Tag Archives: Carbon Reduction

Sustainable and A-fjord-able Power

The North Sea Link is an interconnector between northeast England and Norway which will use the world’s longest subsea electricity cable.  Testing is beginning now and it should be in operation during autumn 2021.

Interconnectors allow exchanges of energy and are very important for ensuring renewable energy is efficient, cost-effective and maximises its contribution to sustainability.  The North Sea Link will allow power transfers so that, for example, hydro-generated electricity from Norway can be imported to the UK when there is a surplus, bringing clean, green power into our systems.  The link can export surplus wind energy from the UK to Norway that can be used to pump water back up in the systems, ready for release when required.

Laying the cable in the North Sea has been a huge challenge, particularly on the approach to Norway and through its fjords.  It is great to see this project coming to fruition and TEP was very pleased to support The North Sea Link in its site selection and securing its UK onshore consents.  We had secured a permission over 18 years ago for an earlier proposal! 

Increasing reliance on renewables is a very contemporary topic although TEP’s history with interconnectors goes back decades.  We cut our teeth on consents for the Isle of Man Interconnector back in the 1990s and since then have supported permissions for UK works for connections to Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Denmark. 

A strong part of the planning case for developments has been their contributions to diverse and sustainable energy.  It is excellent to see that these projects are delivering on those promises and helping to move the UK towards achieving its carbon reduction targets.

If you would like to know more about TEP’s work on interconnectors and other infrastructure projects, please contact joanneboothroyd@tep.uk.com or iangrimshaw@tep.uk.com

TEP’s Neutral Footprints

This year, TEP’s staff have chosen to offset their carbon footprint by supporting a project that safeguards endangered species such as the Capuchin Monkey, Black Bearded Saki, The Little Spotted Cat and Giant Otter.

Since its foundation, TEP has always been mindful of its responsibility to manage the company’s impact on the environment. As a result, in 2010 TEP became the only environmental consultancy to offer full scope carbon neutrality under British Standard PAS 2060.

Every year since, TEP’s Green Team reviews our carbon footprint to monitor and help get us closer to carbon net zero. This year’s report has documented an 18% increase in TEP’s carbon emissions. This can be largely attributed to the growth in our employee numbers, resulting in a 26% increase in business travel and 28% increase in commuting mileage. These two categories alone make up the majority of TEP’s CO2 emissions, with 229 tCO2e out of our 374 ton total in 2017/18.

To combat this, our Green team does a fantastic job implementing changes to help reduce our footprint. Changes such as: purchasing carbon neutral stationary, switching to LED lighting units, introducing hybrid powered pool cars and offering low carbon loans to our staff. However, to honour our pledge to carbon neutrality, every year TEP’s emissions need to be offset through Carbon Credit schemes from organisations such as EcoAct; who help companies deliver sustainable solutions.

This year our staff have chosen to support the Floresta de Portel project in Brazil. The project aims to protect and preserve the Amazonian ecosystems through the education and establishment of sustainable business practices for local inhabitants.

The project places a strong emphasis on working with the local communities to create prosperous and sustainable livelihoods, by safeguarding existing endangered species such as the Capuchin Monkey and allowing natural environmental recovery. The project also provides land tenure, allowing locals to claim rights to the land and prevent logging and large scale farming. It creates jobs to manage and monitor the health of the surrounding forest, as well as energy-efficient cook stoves to reduce reliance on felling trees. This is a fantastic project that we are proud to be supporting, it also fulfils three of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals:

08 – Decent Work and Economic Growth

13 – Climate Action and

15 – Life on Land

Very few significant journeys are ever short or direct but TEP is committed to becoming carbon net zero and helping other companies to do so along the way.

Ecology Ensures Natural Sustainability

Ecology surveys are hugely important to understanding the unique ecosystems that are woven throughout our natural and built environments, whether for roosting bats, migratory birds or great crested newts. Surveys allow our ecologists to identify and monitor potential ecological constraints within a development and offer effective solutions to mitigate the impacts on a sites biodiversity. Biodiversity being vital because, it boosts ecosystem productivity, ensures natural sustainability and offers a greater resilience to the effects of climate change.

This is why TEP’s ecologists are leading the way with regard to local and national efforts in delivering biodiversity net gain. Our ecologists are closely involved in the consultation process with Natural England to develop the Defra 2.0 metric.  We have successfully helped our clients to deliver biodiversity net gain on a range of projects. TEP also contributes to BREEAM assessments, to help clients meet sustainability targets under the BREEAM 2018 criteria. This may include the production of a long term management plan for a site, to ensure that the recommendations for biodiversity enhancement are carried out.

All of TEP’s ecology team are committed to delivering their service in a sustainable manner, complying with environmental legislation and the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management’s (CIEEM’s) code of good practice. We recognise that reducing the use of non-renewable resources, the waste arising from our operations, and the impact of travel through the delivery of our service is essential. This is why during survey design and planning, our ecologists seek to minimise the number of site visits, by utilising suitably experienced ecologists and completing multiple surveys simultaneously. This is regularly achieved, for example, by completing a Phase 1 habitat survey with a preliminary bat roost assessment and badger survey during the same visit. Survey materials are also considered, such as creating traps for great crested newt surveys from recycled single use plastic drinks bottles, reusing them where possible and recycling them when no longer usable. We purchase equipment such as eDNA kits in bulk where feasible, to reduce courier mileage.

All these small gains go a long way to addressing TEP’s own sustainability targets. Importantly, our ecologists aid our clients in meeting their own carbon reduction commitments. TEP’s Ecology team is engaged in a range of projects that help our clients address climate change. This includes our Northern Roots project, which will be the UK’s largest urban farm and eco-park. TEP’s ecologists are advising which habitat creation measures will optimise the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered in vegetation, wetlands and soil, with the ambition that Northern Roots will be carbon-negative and contribute towards Oldham Council’s climate emergency actions.  

To discover how our other teams are contributing to climate action follow the links the below:
Environmental Planning
GIS
Arboriculture
Landscape Design
Landscape Management

or to get in touch about your ecological enquiries, please email ecology@tep.uk.com

WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on this website.

Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress.