Scottish Parliament Proves Green Credentials with CEMARS

Scottish Parliament Proves Green Credentials with CEMARS® Certification

The Scottish Parliament has become the first public sector body in the UK to be awarded the CEMARS (Certified Emissions Measurement And Reduction Scheme) standard.

The award confirms the Parliament has measured its greenhouse gas emissions in compliance
with ISO14064-1:2006 - the international standard for quantifying an organisation’s carbon footprint.

It highlights the Parliament’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 20 per cent by March 2015 and by a further 22 per cent by 2020.

The Parliament has already achieved a five per cent reduction in absolute carbon emissions in the last three years and a total of nine per cent since 2005.

David Fairhurst, Environment Manager at the Scottish Parliament, said: “This award demonstrates our on-going commitment to reach the ambitious targets which we have set to cut carbon emissions at Holyrood.

“We are always looking at new ways to improve our carbon management. To date this has included a range of initiatives such as installing more efficient LED lighting, reducing the energy used to keep IT server rooms cool and more efficient and recycling food waste.”

Future initiatives include replacing a conventional chiller with a free cooling chiller. The Parliament is also holding a number of events at Holyrood to give staff and Members practical advice on how they can reduce their carbon footprint at work and at home.

The Parliament achieved CEMARS certification through Achilles’ carbonReduction programme. Achilles added CEMARS certification to their supplier management services portfolio after forming a licence arrangement with Landcare Research New Zealand’s carboNZeroCertTM programme.

Lucy d’Arville, Director of Achilles’ Carbon Reduction programme, said: “By achieving the premier international standard for carbon measurement, management and reduction, the Scottish Parliament is leading the way not only in Scotland but globally in its carbon management practices.”

Background

The Certified Emissions Measurement And Reduction Scheme (CEMARS) was developed by Landcare Research, a research institute owned by the New Zealand Government. It is based on 15 years of scientific research by greenhouse gas experts. It is the world’s first internationally accredited greenhouse gas certification scheme. It is an international greenhouse gas certification standard based upon the World Resources Institute GHG protocol and is fully compliant with the international standard for quantifying organisational greenhouse gas emissions, ISO14064 Part 1.

The SP has previously awarded ISO 14001 for its environmental management system. Holyrood achieved excellent BREEAM ratings for its construction.

ENDS

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