At Purpose Capital, we believe it is important to “walk the talk” in our own operations.
After completing our third year of measuring and offsetting 120% of our emissions, we’re sharing our reflections in the hopes of encouraging those who are just getting started on their carbon reduction journey. It’s important to note that our Climate Positive Certification from Ekos applies to our own business operations, and not those of our portfolio companies.
Here’s a brief overview of what we’ve learned so far:
1. Just get started: When it comes to measuring your carbon footprint, getting started is the hardest part. From there, it’s essentially an accounting exercise, and you’ll most likely have all the data you need, either in your financial accounting system or that of your suppliers.
2. You’ll get better: Each time we measure, we are able to be more efficient in the process, and more complete and precise in our data – particularly for Scope 3 emissions.
3. The results may be surprising: For us, transport is by far our largest source of emissions. In FY 2024, reimbursed staff mileage was more than 50% of our total footprint, followed by staff commute. This knowledge was particularly empowering for our reduction plan.
4. Be prepared to save money, alongside carbon emissions: For example, we investigated renting electric vehicles (EVs) for return trips between Auckland and Tauranga. Not only are the CO2equivalent emissions approximately 10% those of an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, but for trips two days or less, it’s cheaper to rent an EV than reimburse staff mileage.
5. You’ll get a better sense of what’s in your sphere of influence: In our case, our Scope 2 emissions (those from electricity use), are calculated as a percentage of a larger office building. While we have met with our landlord to discuss building efficiency, and have seen some small changes, we have very little direct control over the total energy used. The most impactful thing we could do was to cut the amount of office space we rent and increase our days worked from home. Once again, this also resulted in cost savings.
6. Commitment is key: It’s not necessarily easy to reduce your carbon footprint while growing your business. Having the whole team on board is important for meaningful progress.
7. Offsetting: While the most important part of any carbon measurement project is emissions reduction in real terms and we continuing to emphasise this, we have found it rewarding to support regenerative projects by purchasing certified carbon credits to offset remaining emissions. This year, we chose credits from the Aureate Native Reforestation Project, North of Waihi Beach, to support the active regeneration of a logged pine plantation to native forest. You can find their project updates here.
If you’re considering measuring your footprint and would like to chat with us about our experience, please get in touch.
Image from Aureate Reforestation Project, October 2024.
Purpose Capital are Impact Investors who drive positive environmental and social change in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and greater New Zealand. New Zealand’s largest private impact investment fund, Purpose Capital is founded on the principle that we can effect change through well-run commercial investments that deliver impact as well as financial return.
Through demonstrating the effectiveness of our approach, Purpose Capital aims to increase impact investments from asset and fund managers as well as private and philanthropic wealth. By leading investment opportunities, we provide confidence to other investors to invest alongside us in impactful companies and projects.