We are delighted to have recently achieved Climate Positive status – ‘The first architect in the Planet Mark community to achieve Climate Positive status’ (Steve Malkin, CEO and founder of Planet Mark).
We decided to become a Climate Positive practice after measuring our operational impact for 2019 and 2020 with Planet Mark. We are making efforts to reduce this impact directly by changing business and office behaviours. We achieved a 39.5% reduction in absolute carbon emissions in 2020, and chose to offset 200% of residual emissions resulting in this recognition by Planet Mark.
“We’re very committed to sustainability, health and wellbeing and it’s really rewarding to achieve this status.” Laurie Chetwood, Chairman, Chetwoods.
We hope that by showing that we are responding to climate science as a practice, we communicate our commitment to do the same in the buildings we design, in recognition that the construction industry is responsible for 40% of carbon emissions.
We are committed to going further by leading the industry in emissions reductions, and are helping businesses develop healthier and more sustainable architecture through the use of good design. More and more of our clients are seeking Climate Positive status, and we are holding sustainability workshops across project value chains to interrogate design specifications, ultimately driving down emissions on various building layers and components. In 2020 this allowed us to deliver the first development to be verified as net zero carbon for construction, in line with the UKGBC framework.
Steve Malkin, CEO and founder of Planet Mark commented: “The Chetwoods team are environmentalists at their core. Having shared their sustainability expertise with their clients, and with the wider industry, it is no surprise to see the incredible results when Chetwoods focuses on its own operational emissions.
I’m proud to work with such a future-focused practice and help them on their sustainability journey. Not only did they achieve a 39.5% reduction in absolute carbon emissions in 2020, but chose to offset 200% of residual emissions, to become the first architect in the Planet Mark community to achieve Climate Positive status. This achievement demonstrates their ongoing commitment to minimise their impact on the environment and drive positive change within the industry.”
An example of this is the sustainability workshops that the firm holds across project value chains to interrogate design specifications, ultimately driving down emissions on various building layers and components. With the involvement of the entire project team in these discussions, Chetwoods delivered the first development to be verified as net zero carbon for construction, in line with UKGBC framework.
