Zenith has achieved carbon-neutral status, as accredited by international environmental consultancy Carbon Footprint. 

Alan Bastey, customer relationship director and electric vehicle (EV) specialist at Zenith

The business first calculated its carbon footprint in December 2020 and then offset its carbon emissions for FY21 using globally recognised and verified carbon credits.

Alan Bastey, customer relationship director and electric vehicle (EV) specialist at Zenith, said: “The successful companies of tomorrow are the ones that take decisive action to tackle climate change today. Everyone at Zenith has played a part in hitting this milestone.”

The business has already gone beyond the initial requirements by including carbon emissions from homeworkers within the offsetting calculations.

And Bastey added: “This is just the start of our journey, and we plan to be an industry leader in this field, as we now engage across our business and supply chain to reduce emissions.”

Zenith’s carbon offset strategy included a comprehensive examination of its company car use, the energy that the company’s buildings consumed, home vehicle charging and a wide range of factors in its supply chain.  The strategy will also see more than 800 trees planted in Yorkshire schools, investment in biomass projects in Malawi, reducing deforestation in the Amazon and solar power schemes in Vietnam.

The move follows the company’s commitment to the global EV100 initiative, which is focused on accelerating the transition to EVs and making electric transport the new normal by 2030. T

Zenith is switching its own company car fleet to 100% EV by 2025 – five years ahead of the target date required by EV100.

Zenith is also working towards joining forces with the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), an independent voluntary organisation that shows companies how much and how quickly they need to reduce their GHG emissions to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

Alan Bastey concluded: “Zenith is taking the lead on this issue and aims to set a best practice example for the fleet industry over the coming months. It’s vital that a rigorous approach to carbon reduction is adopted across our sector.”