01732 759725 42 VOX POP continued... Both carbon removal and avoidance credits have a part to play in achieving netzero emissions, and investing in these mechanisms is a better choice than taking no action gas emissions, such as CO2, it was quite convenient for companies to carry on as before and simply pay for the emissions produced. It was also a way to advertise and give the impression of being a climate-friendly company. This was increasingly criticised under the suspicion of greenwashing. Konica Minolta has cancelled offsetting completely from its European strategy and has set itself the following targets: avoiding and reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and substituting GHG emitting power sources with renewable energy. Richard Wells: Carbon offsetting seems to have offered a great disguise for businesses desperate to claim carbon neutrality but unwilling to make long-term commitments to reduce emissions throughout their supply chain. The green claims initiative tackles the reliance of businesses on carbon offsetting, and we’re seeing an increasing familiarity from amongst our channel partners, end-users, and stakeholders in distinguishing between carbon offsetting and carbon reduction strategies. Our 2025 mid-term targets fell under our renewed Vision 2025, where Epson set aside JP¥ 100 billion (around £530m) over a 10-year spending period to tackle decarbonisation, resource recycling, and environmental technologies. Epson is making significant developments in pursuit of these, including the transition to 100% renewable energy across its sites worldwide, construction plans for a new biomass power plant, a new UK distribution centre that optimises shipping routes from Asia, continued reductions in waste and energy across our product ranges, and much more. For more information, we welcome readers to check out our European Sustainability Report, which provides transparency on all our ESG goals and progress in meeting them. Will Armington: GHG emission reduction initiatives are crucial to meeting the Paris 1.5C targets and should be the focus of any robust reduction program. At some point, however, there will be unavoidable residual emissions, and carbon offsetting is necessary to help achieve GHG reduction goals. Both carbon removal and avoidance credits have a part to play in achieving net-zero emissions, and investing in these mechanisms is a better choice than taking no action. The primary consideration is to perform due diligence on the offsets being procured to ensure the projects will credibly remove or avoid emissions. Xerox is prioritising GHG reduction projects and initiatives before procuring offsets to support corporate targets. We have already reduced our emissions considerably and realise that we have much more progress to make. Ian McIntyre, Sales Director, PCL Direct: I’m not sure if there is any way of measuring whether carbon offsetting does more harm than good as there are a few concerns about its authenticity. Are carbon offset projects viable for the long-term, would these measures happen without the specific investment anyway, and are businesses simply wanting to be ‘seen’ to be spending a lot of money on offsetting when, actually, it’s hard to prove it works? Carbon reduction strategies may be more effective because the amount of CO2 emissions can physically be measured and, therefore, goals to reduce these may be more achievable in the long-term. We are reducing our use of plastics in our packaging, and we recycle and upcycle parts and materials where we can. We don’t send any materials to landfill, and the toner cartridges we receive for use in remanufacturing process have been professionally cleaned, leaving no trace of toner power behind. In addition, the toner we refill the OEM cartridges with is of the highest quality, so it is not harmful to the environment. Epson Europe’s Sustainability Report 2022/2023 Richard Wells Stuart Miller
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDUxNDM=