Carbon Management Strategy 2022 – 2027
Carbon Reduction Plan 2022-2027 including GHG Emissions and achieving Net Zero by 2050
Date: 18th July 2022
It is intended that this document covers the period 2022 to 2027, with annual reviews during that
period in order to ensure it maintains relevance and suitability to the goals of The Edge Hub and its
developing estate.
Executive Summary:
The planet is warming at an unprecedented rate and the Humber region is one of the
coastal regions around the world officially listed as at high risk due to rising sea levels and
increasing flood threat. The imperative for action has been recognised and The Edge Hub is
committed to taking steps to reduce its Carbon Footprint.
Recognising that global and national improvement will only be made with local and
individual commitment and action The Edge Hub is actively seeking to employ operating
practices that integrate environmental integrity with a concern for the physical and social
fabric of the site. Demonstrating its resolve to generate real change The Edge Hub has made
an ambitious commitment to be Carbon Neutral Campus by 2030, setting The Edge Hub’s
target date and reaffirming the desire to take tangible action to contribute towards the
urgent need to reverse global heating and the climate crisis.
This Strategy outlines how The Edge Hub will manage and control the carbon emissions
created by its activities across the estate it owns and occupies, and how the Carbon Neutral
goal will be realized. By setting realistic targets and monitoring its progress towards their
attainment, The Edge Hub strives for a continual improvement in its environmental
performance and in the knowledge and awareness this engenders amongst visitors,
students, members, and staff. This Carbon Management Strategy intends to bring structure,
a systematic approach and manageability to the whole process of controlling and reducing
carbon emissions from The Edge Hub.
The Edge Hub considers the environmental dimensions and carbon-neutral commitment as
a priority when operating and planning activities. The carbon neutral plan promotes
innovation, eco-efficiency, reduction in scopes one to three and a gradual reduction of
environmental impacts in the activities of The Edge Hub. We aim to reduce the
environmental impacts of our activities, facilities, products and services, as well as, to
promote, offer and investigate eco-efficient solutions, thus harmonising the conduct of our
activities with the Government’s carbon neutral plans.
The Edge Hub recognises that it can only undertake effective control of its carbon emissions
if it knows what impacts are being created by its activities and operational practices and
those that will be made by future projects. Accordingly creating accurate and accessible
data sources will be central to the success if this strategy. Key areas for action are
highlighted within this document to allow control over carbon emissions to be established
and those emissions systematically reduced in a sustainable manner. Sustainable reductions
in carbon emissions will not be achieved from a one-off process and The Edge Hub
recognises it will not be instantaneous. The goals of The Edge Hub will be met by numerous
actions and involve a great number of people. Progress will be incremental and require
sustainability and carbon management to be integrated within the day-to-day activities of
all aspects of The Edge Hub operations. Carbon management will develop and evolve as The
Edge Hub and surrounding projects grow and evolve but through performance monitoring
and proactive and collective action it will generate continuous and sustainable reductions in
carbon emissions and become embedded as the normal operating practice of The Edge Hub.
The Carbon Management Plan (from here written as ‘CMP’) is reported on annually via the
Project Coordinator to directors and board for approval prior to being published. Created
and monitored the CMP is backed by a dedicated team, allocated funds and considered of
great importance in the benefits to the environment when the plan is achieved and
executed.
The CMP sets out a series of carbon reduction measures to meet this year’s contribution
towards The Edge Hubs Scope one and two interim 2023 target of a reduction of 15% based
upon the previous year’s estimated figures of the new building development from 9,373
tCO²/year to 7,967. This figure is estimated to change as the new building development is
re-evaluated with new energy-efficient equipment to reduce the scope figure by 50%. With
the new evaluation will come to an updated CMP and action plan to evaluate how the
following year will reduce carbon scopes. For future reporting, we intend to continue to
report on baseline consumption in the same manner as previously but will be looking to
include additional benchmarks of data and updates on new developments.
The need to improve on our overall approach to sustainability in terms of Carbon Savings is
essential to progress at The Edge Hub but also engagement with staff and members i.e.
learners to address and make active changes.
Scopes:
The Edge Hub will adopt the widely recognized standard of grouping Carbon emissions into
three areas. Scope 1 & 2 emissions are those over which The Edge Hub has direct control
with scope 3 emissions being those which exist because of The Edge Hub’s operation but
over which it has only limited or indirect control.
Scope 1 Emissions
Direct emissions resulting from Edge Hub owned and controlled assets as a result of them
consuming fossil fuels
• Stationary combustion – e.g., emissions from gas used in heating plant
• Mobile combustion – e.g., emissions from fuel used in Edge owned vehicles
• Fugitive emissions –e.g., release of greenhouse gases from leaks in refrigeration and air
conditioning systems
• Process emissions – typically these are emissions released from on-site manufacturing or
processes
Scope 2 Emissions
Indirect emissions resulting from The Edge Hub operations that occur off-site but over which
The Edge Hub has direct control. For The Edge Hub these essentially will be those carbon
emissions resulting from the use of purchased electricity (the emissions resulting from the
energy used in the transmission and distribution of the electricity fall under scope 3).
Scope3 Emissions
These are the emissions generated as a result of The Edge Hub’s operations but over which
The Edge Hub has only indirect control. The GHG protocol sub divides scope 3 emissions into
15 categories, however in terms of The Edge Hub it is more straight forward to see them as
falling into four main groups.
