The Time for Net Zero Is Now

By Andrew Clark, Net Zero Manager, Practice Building.

In Spring 2023 Practice Building launched something to catalyze a movement within the optical industry -a movement to go Net Zero; not in 2050, not in 2030, but now – and that movement is gaining traction.

Historically Practice Building has provided business support services primarily to independent optical practices, but the issues of sustainability, the climate crisis, plastic pollution, and going Net Zero are ubiquitous throughout the industry – from practices to suppliers and manufacturing. Whether or not our industry is sustainable is the one thing that unites us all.

And so Net Zero Optics – a support programme aimed at directing optical businesses of all shapes and sizes on a path of sustainability –  was born. From that came the separate, not-for-profit organization, Net Zero Eyecare, which crucially owns the certification standards tailored for the optical industry (read them online at netzeroeyecare.org/certifications), provides recognition of sustainability actions taken, from recycling badges to full Net Zero certification, and processes offsetting revenue to contribute to the world’s most rigorous and effective offsetting schemes.

But before we go any further, what does this term “Net Zero” actually mean?

The UK has a national “Net Zero” target of 2050, by which time it aims to have reduced it’s greenhouse gas emissions as must as feasibly possible (ie. there will still be some “Gross” emissions), and undertaken additional actions to offset the remaining emissions (by actively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere) so that overall it’s “Net” GHG emissions are zero.

At a different scale, the same principle can be applied to an optical practice. First you work out your carbon footprint, you look at what reduction opportunities are available to you, and then you offset your remaining footprint to bring your total, Net emissions down to Zero.

(If you have concerns about the notion of carbon offsetting, or would like to know more about how it can be done in ways that actually work, take a look at this article from Practice Building: practicebuilding.co.uk/carbon-offsetting-cleaning-up-one-mess).

So, generally, “Net Zero” is a term used in reference to carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions, but it can be used equally in relation to any form of pollution. Because the optical industry is so heavily reliant on plastic items, to Net Zero Eyecare “Net Zero” can apply to Carbon and also to Plastic – and certification in both “Net Zero Carbon” and “Net Zero Plastic” are available (more on plastic later).

It’s widely agreed that reductions of greenhouse gas emissions are critically important – it’s the only way we’ll reach global Net Zero by 2050 and stand a chance of stabilizing the Earth’s climate into a safe and just future.

So what reductions options are available to most practices? The biggest reduction in GHGs you can make is to switch your energy supplier to a renewable one – that could save you a few tonnes of CO2e… assuming you aren’t with a renewable supplier already!

Beyond that, reductions opportunities are actually sorely limited. Data from just the first few months of Net Zero Eyecare’s Net Zero Carbon certifications being issued show that energy suppliers (ie. Scope 1 and 2 emissions) account for less than 10% of a Practice’s total carbon footprint. The other 90% is largely wrapped up in employee and patient travel, and embodied in the products we sell. It’s still very important to look at incremental reductions in all of these areas, but the reality is that the bulk of your footprint is beyond your control.

So if you want to make a real difference to the climate crisis, start by switching energy supplier, and then the only option is to go Net Zero and offset the rest – and Net Zero Eyecare will help you do that.

Similarly, if you want to tackle the plastic elephant in the practice, the same basic methodology applies. Net Zero Eyecare have released a useful set of guidance on plastic footprinting, that you can put into action quickly and easily – and then talk to them about offsetting to achieve Net Zero Plastic certification so you can be content knowing that, despite the myriad of plastic products on which our livelihoods depend, you’re actively helping to clean up the planet!

Net Zero Eyecare is steadily encouraging the industry’s suppliers to help reduce the environmental footprint of products, but it’s a very slow game and we need your help to get things moving faster – you can start by asking your suppliers about the carbon footprint of their products!

The Net Zero Optics programme, run by Practice Building, is currently welcoming practices and suppliers into the movement that’s changing the industry for the better. For one-to-one and group support and all the resources you need to go Net Zero with confidence, drop them a line today andrew@practicebuilding.co.uk.