To celebrate World Environment Day on Sunday 5 June, Zutari is taking a further step towards a ‘net zero world’. To raise awareness around climate change, the engineering and professional services company has purchased carbon offsets from the renowned Gold Standard scheme.

Gold Standard was established in 2003 by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and other international NGOs to ensure projects that reduce carbon emissions adhere to the highest levels of environmental integrity and contribute to sustainable development. With the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, a best practice standard for climate and sustainable development interventions was launched, the so-called Gold Standard for the Global Goals.

While the purchased offsets will not make Zutari entirely carbon neutral, it is sufficient to offset any emissions produced in several countries where the company operates for the 2022 financial year, explains Sonja de Klerk, Lead of Quality, Environment and Sustainability.

Zutari and its heritage company has measured its carbon footprint since 2014. It has conducted various campaigns to sensitise staff about the emissions they produce through their daily work and how these can be reduced. “The first prize is always to avoid or reduce emissions, rather than offsetting them afterwards,” highlights de Klerk.

However, emission avoidance is not always possible. Zutari has therefore begun the journey to offset its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. “World Environment Day is a great opportunity to take our first step in this direction,” adds de Klerk.

The funding mechanism for the offset purchases is based on a recycling centre from which Zutari receives an income from some of the recyclable waste. These funds are earmarked for environmental purposes such as the carbon emission offsetting. “This innovative approach enables us to promote a circular economy and climate change awareness at the same time,” says de Klerk. The recycling centre has also created full-time employment for a disabled individual from a disadvantaged background.

The Gold Standard projects selected by Zutari for offsetting purposes reveal its commitment to the continent and its people:  The Kenya Biogas Programme supports Kenya’s endeavours to develop a commercially viable biogas sector. It facilitates the funding of biodigesters for families, particularly in rural environments. Domestic biodigesters provide a way for households with livestock to reduce their dependence on polluting firewood and expensive fossil fuels.

In Mozambique, the Efficient and Clean Cooking for Low Income Householdsproject distributes environmentally friendly cookstoves to communities in need. About 85% of the urban population in the Maputo area relies on charcoal for cooking energy needs. Charcoal prices have risen recently, creating economic difficulties for people in peri-urban areas.

Cooking with biomass in non-efficient stoves has dangerous health effects, contributing to respiratory diseases that mostly impact women and children. In addition, the use of charcoal in inefficient stoves contributes to rapid deforestation and forest degradation.

In the longer term, Zutari plans to expand the offsetting of the carbon emissions arising from its operations. However, the most significant impact it can have on climate change and the circular economy approach remains through its projects.

“We work as a team, together with our clients, our communities and end users. Our highly skilled and experienced multidisciplinary teams push boundaries to help economies grow. Our projects cross markets, disciplines, and geographies, creating a footprint of impact and engineered solutions that is reframing our world,” comments Zutari CEO Teddy Daka. “We embrace sustainability. It is Zutari’s purpose to co-create an engineered impact that enables environments, communities, and economies to thrive.”

Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and held annually since 1974, World Environment Day has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental outreach, with millions of people from across the world engaging to protect the planet.