Zero Emissions Day 2022

21 September 2022

Wednesday 21st September marks ‘Zero Emissions Day', an international day that aims to raise awareness of the growing need for cleaner energy sources, and for individuals, organisations and governments to pledge to do their part to protect the environment and reduce their carbon footprint.

It was widely reported during COVID lockdowns that due to a massive reduction in human activity, air pollution and holes in the ozone layer made a significant decline, which had a positive impact on the environment.

This day, which was founded in 2008, was created to provide our planet with a break from fossil fuels and the chemicals they release into the air. It is also being used to create a dialogue around the importance of renewable energy sources and ways in which everyone can limit their negative impact on the planet by changing their habits.

What can you do within your organisation?

We can all start by reducing our use of electricity generated by fossil fuels and learn the 5 R’s:

Refuse
Reduce
Reuse
Rot
Recycle

Tips to help you make changes

Focus on reducing waste – turn off all electronics overnight, introduce recycle bins, set up a ‘green team’ to develop and lead on a sustainability strategy
Change your fleet to electric vehicles
Try to reduce business travel and instead make full use of video calls such as Teams of Zoom
Calculate your carbon emissions using a framework such as ISO 14064-1
Switch to suppliers and partners that are also working towards a greener business proposition
Implement PAS 2060 within your business
Avoid single-use plastics and paper products
Buy only things you really need – stationary is a common one

Many people will participate on the day by avoiding the use of polluting transportation, such as cars and planes. Others use the day as an opportunity to learn about carbon neutrality and net zero.

NQA’s Sustainability Assurance Manager, Amber Dixon, writes:
“At NQA, sustainability is at the forefront of our goals and ambitions, for now and for the future. We are continuously evolving in our practices to support our client’s needs with sustainability solutions, whilst also looking internally to determine what we can do ourselves to practice what we preach.

We have a number of fantastic projects going on behind the scenes which continue to grow and develop – many of which are focused around emissions related performance. Global Zero Emissions Day is a great time to reflect on some recent successes we have achieved as a business including our Pledge to Net Zero commitment and Carbon Neutrality PAS 2060 compliance. We look forward to continuing on this journey for our business and for our clients alike.”

You can find out about our Pledge to Net Zero here.