Our Carbon Footprint

Our carbon footprint is measured for our financial year (1st October 2021 to 30th September 2022).

Most of our emissions are directly related to the procurement of goods and services. This is a key area we are investigating, by liaisng with our suppliers to better measure their impact. We are also looking at the associated impacts such as freight and transport emissions included in the procurement process. Current this assessment is entirely based on purchasing spend.

Employee commute and Homeworking data is newly obtained and collectively makes up for just under 5% of the total carbon emissions. This accounts for the changes in working conditions as Alpha remains in a working hybrid system post Covid-19.

Our business travel emissions have significantly reduced since our 2018/19 financial year. Business travel accounts for 0.75% of the total carbon footprint, which we plan to reduce further. As we worked within the constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic, we found new ways of interacting with our international suppliers. The introduction of a Sustainable Travel Policy limits our emissions by only travelling to site when necessary.

Our carbon footprint has been verified by a third-party independent consultant (GEP Environmental) in line with ISO 14064-3 guidelines.

We have been measuring our energy emissions for several years now and have made active steps to decrease the energy we use onsite at our headquarters. Initiatives such as recladding the whole building and installing an advanced Trisomet trapezoidal roofing system, the gradual switching to an electric fleet, and the monitoring of our refrigerant gases, have all greatly reduced our energy usage.

An installation of a new, more efficient boiler and the electrification of other systems has led to a 60% reduction in gas emissions. Our electricity consumption has seen a 40% emission reduction, which we hope to decrease further as we install our own solar panels this year. Our refrigerant gases have seen the biggest decreases in emissions at over 85% over the last 4 years. We are consistently reviewing our monitoring processes to ensure we can keep these emissions as low as possible.

Alpha Laboratories is actively transitioning from primarily diesel vehicles to a mixture of hybrid, electric and diesel. By the end of 2023, all diesel vehicles will have been replaced by either hybrid or electric alternatives.

Alongside this we have installed 12 EV charging points at our HQ to encourage and support staff members' transition to hybrid and electric vehicles.

We have seen a dramatic decrease in travel miles within our owned fleet due to the lasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, we are expecting to see an increase in mileage as society recovers further and our field staff are able to visit more customers on site. Thus, making it more prudent to switch to lower emissions vehicles.