Developing a Strategy to Reach Net Zero for a Media Company

Situation

A leading media company is working towards an ambitious target to reach net zero carbon operations before 2030. Known for the promotion of sustainability through its operations, the company increasingly understood that it needed to be more ambitious with its sustainability agenda and sought a strategy to reduce CO2 emissions, whilst minimising disruption to operations. 

Solutions

Anthesis developed a long-term investment strategy to identify the most commercial route to net zero carbon emissions across two of the company’s major campuses.

The annual operational energy spend for the campuses range between £0.5million and £5million per annum. The media company engaged Anthesis due to our experience working within complex operations and capabilities in carrying out forensic assessments of buildings and operations, allowing us to create a credible plan to upgrade and enhance assets. 

The brief required that the strategy for reaching net zero carbon had to account for maintaining resilience in operation and minimising disruption. Opportunities had to be developed within an environment of complex building services systems, with very specific engineering processes and systems.  

The strategy set out a programme of work which delivers high impact and high returns within current investment parameters, whilst enabling the introduction of future low carbon technologies to support the next stages of the net zero carbon transition.

Key services included:

• Completion of investment–grade surveys of the sites, employing deep technical expertise in the optimisation of operations and in the identification of new energy conservation methods, to assess the baseline energy consumption and the potential to reduce carbon. 
• Utilising a common-sense approach to energy management to identify ways to reduce or eradicate usage, to use energy more efficiently, to reuse or recycle waste resources from the building or the local area, to improve control systems to prevent waste, and to improve employee engagement. 
• Development of a comprehensive implementation plan to transform the operations of the campuses, delivering substantial cost and carbon savings.  

Impacts

The project identified the following substantial opportunities to improve the operational efficiency of the campuses:

• The removal of 1,500 Tonnes of CO2e with approximate savings of over £700,000 annually.
• An 11% reduction of the company’s carbon emissions across the sites.

The media company will also benefit from protection against market risks associated with climate change impact as well as resilience to rising energy costs.