We know that reducing carbon emissions is critical in the effort to combat climate change, and we are setting ambitious targets for ourselves in this area. We have already made good progress, reducing our carbon emissions by 20% since 2010, but we now want to go even further.
Our target is to reduce our carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 from a baseline year of 2020.
Where we are
- We have switched our grid electricity to 100% renewable energy, reducing carbon by 21% and saving more than 13,000 tonnes of carbon each year
- We use solar power to generate renewable energy at four of our villages and our Head Office building
- We use ground source heat pumps and air source heat pumps to heat and provide hot water for a number of lodges at Sherwood Forest and Longleat Forest
- We use combined heat and power systems (CHPs) to provide hot water for our central buildings (at Elveden Forest, Longleat Forest, Whinfell Forest, Longford Forest and Sherwood Forest) and Aqua Sana Spas (at Elveden Forest, Longford Forest and Longleat Forest)
- We use an anaerobic digestion plant to provide electricity and heat to Sherwood Forest
- We installed biomass boilers into the district heating system at Woburn Forest, generating renewable energy and removing the need for boilers in all lodges
- We have switched to low energy lighting in all of our central buildings and more than 4,000 lodges
- We have replaced the grilling equipment in our restaurant kitchens and refrigeration equipment in our ParcMarkets with energy efficient alternatives
- We have upgraded the kitchen appliances to efficient alternatives wherever possible and added thermostat controls to the boilers in our lodges
- We use a number of electric vehicles in our fleet and offer electric vehicle charging points for guests
Where we're going
- We are planning to install more air source heat pumps at our villages
- We will continue reminding our guests and colleagues of the importance of switching appliances off when not in use, aiming to effect long-term behavioural changes
- We are planning to transition our fleet to 100% electric or hybrid vehicles over the next 10 years, eliminating 3% of carbon emissions completely
- We are planning to increase the number of electric vehicle charging points for guest use on our villages in line with the UK Government strategy
How we're doing
We are aiming to reduce our carbon emissions by 30% by 2030.
Figure 1 shows the total reported scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions (emissions associated with energy consumption and fuels used on site and for business travel) for our UK and Ireland operations.
Figure 1: Stacked bar chart showing reported market-based scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions in tonnes CO2e for our UK and Ireland operations
Figure 2 shows the total reported scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions for our UK operations and monitors progress against our 2030 target.
Figure 2: Bar chart showing reported market-based scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions in tonnes CO2e for our UK operations
Both charts depict our market-based emissions. The below figures show our full year emissions in tonnes CO2e based on a location-based factor (the UK National Grid average carbon intensity) rather than a market-based factor (the carbon intensity for the certified zero-carbon renewable power that we use):
UK operations (location-based)
- FY20: 55,080 tonnes CO2e
- FY21: 42,754 tonnes CO2e
- FY22: 51,259 tonnes CO2e
- FY23: 51,533 tonnes CO2e
Ireland operation (location-based)
- FY20: 6,478 tonnes CO2e
- FY21: 7,268 tonnes CO2e
- FY22: 8,878 tonnes CO2e
- FY23: 9,488 tonnes CO2e
- Figures for FY20, FY21 and FY22 were affected by closures of the villages and operational restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore do not reflect a typical year of operations.
- Figures for FY20 have been adjusted to account for 35 days of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic – this adjustment allows us to reasonably set FY20 as a baseline year for our targets, ensuring we reflect a typical operating year.
- Due to the timing of when Center Parcs Longford Forest (in Ireland) opened, and the closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we do not yet have a full year of figures for our Ireland operation. With this in mind, we cannot currently set meaningful targets for our Ireland operation and so our carbon emissions target solely applies to our UK operations at this time. We are committed to making real reductions to our carbon emissions and we hope to be able to set targets for our Ireland operation once we have a full year of data available to us.
- FY20: 55,080 tonnes CO2e
- FY21: 37,359 tonnes CO2e
- FY22: 42,032 tonnes CO2e
- FY23: 42,142 tonnes CO2e;
Ireland
- FY20: 6,478 tonnes CO2e
- FY21: 5,895 tonnes CO2e
- FY22: 6,627 tonnes CO2e
- FY23: 6,806 tonnes CO2e
The chart shows the total reported scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions for our UK and Ireland operations in tonnes CO2e. The chart shows that total emissions for FY21, FY22 and FY23 were below emissions for FY20.
