Northrop

We are pleased to announce that as part of our decarbonisation strategy, for a second year running, we are Climate Active certified as a carbon neutral organisation. Improving the detail and accuracy of our reporting and, most importantly, reducing our emissions, we were able to satisfy Climate Active’s requirements, detailed below. 

We note that while investing in carbon credits for future carbon offsets is a step towards a sustainable future and part of our Climate Action Commitments achieving emissions reduction (of Scope 1, 2 and 3) and net zero (aiming for net positive) are the only way to avoid greenhouse gas emissions within the urgent 1.5-degree timeline by 2030. It’s now or never for all sectors to reduce their emission in half by 2030. 

Becoming Climate Active certified for a second year meant we had to:

1. Reduce our emissions from our baseline FY20/21

We reduced our emissions by 30% from the 20-21 financial year. Last year, Northrop’s offset purchase for 2021-22 was 1294 tonnes, down from 1621 tonnes.

This improvement is largely creditable to a significantly higher proportion of renewable energy, higher uptake of public transport and increase of staff working from home.

Our emissions increased in the areas of travel and accommodation, equipment and IT purchases as more staff work from home.  

2. Recalculate the greenhouse gas emissions of 16 categories, including;

• Electricity consumption  
• Flights  
• Accommodation  
• Company vehicle fuel consumption  
• Transportation services  
• Staff commuting  
• Food and catering  
• Cleaning and chemicals  
• Paper  
• Office equipment  
• Office furniture  
• Waste  

3. Identify how to reduce our emissions for the next year.

To maintain our Climate Active carbon neutral certification, we will continue to measure, manage, reduce, and offset our emissions every year, managing a reduction even as the business grows. 

For the next financial year, we will look into: 

• Sustainable procurement - creating a sustainable procurement policy, use of Climate Active carbon/neutral products, investigating the embodied emissions of additional purchases
• Procuring 100% renewable energy
• Incorporating intensity-based sustainability benchmarks and targets
• And, of course, helping to reduce the emissions of our clients by advocating for carbon neutrality and climate resilience

4. Purchase carbon credits for any remaining emissions by purchasing high-quality, verified, carbon offset units.   

As a signatory to Engineers Declare a Biodiversity and Climate Emergency, our offsets approach encompasses solutions for both emergencies. 

Again, this time around, we purchased a ‘stapled product’, which provides biodiversity and carbon offset emissions. The two projects we chose for our offsets are Myamyn Lowland Forest Conservation project in Victoria and the Song Chung Hydropower Project in Vietnam.  

5. Complete a public disclosure statement

This statement provides a summary of the process and assumptions used to support carbon neutrality and must be made publicly available.  

Thinking about reducing your emissions and becoming Climate Active certified - Contact Us!

Setting IPCC-aligned climate commitments has several advantages including: 

• aligning with your climate and biodiversity commitments; 
• future-proofing your organisation; 
• attracting and retaining talent; 
• meeting the growing industry expectations; 
• standing out from your competitors;  
• investing in your community