Pioneering carbon neutrality in Asia

By offsetting its carbon footprint for 2011, leading regional industrial enterprise, Jebsen & Jessen Group of Companies South East Asia (JJSEA), has become one of the first Asian industrial companies to become carbon neutral.

Carbon neutrality - where the net carbon emissions for an individual or entity are zero - is an important aspect of sustainability. By offsetting the carbon created through its activities, JJSEA contributes to the global response to climate change. Partnering with carbon management company Climate Friendly, this historic milestone in the Group's sustainability journey was achieved through a three-step approach which saw JJSEA measure, reduce and offset its carbon footprint.

"Climate change is a serious issue for business and we are very pleased to make this significant step on our journey towards sustainability," said Mr Heinrich Jessen, Chairman of JJSEA. "Carbon neutrality is something we have been working toward since 2007. Through the process we created a system for measuring our footprint; explored and instigated carbon reduction initiatives and both researched and contracted with the right carbon credit partner.”

JJSEA developed 'gTool', an app that extracts data from SAP, to measure the aggregate carbon emissions of the entire Group's activities. Information collected includes emissions from purchased fuels, electricity and travel related activities, all of which were converted into carbon equivalents according to the United Nations Greenhouse Protocol. Having quantified the Group's net carbon emissions a combination of carbon reduction initiatives and offsetting were implemented to bring this figure down to zero.

In 2011, major offices across the region were fitted with energy-saving LED lighting, while in 2012, JJSEA successfully undertook a $400,000 project to install solar panels on its MHE-Demag facility in Tuas. The solar panels supply 20 per cent of the facility's energy needs.

As a final step, JJSEA signed a three year contract with Climate Friendly in July, purchasing 47,000 tonnes of carbon offset that would be invested in two projects; The Siam Cement Biomass Project in Thailand and the Chongli Qingsanying Wind Project in China. Both projects modify or install infrastructure that runs on renewable energy instead of fossil fuels.

Mr Jessen said, "We are proud to celebrate this milestone, whilst understanding that in the face of the global climate change issue our actions are a drop in the ocean. We hope that we’re part of a trend, involving companies, governments and individuals working together to reduce the world’s net carbon emissions”.

Visit: www.jjsea.com/