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How & why we became carbon neutral

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Measuring our carbon emissions

The first step to becoming carbon neutral was a rigorous assessment of the society's current carbon footprint by the CarbonNeutral Company's scientific partner, the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management (ECCM). They measure how much carbon the Society produces through energy usage, waste to landfill, business travel and commuting, and provide an independent report detailing our carbon footprint.

Reducing our carbon emissions

In addition to measuring & understanding our carbon footprint, the Society:

  • Is switching 100% of all the electricity used to energy produced by renewable sources, such as wind and water power.
  • Has reduced the emisions from travelling and commuting by investing in lower CO2 and alternatively-fuelled company cars
  • Is supporting Bike2Work week from 25th to 29th June
  • Aims to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by seeking out further recycling opportunities.

Why we have become carbon neutral (the science bit) 

Human induced climate change results from increased "greenhouse gases" in the atmosphere. The principal greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2) and CO2 from fossil fuel combustion accounts for about two thirds of the human induced warming effect.

CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere have risen one third since the industrial revolution and are set to double in the next 100 years. Temperatures are projected to rise between 2 and 4 degrees Celsius over the next century.

Scientific experts predict that an increase of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels may trigger melting of the Greenland ice cap. If the Greenland ice sheets melt, the sea level rise would be so dramatic that the map of the world would change substantially.
 

Who are the CarbonNeutral Company?

The CarbonNeutral Company is one of the world's leading carbon offset and climate consulting businesses, set up in the early 1990s with a vision captured in our CarbonNeutral® trademark.  The company is proud to be helping thousands of people and 100s of major companies around the world, to measure, reduce and offset their CO2 emissions.


Yorkshire Building Society is one of the largest building societies in the UK. We offer a range of financial products and services including: savings & investment accounts, insurance products, credit cards, loans, mortgages and more.

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Yorkshire Building Society is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).