As set out in our Policy Statement, the 2021-22 financial year was targeted as our intended baseline year for emissions.

Over the last few of weeks, I have been resetting our CO2 calculator master sheet for 2022-3 – partly for PAS 2060 preparation and partly ahead of an upcoming ISO14001 surveillance visit (demonstrating improved data monitoring). An important part of this process is being honest with ourselves about the accuracy and relevance of the data – especially any estimates and assumptions. Some items work better attributed to headcount, others on floorspace etc. and we need robust supporting evidence to any claimed reduction. Also, it is fair to expect some changes whether seasonally or due to fluctuations in staffing / office use with COVID restrictions behind us. The data capture needs adjusting carefully to accommodate this for optimal accuracy.

PAS 2060 also allows for setting out previous years’ emissions reductions, and given we have historic data from our 14001 records before this baseline period, Focus is in a position to compare these across past achievements, adding in reasonable estimates – as we do now for non-primary data – as a comparison tool. This means adding in items such as the estimated travel by public transport from 2015 onwards, as we have not captured that for the whole period.

This will help us to conclude our draft of a formal PAS2060 Qualifying Explanatory Statement Declaration of NZC commitment, including our Carbon Reduction Plan.