• Travel – Business travel and staff and student commuting
• Water – Water consumption and wastewater treatment
• Waste – Re-use, re-cycling or disposal of waste from the site
• Procurement – Capital goods purchased, food and catering, Construction.
As part of the active change, we are:
-Addressing our Scope three impacts by using local suppliers who also have carbon neutral
policies in place to reduce the overall travel and carbon footprint of equipment, staff and
external factors that impact our scope three figures. We have also introduced more
incentives such as bike schemes alongside reducing our water and waste through staff and
members guides on wasting water and how to reduce waste all together. We commit to
educating, training and motivating staff to conduct their activities in an environmentally
responsible manner.
-100% led lights on lighting control.
-High efficiency condensing boiler
- The Edge Hub waste is primarily recyclable due to the content and equipment used and
the focus upon technology reducing physical waste. Local other waste disposal.
-The building is a re-developed site promoting use of disused space with sustainable design.
-Roof garden area enhancing biodiversity.
We will follow local authorities’ actions to adapt to the impacts of climate change, following
the plan laid out and adapting the process to align with The Edge Hub’s policies to ensure
legal requirements are met but also encouraging staff and consumers to engage as much as
possible with environment policies.
The project will follow a field assessment criterion to ensure the project maintains a clear
environmental sustainability policy reducing negative effects and helping to conserve
energy and natural resources to conserve the local environment. This will particularly take
into consideration the carbon impact looking at the carbon footprint of the business and the
maintenance of the project.
Reducing scope one, two and three throughout the maintenance and development of the
project and the development of the site. The carbon plan looks to ensure suppliers and
equipment is all locally sourced to ensure less travel and scope three impact is had on the
sourced products. The equipment used is of an environmentally friendly nature with the
new boiler and LED lighting fitted to reduce the carbon output by over 200kw annually.
Steps taken to reduce the carbon footprint of the project will aid in the overall development
of the build to be carbon neutral by 2030 including allowing for improvements after the
initial developments such as solar panels. Allowing for these alterations early on in the
maintenance and management plan will allow for the installation to run smoothly when the
project is ready for this step.
The Journey to a Carbon Neutral Edge Hub
The Edge Hub has set itself the target of having a carbon neutral site by 2030, with regards
to its scope 1 & 2 emissions. In order to achieve this aim, this carbon management strategy
and the activities it suggests will augment, inform and run in tandem with The Edge Hub’s
strategic development plan. Measures already being undertaken and planned are expected
to have a major impact on the scope 1 & 2 emissions from the site and begin the drive
towards carbon neutrality.
Measures already being undertaken and planned are expected to have a major impact on
the scope 1 & 2 emissions from the site and begin the drive towards carbon neutrality. Due
to The Edge Hub qualifying as a start-up, there is a lack of data on the current scope levels;
however, with predictions and estimations we are able to consider the differences that can
be made to reduce initial scope and carbon footprint of the site.
There are a number of carbon efficiencies that will be made because of the implementation
of the development plan. For example, building modifications and space utilisation
measures are thought to have the potential to reduce carbon emissions at The Edge Hub by
approximately 34%.
These are likely to take a number of years to come to fruition as the building changes
finalise. Any new modifications or changes will be designed with the aim of them being at
least carbon neutral.
The updates and changes to the building within the timescales required will be a key
challenge in achieving the 2027 goal. Where the building cannot be refurbished, the
intention would be that they should be adjusted as required to reduce carbon impacts.
As indicated above the drive towards the carbon neutral site has already begun with
projects already started and in planning stages to; reduce the overall carbon impact of the
site but also the scope 2 and 3 impacts. We aim to:
-Install 100% led lights on lighting control throughout the site. There are planned lighting
surveys to identify where efficiencies can be made both in the type of lighting installed and
the controls of its operation.
-Introduce high efficiency condensing boiler alongside heating system and air conditioning.
The replacement strategy to introduce a more environmentally efficient boiler system, will
dovetail with the sites development strategy and programme. Opportunities to upgrade
heating systems to use heat pumps already identified would create around a 9,000MWh
reduction in gas consumption and generate carbon emission savings of over 1,000 tonnes
CO2e.
- The Edge Hub waste is primarily recyclable due to the content and equipment used and
the focus upon technology reducing physical waste. Local other waste disposal.
-The building is a re-developed site promoting use of disused space with sustainable design.
-Install a roof garden area enhancing biodiversity.
-Reduction of energy consumption within IT data centres and tech in the hub as a whole are
under review with early indications of up to 20% savings in emissions from consumption in
these areas being possible.
Current projections would have these projects complete and contributing power to the
building by early 2023. These actions are an indication of the actions being taken in the
short term with the expectation that the reviews and audits planned will generate still more
opportunities to reduce the emissions loading.
There is a recognition that the logistics and practical constraints of implementing the
volume of work planned may mean that there is a residual level of carbon emissions that
will remain at the end target date. The Edge Hub plans to offset those emissions and will
comply with the widely agreed principles the carbon offsetting;
-That the carbon reduction project would not have occurred without financing from offsets
-Emissions reductions must be permanent or for a minimum time (e.g., 100 years)
-The carbon reduction should be measurable, and it must be possible to quantify the carbon
savings accurately
-The project should be independently auditable and verifiable to provide transparency and
to ensure the offset is traceable and cannot be double counted
The Edge Hub will also explore the advantages offered by entering into power purchase
agreements to ensure any residual energy it does need to consume from the national
distribution grids comes from identified renewable sources.