Pavers Holdings Ltd has become the first major UK shoe retailer to achieve both the Carbon Neutral International Certification and participation in the UN’s Climate Now Initiative, which invites organisations to work towards global climate neutrality by addressing their own carbon footprint.
“One of our core values as a business is that we take our commitment to local communities, charities, and the environment seriously, and to support this we already donate a fixed percentage of our profits to our Charitable Foundation annually.
But for a lot of our people, and for me personally, it is imperative that as a business we focus on doing everything we can to help support the long-term health of our environment. Becoming carbon neutral and signing up to the UN’s Climate Now initiative is a fantastic step forward for us, but it is just one of a number we will be taking in order to continue to reduce our environmental impact as much as possible. That said, being the UK’s first shoe retailer to be recognised through the Carbon Neutral International Standard makes this situation particularly special!
Whilst we remain hyper-aware of costs given the global pandemic has closed all 170 of our shops, we are fortunate that the Pavers Foundation will be funding our carbon offset requirements for the next few years, and alongside my colleagues in the Foundation I feel strongly this initiative is not only the right way to go for the environment, but also important because it is fulfilling what our colleagues and our communities want to see the business doing.” commented Jason Paver, Joint MD.
Working in partnership with One Carbon World, a global resource partner of the UN Climate Neutral Now Initiative, Pavers calculated and disclosed the businesses current carbon footprint and with the support of the Pavers Foundation, we have directly funded to offset (or balance) all emissions through certified carbon credits purchased with the support of One Carbon World.
One Carbon World only supports verified carbon offset projects that are both ecologically and socially effective and have clear sustainable development benefits. Working closely with One Carbon World to ensure the efficacy of their measurement and subsequent offsets, the granting of Carbon Neutral status is recognition of our commitment to measuring, reducing, and balancing our carbon footprint on an ongoing basis.
Pavers’ Carbon Credits are being used to support the Guanaré project located in Uruguay, consisting of a total of 21,298 hectares of land. The aim of this project is to convert degraded grassland with a long history of cattle grazing into beneficial forest plantations which will aid in restoring the land, by improving the soil quality through water retention and delivery of micronutrients to the soil, and by preventing soil erosion.
This project is committed to sustainable forest production and also to the highest operational and environmental corporate requirements in its commitment to preserve soil, water and air quality, as well as community well-being.
In this reforestation project the healthy and well-managed forests help the planet adapt to a changing climate by providing critical storm water management, ecosystem services, and wildlife habitat.
“We are thrilled to announce that Pavers has achieved the Carbon Neutral International Standard, which clearly shows how strongly they are committed to sustainability.
Every emission Pavers has offset directly supports the UN and verified voluntary reforestation projects around the world, which help to restore the natural biodiversity while also sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.” Andrew Bowen, CEO, One Carbon World
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