We’re proud to announce that we’ve achieved the Planet Mark Year 1and the Planet Mark Year 2 Business Certification (PDF). This is an incredible achievement which has involved our entire business. It follows a pledge we made to become carbon neutral by 2050 and half emissions by 2030.
The Planet Mark Business Certification is an internationally recognised sustainability certification for business acknowledging continuous progress, encouraging action and building an empowered community of like-minded individuals.
In this crucial #DecadeofAction, measuring our own carbon footprint and setting these targets have been critical steps in reducing our impact on the planet and society.
Examples of the impact we will have through Planet Mark include protecting an area of endangered rainforest thanks to Cool Earth; a charity working alongside rainforest communities to halt deforestation. Our pledge through Cool Earth goes directly towards supporting the Asháninka community in Central Peru.
Through our commitment to Planet Mark we are also helping the Eden Project – an educational charity building connections between all living things and exploring how we can work together towards a better future.
We want to continue to have a positive impact through our business and hope that we can empower our community to take action on climate change. We hope that other organisations will join us in creating a movement for change.
All our staff have contributed to our achievement in becoming Planet Mark certified and will continue to play an important role in our sustainability commitment.
The company’s decarbonisation efforts have already included installing LED lights with PIR sensors throughout the whole of its recently refurbished Riverside House HQ at Canal Wharf Leeds; replacing gas boilers with air source heating and providing all staff with reusable water bottles and coffee mugs to negate the use of disposables. In addition to a cycle to work scheme, staff are provided with season ticket loans for public transport, plus all diesel vehicles have been removed from our fleet and electric vehicle charging points installed.
Such carbon reduction tactics will be enhanced by an offsetting strategy too, with the firm having recently joined the Country Land & Business Association to explore options including planting trees across the nation, investing in natural capital and supporting the annual tree planting event organised by the Woodland Trust.
CDS parent company, the Bailie Group, was recognised by the United Nations Race to Zero initiative, named a climate leader and invited to 10 Downing Street to meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, as part of a select group of small and micro companies from across the UK. Our CEO Fergus Bailie said: “As an organisation, our purpose is to invest in people and ideas that make a positive difference. As such – and because the climate crisis is now recognised as the most fundamental challenge of this decade – sustainability is at the heart of what we do and how we do it.”
You can read our Carbon Reduction Plan here.