Blog / ESG VMI 2021 Carbon Audit Shows 9% CO2 Reduction 19 May 2022 — by Barry Bassett Our second annual carbon audit of 2021 is complete and demonstrates that VMI has reduced its total carbon emissions, according to the Science-Based Target Initiative from 234TCO2e to 213TCO2e, a reduction of 8.9% compared to the 2019 baseline, on target with our net-zero by 2030 strategy.We only started our formal net-zero journey mid 2021, so this is a terrific result since many of our initiatives had yet to be completed.The breakdown of each Scope emissions are as followsScope 1 emissions had reduced from 54TCO2e to 37.6TCO2e Scope 2 emissions also reduced from 13TCO2e to nil, as all electricity for 2021 was using exclusively green tariffs. Scope 3 (excluding CapEx purchases), increased from 167TCO2e to 175TCO2eSome of the increase in scope 3 emissions can be attributed to a greater detail of measurement, such as a detailed analysis of employees commuting, which was not undertaken in 2019.Carbon DashboardThe below dashboard shows the carbon emissions for both VMI sites, excluding Capex Purchases for which there is no operational control.Total 2021 CO2 for VMI for Scope 1 & 2 Emissions, demonstrating 8.9% reductionIt was also recognised that this is not the entire story, as the £1.6M of capital expenditure purchases were not included in these calculations, as VMI had no operational control over these emissions. There is a commitment to reduce these scope 3 emissions in conjunction with suppliers.In summary:Scope 3 emissions unchanged from 635TCO2e 2019-2021, despite an increase in CapEx purchases of 9%.The overall conclusion of this is recognition that 94% of VMI’s emissions are caused by CapEx purchases, and the of the importance to persuade all of our suppliers to apply a net zero strategy, without which, we won’t be able to achieve our own net zero by 2030 pledge.The below dashboard shows the total carbon emissions, including all Scope 3 emissions from capital expenditureTotal 2021 CO2 for VMI including Scope 1,2 & 3 Emissions. 94% of VMI’s emissions are caused by CapEx purchases.Our commitment is to publish our results every year, so view the full report and our roadmap as to how we plan to achieve net-zero by 2030 on the link below.