Reporting Boundary: UK operations
Emission Sources: Electricity, T&D Losses, Natural Gas, Water, Fleet Travel, Business Travel, Waste, Paper
Reporting Period: 01 Jan 2021 – 31 Dec 2021
We engage our employees and wider stakeholders to unlock their talent and knowledge to drive year on year progress in sustainability.
We recognise that transparent communication is essential for transformational change and we quantifiably contribute to 9 SDG.
First Base, a mixed-use developer has achieved Planet Mark certification. The company is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its projects as part of its mission to deliver long-term social value for communities across the UK. The company has regularly placed sustainability at the heart of its designs and has backed this up by declaring a climate emergency. The company is undertaking a thorough review of its business and will publish a Climate Emergency Plan stating what it will do to meet the target of zero carbon emissions. From its first scheme nearly 20 years ago in Hackney to its most recent project in Brighton, the developer has exceeded what’s required to reduce our environmental impact.
“I am delighted that First Base has managed to surpass its carbon reduction target for this year. After measuring its carbon footprint and formalising targets, the developer has sailed beyond expectations this year. The team’s dedication to sustainability is clear to see in its development work, and this has now been extended to its business and operational emissions. I’m delighted to work with First Based, and hope that this partnership continues to flourish.”
“Reducing carbon emissions during the height of the pandemic in 2020 was relatively straight forward for most businesses with the enforced restrictions on travel and home working. However, First Base is committed to reducing its future carbon emissions even beyond this anomaly by limiting unnecessary travel, employing locally and encouraging more sustainable forms of transport, such as walking, cycling, trains and electric vehicles.”
Douglas added “One such measure, was to become a member of CycleScheme in mid-2020 in order to encourage employees to invest in a bicycle to reduce demand on public transport, improve their health and avoid potential infection. For 2021, we have already implemented some further measures to reduce our office footprint by working more flexibly and sourcing all our energy from renewables.”.
The construction industry must act swiftly on climate change. Responsible for a huge portion of the world’s emissions, the industry needs to make progress on both operational and on-site carbon emissions by embracing pioneering technologies and ways of working.
First Base has implemented a number of initiatives in order to help the company reduce its carbon footprint. All stationery is ordered through the Commercial Group, which produces an environmental impact report according to the orders. In addition to this, project-related travel is recorded and measured as part of the digital expenses system.
First Base is also engaging with its service office provider to move to renewable energy providers and install more sensors to reduce the energy demand of the building.
In terms of Scope 3 emissions, all new projects will have their whole life carbon footprint modelled and measured by Planet Mark in order to understand their environmental impacts and reduce these as far as possible.
In 2019, First Base hosted three sustainability workshops for the entire organisation to discuss climate change, carbon emissions and the company’s Planet Mark certification. These talks provided a transparent look into the company’s impact on the environment and how it can continue to reduce this impact in the future.
First Base is preparing a booklet on the economic, social and environmental values that describes all the steps the company is taking to measure and improve its impact on society, the economy and the environment. This includes Planet Mark certification, First Base’s contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the One Planet Living framework being used on current projects, and the company’s membership with UKGBC.
This booklet will be distributed to all stakeholders, partners and Local Authorities that First Base works with and wants to work with to demonstrate the company’s commitment to sustainable development.
To recertify next year First Base must reduce emissions by 2.5%.
A 5% year-on-year reduction is the target reduction recommended by Planet Mark.
First Base has made a public commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
