Charity Retail Association awarded Carbon Neutral Association Status
31/07/2023 09:33
The Charity Retail Association has achieved Carbon Neutral Association Status for the period 2022-23, as part of our initial steps to becoming Net Zero.
The CAFA Certified Carbon Neutral Association Status is awarded by Climate Action for Associations (CAFA) and recognises the measurement, reporting and offsetting of our recorded emissions, as well as acknowledging the additional measures we’ve already implemented. This is the first step in our journey, and we will continue to measure and report our carbon emissions as an ongoing priority across all scopes.
We recorded 14.45 tonnes of carbon emissions across scope 1, 2, and parts of scope 3 as a direct result of our activities between April 2022-March 2023. Via CAFA and Carbon Footprint Ltd, we have offset these carbon emissions through verified tree planting in the UK.
Susan Meredith, Deputy Chief Executive said: “The Charity Retail Association is committed to achieving Net Zero. We know this is a multi-year journey and that achieving Carbon Neutral Status this year is an important first step to reaching our goal.
“We’re very aware that there is still much more work to be done to continue our Net Zero journey, which is why we commit to continue making further emissions reductions across our working practices and beyond. We are currently gathering our next set of data to compare to 2022-23. As part of our plans we will work with CAFA to proactively engage and support our members and key stakeholders to accelerate climate action, acknowledging that there are already great examples of sector carbon reduction work under way.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to attain this certificate through CAFA’s excellent Certified Net Zero Association carbon buddy scheme, which we hope to develop as a service for our members too.”
Steps that we’ve taken to reduce our carbon emissions so far include; working from home, a huge reduction in printed materials, extensive use of public transport for work-related travel, purchase of reusable items for events and gaining an understanding of and encouraging sustainable changes that can be made to the CRA team’s working practices at home.
Alison Heppenstall, Founder and Executive Director, Climate Action for Associations said: “We know that becoming a Net Zero Association is a multi-year journey and involves many stages. The Charity Retail Association are leading by example. The commitment and steps Susan, and the team at CRA are proactively taking towards Net Zero are transparent and clear. CAFA is excited to continue to work with CRA on the next phase of its Net Zero plans and expand the emissions data we collect, measure and report for CRA, including engagement of CRA suppliers and roll out of support to CRA members.”
For further information about the journey with CAFA, what our actions mean, and about offsetting, please read these FAQs.
