Sustainability
Marketing Guide
How to make your green claims honest, authentic and effective.
Carbon promises
Net Zero, carbon neutral, climate positive – what does it all mean?
At Proctors, we’re committed to crafting clear and responsible messaging for our clients. That’s why we use the below guide to dictate the language we use around a company’s greenhouse gas or carbon emissions.
[.yellow-bold-text]Greenhouse gases[.yellow-bold-text] are any atmospheric gases that absorb infrared radiation emitted from the Earth’s surface and reradiate it back – thus contributing to the greenhouse effect. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour, nitrous oxides and fluorinated gases.
[.yellow-bold-text]Carbon dioxide[.yellow-bold-text] is the primary greenhouse gas caused by human activities predominantly through the burning of fossil fuels, the making of cement and deforestation. This is why carbon has become the focal point of every environmental strategy.
Carbon Footprint
The first step on a business's journey to reducing their environmental impact is calculating their Carbon Footprint. This is a complex data-gathering process that accounts for a company's emissions – it’s broken down into three scopes.
[.yellow-bold-text]Scope 1:[.yellow-bold-text] Energy consumed and materials produced on-site and by company vehicles.
[.yellow-bold-text]Scope 2:[.yellow-bold-text] Emissions from purchased electricity.
[.yellow-bold-text]Scope 3:[.yellow-bold-text] Transportation and distribution of goods, processing, use and end-of-life treatment of sold products, business travel and investments.
[.rich-text-h5][.display-block]Why is it called a carbon Footprint if it sometimes includes all greenhouse gas emissions? [.display-block][.rich-text-h5]
Because all emissions are calculated using their carbon (CO2) equivalent.
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Reporting an emissions target
Any emissions target is based on the idea of striking a balance – between emissions released into the atmosphere and emissions absorbed. The difference between them is the emissions you're accounting for, and how you're reducing (or offsetting) them.
[.bounding-box][.rich-text-h4]What is carbon offsetting?[.rich-text-h4]Carbon offset schemes allow companies and individuals to invest in projects that remove or avoid emissions in order to balance out their own. This includes the development of reforestation, conservation, renewable energy infrastructure and clean technology distribution. But offsets aren’t meant to be used as a free pass. For one thing, there are varying shades of green when it comes to the validity of these projects. And while they’re meant to be used as a supplementary and transitionary tool, some companies are simply buying their way to a green conscience. So, it’s important to use offsetting responsibly and be as open and honest as possible to avoid the appearance of greenwashing. While there are currently no legal definitions, the following are seen as the most responsible use of these terms – starting with the most common targets.[.bounding-box]
[.yellow-bold-text]Net Zero or Net Zero emissions[.yellow-bold-text]
Accounts for all greenhouse gas emissions, usually requires reporting and reducing all 3 scopes, and only allows for a limited amount of indirect emissions to be offset.
[.yellow-bold-text]Carbon neutral[.yellow-bold-text]
Only accounts for CO2 emissions, usually only requires scope 1 and 2 emissions (scope 3 is optional) and there are no restrictions for what you can offset. This means that direct emissions don’t necessarily have to be reduced at all.
[.yellow-bold-text]Climate positive/carbon negative [.yellow-bold-text]
Not only reducing all greenhouse gas emissions from all 3 scopes, but also going on to remove additional carbon from the atmosphere traditionally by investing in carbon offsetting projects.
[.yellow-bold-text]Net Zero carbon [.yellow-bold-text]
Only accounts for CO2 but should require that all scopes be accounted for and emissions must be reduced as much as possible before resorting to offsets.
[.yellow-bold-text]Climate neutral [.yellow-bold-text]
This is essentially the same as Net Zero, but also seeks to eliminate all other environmental impacts.
As is the case with all marketing – words matter. At Proctors, we do everything we can to stay on top of changing guidelines and legislation so we know what we’re talking about when it comes to sharing our clients’ sustainability journeys.
As is the case with all marketing – words matter. At Proctors, we do everything we can to stay on top of changing guidelines and legislation so we know what we’re talking about when it comes to sharing our clients’ sustainability journeys.