Zeroing in on net zero carbon

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The race is on for businesses to improve their green credentials and meet net zero carbon targets as we collectively battle the climate change crisis.

Three-quarters of adults in Great Britain worry about climate change and it’s no longer enough to talk about sustainability. We need to change the way we live and work for the benefit of future generations.

COP26 aimed to unite the world to tackle climate change and, while the UK was the first major economy to create a legally binding target to bring greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, we all need to act now.

Policies and proposals for decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy are set out in the Government’s Build Back Greener strategy.

At Castle Green Homes, we very much want to be green by name and by nature. We have a forward-thinking vision that’s enabled the business to expand its geographic footprint, become carbon neutral and achieve carbon net-zero status.

We have a net-zero plan that illustrates a potential path to reduce our emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and have offset the residual emissions for the 2020-21 financial year via verified projects, enabling the business to declare carbon net-zero status.

We’re now well ahead of our target in terms of our environmental impact and we’ll be beyond net zero in the next financial year.

We have measures in place to reduce energy consumption and promote ecological diversity, together with stringent waste management plans, including partnering with Changing Streams to reduce plastic wastage in the construction industry.

Working with a specialist environmental consultancy we assessed our carbon emissions and agreed a package of offsetting to achieve net zero status, including providing Clara Water Filters in Kenya and supporting a global renewable energy portfolio.

In addition, we’re funding a rainforest conservation project in Gola, Sierra Leone, equivalent to 300 tonnes of carbon – that’s one tonne for every home we will build this financial year.

We’re not only reducing our environmental impact, we understand that it’s a priority for many of our homebuyers. They want to reduce their energy consumption and impact on the planet and hand in hand with that comes a desire to reduce their energy bills.

Looking to the future, cooking and everyday living will move away from fossil fuels to more green forms of energy.

Across all of our developments, homes are sustainable by design, optimising thermal efficiency through the building fabric rather than add-on measures. Individual properties already achieve levels of energy efficiency in excess of the latest Building Regulations. We’re also looking to specify further fabric improvements to enhance this, e.g. split lintels to reduce thermal bridging and a flue gas heat recovery system to gas boilers. We can and will introduce additional measures where required, such as air source heat pumps and PV solar panel systems, as part of our commitment to operate at below net zero.

For more information about Castle Green, go to castlegreenhomes.uk

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