Bennetts Associates
Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2021, 2024)
Reporting Period: 2021
Environmental Metrics
Total Carbon Emissions:62,470 kgCO2e (location-based); 42,954 kgCO2e (market-based)
Scope 1 Emissions:9,665 kgCO2e
Scope 2 Emissions:19,010 kgCO2e
Scope 3 Emissions:33,795 kgCO2e
Renewable Energy Share:100% (electricity in Edinburgh and Manchester; electricity in London, but not gas)
Total Energy Consumption:142,200 kWh
Water Consumption:409 m3
Waste Generated:224 kgCO2e
Carbon Intensity:880 kgCO2e/person (location-based); 605 kgCO2e/person (market-based)
ESG Focus Areas
- Climate Change
- Energy
- Business Travel
- Carbon Neutrality
- Industry Action
- Plastic Use
- Materials
- Wellbeing
- Community Engagement
- Employee Footprints
- Fair Pay
- Workforce Diversity
Environmental Achievements
- Achieved a 57% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions from a 2016 baseline.
- Procured 100% renewable electricity for Edinburgh and Manchester studios.
- Maintained a 95% reduction in business travel emissions from the 2016 baseline.
- Increased internal carbon price to approximately £160/tonne and offset 50% of market-based footprint.
Social Achievements
- Achieved a 62% completion rate on staff survey for personal carbon footprints.
- Paid all staff the Living Wage (London Living Wage within London).
- Offered several work experience placements to local students.
- Continued mentoring of students through various schemes.
Governance Achievements
- Employee Ownership Trust structure with a board of trustees including employees from all levels and one external representative.
- ISO 14001 EMS reviewed and certified by Lloyds’ Register.
- Conforms to ARB Standards of Conduct and Practice.
Climate Goals & Targets
Medium-term Goals:
- Switch to heat pumps for the London studio.
Short-term Goals:
- Maintain current energy reduction levels.
Environmental Challenges
- London office still using gas despite aiming for 100% renewable energy.
- Change in gas supplier resulted in a move from 100% green gas to a standard tariff.
- Difficulty in achieving 100% coverage on various sustainability targets (e.g., project reviews, sustainability data in reports).
- Pandemic impacted Post-Occupancy Evaluations and data collection.
Mitigation Strategies
- Medium-term ambition to switch to heat pumps for the London studio.
- Implementing stringent policies to reduce unnecessary flights.
- Developing policies and improving data tracking for various targets.
- Planning for POE visits in 2022.
Supply Chain Management
Responsible Procurement
- Using 100% renewable energy suppliers; sourcing materials with ethical and environmental considerations.
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Reporting Standards
Frameworks Used: GRI Standards: Core option
Certifications: ISO 14001
Third-party Assurance: Lloyds’ Register
Reporting Period: 2024
Environmental Metrics
Total Carbon Emissions:Not disclosed
Scope 1 Emissions:Not disclosed
Scope 2 Emissions:Not disclosed
Scope 3 Emissions:Not disclosed
Renewable Energy Share:Not disclosed
Total Energy Consumption:Not disclosed
Water Consumption:Not disclosed
Waste Generated:Not disclosed
Carbon Intensity:Not disclosed
ESG Focus Areas
- Climate Change
- Embodied Carbon
- Operational Carbon
Environmental Achievements
- Decarbonisation and reuse projects form 37% of our workload (by area Stage 3 onwards)
- Designed hotels with a total of over 3,000 beds
- Achieved planning permission for an ambitious new aparthotel tower in central Manchester incorporating various sustainable design features (mass timber, cement replacement, heat recovery, etc.)
Social Achievements
- Supporting carbon literacy in our employees
- Promoting low impact lifestyles among employees
- Incorporating public amenities (café, exhibition hall, community centre) in the Manchester aparthotel project
Governance Achievements
- Not disclosed
Climate Goals & Targets
Long-term Goals:
- Net Zero Carbon
Medium-term Goals:
- Not disclosed
Short-term Goals:
- Not disclosed
Environmental Challenges
- Significant challenge to reduce carbon emissions in the hospitality sector (approximately 1% of global tourism emissions)
- Need to address upfront carbon emissions in construction
- Balancing high-quality accommodation with energy efficiency
- Delivering sustainable hotels requires a unified approach within project teams and support from the wider construction industry
Mitigation Strategies
- Adopting a contextual design approach to each project, analyzing local climatic conditions
- Reducing embodied and upfront carbon to meet project and industry targets
- Reducing operational carbon to meet project and industry targets
- Offsetting remaining emissions to achieve Net Zero
- Using low-carbon materials (mass timber, earth blocks, regenerative materials)
- Designing energy-efficient systems (MVHR, heat pumps, wastewater heat recovery)
- Designing for circularity in fit-out (easily removable finishes, upcycled FF&E)
- Prioritizing lower-cost, higher-impact measures in retrofit strategies
Supply Chain Management
Supplier Audits: Not disclosed
Responsible Procurement
- Not disclosed
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Physical Risks
- Not disclosed
Transition Risks
- Not disclosed
Opportunities
- Not disclosed
Reporting Standards
Frameworks Used: Null
Certifications: Null
Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed
UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Not disclosed
Not disclosed
Sustainable Products & Innovation
- Not disclosed
Awards & Recognition
- Not disclosed