Going carbon neutral – is it good for business?

When Dave Robertson was tasked with ensuring their delivery processes were ‘green’, it started Freight on Board on the track to becoming the first New Zealand-owned international freight forwarder and customs broker to be certified carbon neutral. But has it been worth it?

FOB was able to offset its GHG emissions by purchasing carbon credits from the Meridian Energy wind-power project

Freight on Board (FOB) has operated in New Zealand since 1982. Owner and managing director Dave Robertson has managed international freight companies in New Zealand since 1984, and in 1997 he purchased FOB after having been the general manager there for a year. “The whole carbon neutral process started around two years ago,” Dave says. “If we wanted the ongoing work with a particular client, our organisation’s operation had to be certified as ‘green’ to match their service requirements. We had a chat about it around the office and decided that it was a strategy worth pursuing.”

FOB’s customs manager, Peter Henderson, was tasked with looking into the carboNZero™ programme administered by Landcare Research, and starting the process of ‘greening’ FOB’s organisation, including what they would have to do (and not do) to meet the carboNZero ‘small enterprise’ certification standards.

Becoming carbon neutral

All business activities were monitored and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for each were calculated so FOB could understand what their impact was on the global climate. 2008 was chosen as the base year (from January to December). “Our sources of emissions were – and continue to be – electricity for the premises (up to 40 percent), fuel for our vehicles, waste to landfill, plus air travel when needed (all around 20 percent),” Peter explains, “so we immediately set about trying to reduce these.”

Several initiatives were introduced to manage and reduce their emissions – the key focus of the carboNZero programme. These included specific call cycles for the sales team to reduce vehicle travel, encouraging staff to travel to work by public transport – one staff member pushbikes from Birkenhead to FOB’s offices in Ellerslie three times a week! – controlling temperatures in the building by way of thermostats, using natural ventilation and lighting wherever possible, and ensuring all computers are turned off when appropriate.

“The recording system is very strict,” Peter says. “If incorporating a business/personal air trip, you can’t allocate a percentage to personal use; it all counts as business. Our total GHG emissions for 2008 were calculated as 9.2 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2e), and in 2009 were 9.41 tCO2e. To offset these, we purchased 10 carbon credits from the Meridian Energy windpower project to become carbon neutral.

Time-consuming and costly

The process is time-consuming and involves a cost to the business, which Peter estimates is around $3500 a year, including recording and checking all emissions. “And we’re what the scheme classifies as a ‘small enterprise’,” he says. “That is, our emissions are less than 50 tonnes of CO2 per year. Larger organisations may require additional resources just to keep up with the paperwork.”

Being certified as carbon neutral involves an annual independent audit (part of the cost) and provides an opportunity to promote the company’s carbon neutral status as much as possible. Peter is a regular correspondent with government departments – not always with satisfactory results. “You get the feeling that our government just isn’t listening,” he says. “They could be doing so much more to promote and encourage its acceptance – such as tax breaks and incentives.”

A company covered by the ETS can take additional voluntary actions, through programmes such as carboNZero certification. FOB went beyond the minimum requirement, and measured their full GHG emissions (scope 1, 2 and 3) and put in place plans to reduce these emissions and offset the remaining unavoidable emissions by cancelling credible carbon credits.

FOB, by achieving carboNZero certification, can now confidently make carbon neutral claims for its organisation and take a leadership position in the transport and logistics industry.

Doing it for future generations

So if it costs the business to be carbon neutral, and requires a lot of time and effort to maintain, is it really worth it? “Only time will tell,” Dave says. “There’s no commercial gain at the moment, but there are many positives that have come out of this. Whilst it’s frustrating that industry hasn’t really grasped the appeal of the concept as yet, there are industry sectors that have – wine exporters, for example – and we’re well placed as a preferred supplier because of our sustainability values and commitment to achieving carboNZero small enterprise certification.

“If we’re sitting here in three years’ time and nothing’s changed, it might be different, but right now we’re finding benefits from networking with like-minded companies. For example, we only use Urgent Couriers (a carboNZero certified courier company) for local deliveries. And it’s only a matter of time before companies are required to be aware of their emissions.

“For example, carbon footprint labelling for food items is being introduced in the UK, showing how much carbon was produced in the manufacture and transportation of the item. Tesco is already displaying a ‘carbon reduction label’ on certain products, showing the amount of carbon emissions produced in growing the food, packaging and transporting it, and how many grams are likely to be emitted using and disposing of any waste.

“As a company that looks to the future, we see the importance of being aware of our emissions and reducing them, where possible, for the generations ahead, and that’s why we’re making the effort. We’re very proud to say we’re carbon neutral.”

For further information, visit www.fob.co.nz; the company’s carboNZero disclosure statement can be viewed at www.carbonzero. co.nz/members/seccertified.asp#fob