The effects of our use of all energy and transport on our carbon footprint in our operations is recorded under GRI indicator EN16.

Carbon footprint in 2009
Our overall carbon footprint in 2009 was calculated according to the greenhouse gas convention as follows:

Scope 1 - direct energy use

• definition and boundary: all use of energy derived directly from fossil fuels at Grontmij office locations
• CO2 conversion: factors derived regionally from national government  published data IPCC and GHG protocol assessments

Scope 2 - indirect energy use

• definition and boundary: all use of energy purchased indirectly at offices and derived from fossil fuels at power generation sites
• CO2 conversion: factors derived regionally from national government  published data IPCC and GHG protocol assessments

Scope 3 - other emissions

• definition and boundary: all use of transport for business operations (road, rail and air)
• CO2 conversion: factors derived regionally using national government  published data for
  * Cars, factors appropriate to regional fleet make up
  * Rail, national factors
  * Air, factors appropriate to distance travelled per journey (short, medium of long haul)

Our overall carbon footprint was as follows:

 
Carbon management
We recognise the importance of our overall carbon footprint, not only in its direct effect on the global environment but also in its indirect effect within our supply chain. During 2010 we will publish targets for the reduction of this footprint and regionally based action plans to reduce it towards the goal of carbon neutrality by 2013.

The manner in which our overall footprint is derived from the scopes above varies between our regions. This is due to differences between our regions in the mix of power generation in use (eg the reliance on renewable and nuclear generation in Sweden in contrast to the reliance on coal in Poland) and in the most frequent mode of travel selected (eg car versus rail). These differences will lead to the need for a range of policy interventions and management solutions across our operations.

Minimising Carbon
We provide a range of innovative and state-of-the-art services in our approach to minimising carbon in all our design work on behalf of our clients. Follow the links opposite to learn more about our services.

Reporting
We also report our direct and indirect energy and transport use under scopes 1, 2 & 3 of the greenhouse gas protocols to the Carbon Disclosure Project. In 2008 we reported only for our UK and Ireland operations, for 2009 we will report for the whole of Grontmij N.V.