[Climate change success story] Abbey Business Group cuts carbon footprint by 18% per employee and company-wide carbon footprint reduction of 8.8%

• Abbey Business Group awarded The Planet Mark™ for sixth consecutive year after cutting their annual carbon footprint by 8%
• Cheltenham based office equipment supplier, Abbey Business Group has been awarded The Planet Mark™ for achieving year-on-year progress in sustainability.
• This is Abbey Business Group's sixth year of business carbon footprint reporting with The Planet Mark. They first calculated the carbon footprint of the Cheltenham office and fleet for the year ending October 2012 and set a target to reduce emissions by 5% annually.

By retaining The Planet Mark™, Abbey Business Group are also directly and measurably contributing to seven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. On being presented with The Planet Mark™ Certificate, Dave Giles, managing director of Abbey Business Group commented:

"Our certification with the Planet Mark™ is a fantastic way to ensure we are making year-on-year progress in reducing our carbon footprint. The certification is synonymous with our intrinsic culture of care about our impacts on the environment and is a great way to differentiate ourselves within the market."

The Planet Mark recognises Abbey Business Group's good practice in sustainability, principally:

• Measuring carbon emissions from electricity, fleet, travel and water
• Achieving an 8.8% reduction in total carbon footprint
• Achieving an 18.4% reduction in tCO2e per employee
• Committing to engage employees and suppliers to drive improvement
• Storing 260 tCO2e by protecting one acre of endangered rainforest through the charity Cool Earth
• Reducing diesel fleet emissions by 11%.

Specific measures Abbey Business Group is taking to hit its 2018 targets include:

• Conducting an energy audit to help identify where most energy is being used and potential wastage from equipment
• Organising annual sustainability workshops
• Investigating the installation of LED, T5 and sensor lighting and the upgrade of heating controls.

Presenting the award, Steve Malkin, founder of The Planet Mark™ commented:

"An 8.8% reduction in total carbon emissions is a great achievement in any year but coming after healthy reductions in its 2016 reporting period, Abbey's latest achievement is truly outstanding and demonstrates that businesses with the right level of commitment and that persevere, will continue to make progress, year-on-year."

-ENDS-

The Planet Mark™

The Planet Mark™ is an internationally recognised and trusted sustainability certification programme, recognising commitment to continuous improvement in sustainability. It is awarded to businesses, properties, new developments and projects that are committed to reducing their carbon emissions. Partnered with the Eden Project, The Planet Mark™ contributes 5% of all certification fees to the award-winning visitor attraction. Each certification also comes with 12 free tickets to Eden Project, encouraging organisations to learn more about climate change and the importance of biodiversity.

The first year of certification to The Planet MarkTM is based on the commitment to continuous improvement in sustainability in its business operations by measuring and reducing its carbon footprint and engaging its stakeholders. In subsequent years, holders of The Planet Mark™ have a minimum requirement to reduce their carbon emissions by 2.5% per year.  The average absolute carbon reduction achieved by holders is 6% per annum and 15% per employee per annum.

Further information:

Amanda Ruiz

Tel: 07711 419595

Email: hello@amandaruiz.co.uk