- FY20: 55,080 tonnes CO2e
- FY21: 37,359 tonnes CO2e
- FY22: 42,032 tonnes CO2e
- FY23: 42,142 tonnes CO2e;
- FY30 target: 38,556 tonnes CO2e
The chart shows the total reported scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions for our UK operations in tonnes CO2e. There is a trendline from FY20 to FY30, showing that a reduction of 16,524 tonnes CO2e is required to reach our FY30 target. The chart shows that total emissions for FY21 and FY22 exceeded the average reduction required per year.
Carbon emissions by source
We believe it is important to review the bigger picture in terms of carbon emissions, so that we can understand where to target our efforts to make the greatest impact.
Figure 3 shows the total reported scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions for our UK and Ireland operations in FY23.
Figure 3: Pie chart showing market-based reported scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions by source for our UK and Ireland operations
- In 2020 we switched to purchasing 100% renewable grid electricity – this electricity is from wind power and is backed by the Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) scheme. The scheme is administered in the UK and Northern Ireland by the energy regulator OFGEM. We also produce our own renewable energy using a biogas-powered combined heat and power unit at Sherwood Forest, a wood-fuelled district heating network at Woburn Forest, and a 100KWp solar array on our Head Office building. Combined, these initiatives have reduced our carbon emissions by around 13,000 tonnes.
- Figures for FY22 were slightly affected by closures of the villages and operational restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore do not reflect a typical year of operations.
- Natural gas: 94.4%
- Anaerobic digestion (AD) combined heat and power (CHP) electricity: 2.8%
- Petrol and diesel: 1.8%
- Refrigerant gases: 0.8%
- Biomass and biogas heat: 0.1%
The chart shows the scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by source for our UK and Ireland operations. It shows that the largest source of carbon emissions is natural gas. A smaller amount comes from electricity generated by a combined heat and power (CHP) unit powered by biogas produced through anaerobic digestion – REGO certificates have not been claimed for this in FY20, FY21, FY22, or FY23. Smaller amounts come from our use of petrol and diesel, refrigerant gases and biomass and biogas heat.
Carbon emissions relative to number of guests
It is important that we consider our carbon emissions in the context of our business to understand the impact our operational activity levels have. To do this, we measure carbon emissions per sleeper night (the number of guests visiting our villages each year).
Figure 4 shows reported scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions per sleeper night for our UK and Ireland operations.
Figure 4: Line chart showing reported scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions per sleeper night for our UK and Ireland operations
- Figures for FY20, FY21 and FY22 were affected by closures of the villages and operational restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic – although we had no guests (or were operating at a reduced occupancy) during these periods, we still needed to consume a certain amount of energy to ensure the safety and integrity of the buildings and wider sites.
- Figures for FY20 have been adjusted to account for 35 days of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic – this adjustment allows us to reasonably set FY20 as a baseline year for our targets, ensuring we reflect a typical operating year.
- FY11: 10.71kg CO2e
- FY12: 9.91kg CO2e
- FY13: 10.24kg CO2e
- FY14: 9.49kg CO2e
- FY15: 9.56kg CO2e
- FY16: 8.83kg CO2e
- FY17: 7.84kg CO2e
- FY18: 7.29kg CO2e
- FY19: 7.06kg CO2e
- FY20: 7.55kg CO2e
- FY21: 25.09kg CO2e
- FY22: 7.06kg CO2e
- FY23: 5.89 kg CO2e
The chart shows carbon emissions by sleeper night in kilograms of CO2e for our UK and Ireland operations. It shows a steady and sustained decrease from FY11 to FY19. In FY20, there is a small increase (due to the impact of the pandemic). In FY21 it sharply increases to almost three times the total for FY20 (attributed to reduced occupancy during the pandemic), before dropping back down to the same level as FY19 in FY22. FY23 shows a further drop to 5.89 kg CO2e per sleeper night.
