We’re committed to net zero by 2035!

The Yorkshire Packaging Systems (YPS) Board has announced its commitment to a net zero target of 10 years’ time.  This aligns with the UK Government’s aim to be net zero by 2050 – we’ll be well along our journey and doing all we can to contribute well ahead of their target.

We’ve been committed to a sustainable business for some time, including the creation of our Plastic Pledge.  However, this new commitment helps our team to re-focus on this vital issue and re-double our efforts to be clearly carbon neutral by an elected deadline.

New Solar Roof

In driving the company toward this goal, we’ve recently had a new solar roof installed at our HQ in Brighouse, West Yorkshire.  Working with our partners, Fusion Solar, this is a 111 kilowatt system that is expected to avoid 24 Tonnes of carbon emissions every year.  At the same time, our roof insulation has been more than doubled to reduce our heating requirements.

The ultimate goal of the solar roof project is to make YPS majority self-sufficient for our electricity needs.  Further improvements to our solar-powered system are under discussion to assist in meeting and exceeding this target, for example adding battery storage to hold excess energy produced to cover assets that are powered overnight or to boost running during the day.

Creating a Carbon Reduction Road Map

The addition of a solar roof will reduce the company’s Scope 2 emissions.  There are three different scopes which are considered during a carbon reduction process:

Scope 1 relates to direct emissions such as gas consumption or fuel use for company cars.

Scope 2 includes indirect emissions from purchased energy, including how that energy is generated.

Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions from the company’s entire value chain in conducting its business.  For example, this includes emissions generated by third parties, such as suppliers.

The YPS Team is currently creating a detailed carbon reduction road map, examining all three of the above scopes.  This process will drive the company forward to a cleaner, greener future.