Positively shaping the energy and climate change agenda with our external stakeholders in both regions
Climate change
We continued with our climate change initiative and increased our energy efficiency programmes, focusing on initiatives that are cost effective and regulated. We see our 80% greenhouse gas emissions reduction target as being industry leading within the UK and US.
Our key performance indicator to monitor our performance in this area is the percentage reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions against our baseline. We also measure absolute emissions.
As reported last year, we have adopted a long-term target of reducing our Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 80% against our baseline by 2050. We have now set an intermediate objective of a 45% reduction in our emissions by 2020. These targets remain at the centre of our efforts to identify and implement measures to meet our commitment to safeguard our global environment for future generations. In 2009/10, we will be evaluating the inclusion of Scope 3 emissions into these targets.
This year, we have focused our efforts on educating our workforce on the targets and the means by which we will achieve them. We have conducted an inventory of our greenhouse gas emissions to ensure that we have up-to-date information on the magnitude of the reductions necessary and the areas of the operations where reductions can take place. We have also established internal working teams tasked with developing opportunities to achieve our 80% target.
Our climate change initiative is being embedded in all areas and operations of the Company through the establishment of teams working in such areas as introducing low emission vehicles for our fleets, developing low carbon design features for our asset replacement programmes and incorporating a cost of carbon methodology in our investment decision making processes.
During 2009/10, we will implement carbon budgets. For each financial year, each business will be set a maximum level of greenhouse gas emissions which can be emitted. Subsequent years will see a reduction in these budgets that is needed to achieve our 2020 and 2050 targets.
In 2008/09, we completed a detailed review of our greenhouse gas emission inventory for the year ended 31 March 2008 and included the operations acquired as part of the KeySpan transaction as if we had owned them for the entire year. On this basis, our total Scope 1 and 2 emissions for 2007/08 would have been approximately 12.1 million tonnes CO2 equivalent compared with the approximate 4.1 million tonnes reported.
Emissions from the electricity generating plants on Long Island account for approximately 50% of the total for National Grid.
Currently, we are using a reporting baseline of 1990 for the majority of our greenhouse gas emissions.
As noted under performance against our objectives, the 2008/09 performance is currently unavailable. We expect it to become available in July 2009 and it will then be presented on our website.
Greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2)
% reduction against baseline Target: 80%
- 2007/08 data restated as if KeySpan acquisition had occurred at beginning of year.
Previously published figure, excluding KeySpan, was 38%.