Offsetting our residual emissions
Our approach
At ACS, we have been evaluating and measuring our carbonfootprint since 2019, and working hard to reduce our emissions ever since – but this takes time and a dedicated team. Our Sustainability Team has been carefully assembled with employees from a number of different departments within ACS. This spread of representation across all operations allows us – where possible – to more easily identify and implement emission reductions.
The Sustainability team meets regularly to discuss our progress, and we held a workshop earlier in the year to explore additional ways to achieve our Net Zero ambitions. Our findings are being worked into a Transition Plan towards Net Zero, which we will communicate towards the end of the year.
In the meantime, we are very proud to share some of our initial reduction successes. Most notably implementing a travel policy to travel by train, or shared electric road transportation, to our clients’ projects which are less than 600kms from Amsterdam. We have also moved our head office to a more energy efficient building, and transitioned our fleet of sales vehicles to EVs, which can be charged at our own charging poles at the head office. Our Utrecht office is almost completely self-sustained, with solar panels on the building to charge the electric sales vehicle, and also our first electric delivery van.
So, we feel that we are well on the path towards Net Zero, but until we can achieve our ambitions, we need to offset our residual emissions. These are calculated with the help of our sustainability consultants, Anthesis (formerly the Climate Neutral Group), who also produced ACS’s 2024 CO2 emissions footprint report, which details the amount of tCO2e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) ACS produced in 2024. Anthesis then advised us regarding the offsetting possibilities for these residual emissions – carefully selected climate projects that combine solutions for carbon reduction with broader social and environmental benefits..
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Offsetting our residual carbon emissions
Anthesis recommends using the Oxford Principles for Carbon Offsetting as a strategic framework, emphasizing transparency, additionality, and sustainable development to create a comprehensive and impactful offset strategy. They work with independent parties who assess a number of projects and ensure that they are of good quality, meet the highest market requirements, and that 1 carbon credit truly equals 1 ton of CO2 removed from the air. These carbon credits are also either Verified Carbon Standard or Gold Standard.
Certificate confirming our carbon credit investments
For 2024, ACS chose Gold Standard carbon credits supporting Cookstove Projects in Africa, which help reduce CO2 emissions and biodiversity loss while improving people’s health by investing in the local production and distribution of cookstoves. The cookstoves’ efficient combustion system reduces wood use by 50% compared to traditional cooking methods. The cookstoves also help combat deforestation and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. They also improve indoor air quality and reduce neck and back pain from carrying wood, and improve living conditions by spending less time gathering firewood and cooking.
In addition to the cookstoves project, ACS also chose to invest in a VCS Standard project closer to home – the Dutch biogas project, which aims to increase sustainability in the sector by fermenting manure and residual products from the food industry through biogas installations. The goal is to produce milk and meat more sustainably and reduce methane emissions. In addition, the plant can convert animal protein products into biogas and plant feed, while the residual product is sold as a fertilizer substitute.
Photos courtesy of Anthesis (Climate Neutral Group)