urban Is Being More Green By Carbon Offsetting
As a brand, we understand the seriousness of the current climate emergency and the part that architecture play’s in the world’s carbon footprint. This is why we have pledged to offset and reduce our CO2 emissions throughout 2020.
The idea behind #BeMoreGreen is to find ways to promote sustainability through the reinforcement of positive change. We do this by attending local events, initiating meat-free Mondays, having a paperless office and implementing the VCS Programme. As part of our commitment to offset our carbon usage for 2020, we have gifted 120 trees to our local Junior school to plant within their school grounds.
Carbon offsetting is one method of helping the environment but arguably the most important method is education. We were delighted to be able to combine the two by engaging the pupils, aged 7–11 years old, in environmentalism and educating them about the vital role trees play in our planet’s stability and ultimately our future. We also discussed the positive effect sustainability has on our planet. It was a rewarding experience seeing the enthusiasm and curiosity of the pupils throughout the day.
Mark and Ryan from urban were joined by STR Group’s CEO, Clive Hutchings. Ryan said “At urban we believe in positive action. Making real changes to how we behave every day and recognising the impact our decisions have on the environment is the key to a sustainable future. Carbon offsetting is just a small part of what we can do to make things better and reduce our impact on the planet. I enjoyed our afternoon at St Thomas More School and being able to make a difference. One thought that will stick with me came from one of the pupils I met today. They commented that they look forward to seeing these trees grow, as one day they will be coming back to the school as a parent themselves to see the trees mature. That summed the day up for me – our actions today will make a difference for generations to come.”
The trees we selected were a mixture of indigenous species including Cherry, Oak, Willow and Birch. The planting of these trees offset 120 tonnes of carbon.
As a team, we have reduced our CO2 and greenhouse emissions wherever possible and then offset the remainder through the VCS Programme. We continue to work toward our goal to be carbon neutral.