Through this achievement, we were very proud to be the first of the small and medium size enterprises - SMEs (those with fewer than 500 employees) in Grosvenor Property UK’s supply chain to complete the eight-month programme successfully.
Murray Birrell’s involvement has been headed by our Director Sam Field MRICS, with our Practice Administrator Cathy Toogood. “As a busy SME with limited resources and lack of designated qualified manpower in this discipline, Grosvenor’s initiative has enabled us to commence our pathway to achieving net zero. The scheme has provided us with the calculation tools, support, and motivation to measure our baseline and to create an action plan for moving forward towards our target. Grosvenor’s invitation to join them on this wonderful initiative has been both invaluable and inspiring,” said Sam.
Even as we begin the process of putting our action plan based on science-based targets in to practice, we already owe a great deal to the team at Heart of the City who delivered the mentoring programme on behalf of Grosvenor. We also thank Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) for validating the successful plans submitted by SMEs taking part in this initiative.
The SBTi is a global body enabling businesses to set ambitious emissions reductions targets in line with the latest climate science. In total, the SMEs that have taken part in Grosvenor’s programme will create an estimated 55,000 fewer tonnes of carbon by 2030, equivalent to heating 23,000 UK homes for a year.
The Broad Issue
The need for carbon footprint reduction is an issue we are all increasingly aware of. The Met Office, the national UK weather service, released a report saying 2022 was provisionally the warmest year on record. The National Trust said last year’s extreme weather conditions were devastating for wildlife and ecosystems. It’s no longer only news headlines and scientific reports, it’s impacting on all of us in our daily lives. One of our team was even caught up in the flight cancellations on the day when the Luton Airport runway melted last summer.
The building and construction sector is one of the biggest climate crisis contributors. At COP27 in Egypt, the UN’s 2022 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction confirmed that the sector’s energy consumption and CO2 emissions have rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic to an all-time high, accounting for over 34% of energy demand and around 37% of energy and process-related CO2 emissions in 2021. Big numbers like this makes many people believe that governments and corporate businesses have to tackle the climate crisis downsides for us. Many others, including Murray Birrell, now realise that all of us as individuals, whether employers or employees, need to examine and then change our habits and behaviour, probably quite significantly in the workplace and in our personal lifestyle, right now to ensure we do not cause more damage to the world we live in.
As a Chartered Building Surveyors’ practice that has been in business for over 30 years, we are also particularly close to the impact of the climate crisis on the built environment. On a professional basis, we experience close up and at first hand the need to develop practical steps to prepare the built environment for more frequent weather extremes. Heatwaves and droughts shrink the ground beneath us; devastating floods ruin homes and workplaces and wash away the landscape; excessive wind speeds rip off roofs, blow down walls and fences, and send heavy objects on damaging trajectories. Previously accepted building and construction standards are increasingly inadequate.
Murray Birrell are extremely proud to be part of the Science Based Targets initiative. Heart of the City has provided us with the calculation tools, support, and motivation to measure our baseline and to create an action plan for moving forwards towards our target. Grosvenor’s invitation to join them on this wonderful initiative has been both invaluable and inspiring. We have been able to accelerate an action plan concentrating on key areas initially in Scopes 1 and 2, with a positive commitment to reducing our overall carbon footprint going forward. We are now optimistic that we can and are making a positive contribution.
Thanks to Grosvenor’s SME Mentoring Programme and Heart of the City for supporting us and other smaller companies start their carbon reduction journey.