Press release: ABDO achieves Carbon Neutrality as part of its SEE Campaign #thinkinggreen

The Association of British Dispensing Opticians has successfully achieved carbon neutrality.

ABDO staff worked together to provide information on the Association’s activities for 2021 which were then analysed to calculate emissions of greenhouse gases. In accordance with PAS 2060³ this included:

• water supply,
• waste generated,
• business travel,
• employees commuting
• and working-from-home emissions.

The Association’s emissions have been offset using a blend of offsets from a Gold Standard wind project and a Verra CCB⁴ forestry project to mix biodiversity protection and restoration with fuel switching to renewable energy.

ABDO President Jo Holmes says, “Carbon footprinting ABDO’s work is a significant achievement and I want to thank the staff who have worked on this on top of their existing workloads. It is exciting to know that the offsets mean that ABDO’s activities are now carbon neutral.”

The next steps for the Association are to assess upcoming activities and develop a strategy to reduce emissions further while still allowing the organisation to continue its work towards its purpose, to support and represent its members, to promote awareness of their roles, to enable their professional development and to advance the profession.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. Media enquiries to Antonia Chitty achitty@abdo.org.uk
2. Hi res images are available
3. PAS2060 is a Publicly Available Specification.
4. The Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards identify projects that simultaneously address climate change, support local communities and smallholders, and conserve biodiversity.