Our Net Zero roadmap will define the ways in which we will reduce the emissions associated with our business, and provide our customers and communities with innovative products and services that help to meet their sustainability ambitions.
Since 1961 Portakabin has been at the forefront of construction innovation, pioneering modular construction as a smarter way to build.
We’ve changed, we’ve adapted, and we’ve grown, but always with the aim of making a better future. Now as the world faces enormous climate challenges, we are ready to play our part in producing the sustainable circular economy that the planet needs. We will do this with integrity by making all possible reductions to our emissions across scope 1, 2 and 3.
Our ambitious targets are science based, aligned with the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) and with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
For the direct and indirect emissions from our internal activities, known as Scope 1 and 2, we are targeting Net Zero by 2030.
For the remaining emissions from our upstream and downstream value chain, known as Scope 3, we aim to be Net Zero before 2040.
I worry about the impact of climate change and I believe we have a collective responsibility as individuals, as companies and as governments to take action to ensure that we have a planet that can nurture and support future generations...This is an exciting but challenging roadmap and I’d really encourage you to get involved, both in the company initiatives but also as individuals. We can get there if we do this together.
Portakabin calculated its baseline emissions and developed a roadmap to Net Zero in 2021. 2019 was selected as the carbon emission baseline given that it represented a typical year, pre pandemic. Activity to reduce carbon emissions commenced in 2022 and is anticipated to effect emissions, particularly in Scope 1&2, in 2023 at the earliest.
Emissions in 2021 were considerably effected by the Covid pandemic particularly in reference to a notable increase in rented assets and transportation to support the pandemic response. A colder winter in 2021 increased emissions from natural gas. T&D losses and waste generated from operations increased due to a change in calculation methodology. Despite these ‘business as usual’ increases, reductions in business travel and electricity emissions were observed due to the low number of employees in the workplace. Vehicle fleet emissions remained similar to 2019 as distance travelled reduced whilst vehicle numbers (and employees) increased.
Read the latest update on our progress to Net Zero
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Renewable energy acceleration |
Driving towards a cleaner future |
Engaging with key stakeholders across our value chain |
Lower-carbon materials |
Carbon removal |
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Continued success of our business depends on protecting the people and planet around us. One of our biggest interventions to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions will be switching to 100% renewable energy either through procurement or onsite generation. By using renewable electricity to power the global operations of Portakabin and replacing our natural gas consumption, we will remove our critical dependency on fossil fuels. |
Transport is responsible for around a fifth of the world’s carbon pollution and therefore crucial to driving forwards our net zero ambitions. Transitioning to an all-electric vehicle (EV) fleet and working with our suppliers to incorporate more efficient vehicles and fuels to move our buildings, will reduce emissions from our transportation. By also exploring how our suppliers logistics vehicles are being deployed, we will further reduce our emissions through optimisation, such as maximising truck utilisation and improving route efficiency. |
Responding to the climate crisis will require collaborative actions across geographies, sectors and societies. Collaboration with our customers and suppliers will be key to tackling our biggest source of emissions - those arising from our customers’ usage of our modular buildings. We will encourage stakeholders across our value chain to transition to renewable energy to power the modular buildings they hire from us, and we will produce more energy efficient units to support our customers changing needs. |
Cutting the carbon footprint of our products and services at all stages of the product lifestyle. We will work with our suppliers to source lower-carbon materials, such as low-carbon steel and glass to cut our footprint from our second most material emissions source – the raw materials we purchase to build our products. This reduces our emissions from the start of the product lifecycle, without compromising the high quality we deliver to our customers. |
To deliver our commitments, removal offsets are our final response to the climate emergency. Once we have reduced our emissions from our value chain as much as we are able to, we will use leading practice carbon removal techniques to tackle any final residuals and meet our overall targets. In line with the SBTi, we have set our decarbonisation pathway in a scientifically robust way, to ensure our methods balance emissions sustainably. |
