In developing Footprinter™ , Best Foot Forward has drawn on ten years of experience in measuring ecological and carbon footprints and our extensive relationships with those individuals and organisations who drive and set policy.
It is now widely acknowledged that greenhouse gas emissions muct be reduced dramatically to avoid climate chaos. Business, whether delivering products or services, has a central role to play in this.
The UK government is committed to the goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050 from 1990 levels and is calling on the European Union to do similarly The influential Stern report published in 2006 calls for a 60-80% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2050.
While 'cap and trade' regulation currently applies to just a few key energy intensive sectors, to achieve such challenging targets all sectors of the economy will need to play their part. Current proposals on the table, such as the Energy Performance Commitment Consultation, extend emissions trading to cover non energy intensive sectors such as large government operations, supermarkets, hotels and other 'service oriented' organisations.
As 'cap and trade' extends through the wider economy and targets are progressively tightened, the costs of emitting carbon (and the benefits of not emitting carbon) can only increase.
'Carbon literate' consumers are calling for the supply of low carbon goods and services and climate responsibility will become central to brand identity.
Any business looking to flourish in the 21st century understands that its climate impact is key. Understanding the carbon footprint of your business is an essential first step in managing risks and capitalising on opportunities.
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Standards for methodologies and applications are crucial for the credibility of efforts to measure and monitor footprints. Best Foot Forward is at the forefront of standards development both for carbon and ecological footprinting. Best Foot Forward drafted the first European ecological footprint standard which is now enshrined in the international standard hosted by the Global Footprint Network.
We continue to work with all those involved in facilitating standards including DEFRA, the Carbon Trust and the Global Footprint Network, to ensure that our products such as Footprinter™ remain compliant with existing and emerging standards.
Footprinter™ is designed to be fully compliant with the WRI (World Resources Institute) and WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) Green House Gas protocol.
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