Carbon footprint report 2016/17: cesar & EnviroDNA

At cesar, we practice what we preach when it comes to caring about the environment. Amongst working in sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation, we also monitor and act on our company’s environmental impact. Since 2011, we have completed a biennial carbon footprint report, and we are now pleased to share our 2016/17 results.

Our 4^th biennial report continues to demonstrate our relatively low carbon footprint for cesar, and now our sister organisation EnviroDNA. Overall our yearly footprint decreased from 6.7 to 4.8 tonnes of CO₂ per capita! Considering a 2011 study by the Victorian Employer’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) estimated that the average yearly carbon footprint for Victorian small businesses is 16.3 tonnes of CO₂ per capita, needless to say we are pretty pleased with our efforts.

However, whilst we are proud of our relatively low impact, we will absolutely not rest on our laurels and are committed to continuous improvements.

So, what’s next?

We have identified 6 key areas for improvement:

• Number of short haul flights taken

• Emissions associated with the use of company cars

• Soft plastics & teabag waste going to landfill

• Consumables used at our genetics lab

• Staff commuting to work via CO₂ producing methods

• Electricity consumption

With plenty of suggestions on how to action change, we have lots of work to do! Some are easy wins, such as switching from single use tea bags to loose-leaf tea and infusers to reduce our waste emissions (have a look at our report, it’s incredible the amount of tea one little office goes through…maybe it’s just us…), others are harder, such as the genetics single use consumables used at our lab.
However, we are 100% committed to the challenge, and look forward to actioning change and sharing what should be even better results next year.
“Did I hear you right, a new report next year?” you say. Why yes, you did hear us right! We know we mentioned a biennial report, however, our first change, for even greater transparency and opportunity to act, is going to be annual reporting!

If you have any questions about our latest report or how we manage our carbon footprint please contact Frances Morell (fmorell@cesaraustralia.com). We are happy to share more, especially if we can help others in their carbon management journeys.