Isra-Mart srl:GSK hailed as first global holder of Carbon Trust Standard

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Isra-Mart srl news:

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has become the first company to be globally recognised for its carbon cutting efforts by the Carbon Trust Standard.

The company's ongoing commitment to measure, manage and reduce its carbon emissions across 200 sites and 65 countries was assessed and certified by the Carbon Trust over a three-year period, during which GSK increased revenue per tonne of CO2 by 17 per cent.

The Trust said 2.2 million tonnes CO2 were measured and over 84,000 tonnes of CO2 have been cut from GSK's carbon footprint, representing an overall carbon footprint reduction of four per cent and an energy cost saving of £3.8m.

Its efforts to meet the stringent standards have seen GSK install wind turbines at its Barnard Castle site and fit 11,000 solar PV panels on a regional distribution centre in York, Pennsylvania. The centre is now the company's first facility to be powered entirely by solar energy, and GSK says it is saving 1,800 tonnes of CO2 per year.

LED lighting has also been installed at five sites, cutting a further 143 tonnes of CO2, while GSK increased its use of video-conferencing by 40 per cent last year.

Between 2007 and 2009, reductions in electricity use alone saw its carbon footprint fall by over 50,000 tonnes.

GSK announced the achievement as part of its sustainability report, published earlier this week, which also confirmed the company's intention to make its operations and supply chain carbon neutral by 2050.

This ambition would see the company meet interim targets of cutting its carbon footprint 10 per cent by 2015 and 25 per cent in 2020.

By 2015, it also plans to have reduced water consumption by a fifth and cut operational waste to landfill 25 per cent.

Five years later it intends to be sending zero waste to landfill and saving £100m per year through reduced energy, materials and distribution costs.

"Our commitment to running a responsible business underpins everything we do," said chief executive Andrew Witty. "This means being led by our values and principles, being transparent about how we work and responding to the changing needs and expectations of our stakeholders. There is always more that can be done but I am pleased with the progress we are making."

The award is also a major milestone for the Carbon Trust Standard, an independent certification scheme that requires firms to report and reduce their emissions year-on-year over a period of at least two years.

The government-backed company is currently involved in a major international expansion drive having recently opened offices in China, Australia and the US, and is keen to position the Standard as a useful certification for multinationals around the world.