon Group UK Ltd.  has emitted an estimated 115.5tCO2-e into the atmosphere in 2020. Gas consumption and direct fuel use in scope 1 are responsible for 0 kg CO2e which represents 0% of the overall carbon footprint. Electricity utilization in scope 2 is responsible for 0 kg CO2e which represents 0% of the overall carbon footprint. The Valcon Group UK Ltd.  2020 footprint is therefore dominated by the scope-3 emissions and represents a 100 percent share of the total carbon footprint. Scope 3 emissions total 115.5tCO2e and include business travelling (bus, taxi and train and personal vehicle fuel purchases), working from home, water, and hotel accommodation.

Commitment to achieving Net Zero Emissions

The United Kingdom Government has committed to having net zero emissions by 2050. As such organisations have an increasingly social and environmental responsible for understanding their contribution to the climate issues; identifying ways to minimise greenhouse gas emissions directly and across their supply chain.

Valcon Group UK Ltd. has aligned to this important milestone in conducting business here in the United Kingdom and has set a target of achieving and maintaining zero net emissions in its UK operations across scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050.

Methodology and Scope

The methodology used in this report follows the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard (referred to below as the GHG Protocol) of the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

This report is compliant with the GHG Protocol methodology. According to it, the reported information shall be “relevant, complete, consistent, transparent and accurate”. To ensure accuracy and transparency this report was complied utilising an external Carbon Auditor, Carbon Managers Ltd.

Results are presented for each of the activities/processes that describe Valcon Group UK Ltd.’s activities and are split into scopes 1, 2 & 3, based on GHG protocol methodology. Significant Scope 3 elements have been included in the assessment but are not mandatory according to the protocol.

Figure 1 shows the scopes considered and for each scope the emissions:

Scope 1 considers direct emissions from the energy processes that took place at Valcon Group UK Ltd. during the period. Emissions from Scope 1 for the reporting year were considered nil. This is due to no natural gas being burned for the purposes of heating the building Valcon Group UK Ltd. occupies and no direct fuel being used for machinery or manufacturing. Temperatures are controlled in areas by electrically powered Air Conditioning systems.

Direct emissions from process sources, fugitive sources and agricultural sources don’t apply to Valcon Group UK Ltd. activities. The office building in which Valcon Group UK Ltd. is located has a modern air conditioning system that from the data compilation has proven to be properly maintained therefore refrigerant leakages and associated fugitive emissions are considered nil.

Scope 2 considers the electricity consumed in the facility. No other indirect emissions from energy apply to Valcon Group UK Ltd. (purchased/acquired steam, heating or cooling).

Scope 3 considers other indirect emissions deriving from business travel, leased assets, commuting, and some categories in this case not relevant to the Valcon Group UK Ltd. carbon footprint (e.g. product life cycle). The data was provided through the 2020 expenses spreadsheet for Valcon Group UK Ltd. and with such data, the Carbon Managers Ltd. applied emissions factors to provide CO2 equivalents.

Baseline Emissions Footprint

The reporting period is the calendar year 2020: from 1st January 2020 to 31st December 2020.

This reporting period is also defined as the base year, as it is the first time that Valcon Group UK Ltd. has calculated and independently verified its carbon footprint.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Valcon Group UK Ltd. will continue to track and report on its emissions for the 2021 and 2022 periods as reduced activity and therefore emissions during the 2020 year may not have reflected accurately a sensible baseline year to benchmark future emissions against.

Current Emissions Reporting

Evaluating all three scopes, Valcon Group UK Ltd.’s Carbon Emissions for the reporting period 2020 were as follows:

Scope 1

For Scope 1 emissions were 0 tCO2eq representing 0% of the corporate carbon footprint.

No emissions took place in the company facility from a direct source, due to the lack of gas boilers for the purposes of heating, using instead electrically powered heating control, therefore emissions were considered nil.

There are no company-owned vehicles therefore the direct emissions from fleet vehicles were considered nil.

Scope 2

For scope 2, emissions totalled 0 tCO2e and these derive from the emission of greenhouse gases from electricity production, which in Valcon Group UK Ltd.’s case are nil due to fully renewable wind-generated electricity from Scottish Power Green Tariff.

Electricity contributes 0% to the overall Valcon Group UK Ltd. carbon footprint. For scope 2, 100% of green electricity is consumed in stationary sources (in the facility) and 0% in mobile sources (owned fleet or non-road vehicles).

Scope 3

For scope 3, emissions were 115.5 tCO2eq. This represents the overall carbon footprint for Valcon Group UK Ltd. totalling 100% of emissions for the company.

Commuting data was not included as all employees during the reporting period were working from home due to the Coronavirus pandemic situation.

2020 Reporting Summary Table

In total, Valcon Group UK Ltd. has emitted an estimated 115.5tCO2-e into the atmosphere. Gas consumption and direct fuel use in scope 1 are responsible for 0 kg CO2e which represents 0% of the overall carbon footprint. Electricity utilization in scope 2 is responsible for 0 kg CO2e which represents 0% of the overall carbon footprint.

The Valcon Group UK Ltd. 2020 footprint is therefore dominated by the scope-3 emissions and represent a share of 100 per cent of the total carbon footprint. Scope 3 emissions total 115.5tCO2e and include business travelling (bus, taxi and train and personal vehicle fuel purchases), working from home, water, and hotel accommodation.

Emissions Reduction Targets and Projects

While Valcon Group UK Ltd. has produced a Carbon Neutral outcome for scopes 1 and 2 for its benchmark year of 2020, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Valcon Group UK Ltd. will continue to track and report on its emissions for the 2021 and 2022 periods to ensure that the benchmark is accurate for future reporting and overall reductions in carbon emissions.

In order to continue our progress to achieving Net Zero, we have adopted carbon reduction targets related to scope 3 of 0 emissions by 2050.

In the future Valcon Group UK Ltd. plan to implement further measures such as:

• The implementation of Electric Vehicle Hire Purchase schemes accessible to all staff within the UK to encourage reductions in commuting emissions.
• Employee education campaigns on ways to improve personal carbon footprints, in particular when working from home and commuting.
• Investing in carbon offsetting initiatives that either offset and/or generate a carbon emissions deficit in Valcon Group UK Ltd.’s operations.

Declaration and Sign Off

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 06/21 and associated guidance and reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans.

Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the GHG Reporting Protocol corporate standard and uses the appropriate Government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting

Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported in accordance with SECR requirements, and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard.

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been reviewed and signed off by the board of directors.