SBS consultancy project leads to sustainability commitment by SSEN Transmission
A sustainability strategy project led by Professor Iain Black, Professor of Practice at Strathclyde Business School, and involving Dr Jamie Speirs, Centre for Energy Policy, and SBS PhD researcher Hari Risal has resulted in SSEN Transmission committing to a world leading new approach to calculating their corporate environmental footprint.
This approach involves taking into consideration a fair share of Earth System Boundaries (ESBs) and requires an organisation to consider its impact on planetary and Earth system boundaries when measuring their organisational environmental footprint and the societal good they are creating.
Earth System Boundaries (ESBs) are essential for maintaining the planet's stability and human well-being and are the safe limits for human pressure on the nine critical processes which together maintain a stable and resilient Earth.
Professor Black said, "In a world where we often hear claims of things being ‘world leading’ and ‘transformational', the commitment of SSEN Transition to measure their environmental impact according to their fair share of earth systems boundaries stands out. We are rapidly approaching 2 degrees of warming, and we have moved beyond the safe operating space for humanity in five other Earth systems. Taking just one Earth system, the approach to footprinting essentially says that with so little global carbon budget left, countries, regions, cities, and organisations need to justify their emissions based on the good they are doing with them.
"For SSEN to take this approach is absolutely 'world leading' as it seeks to implement advice published by world leading climate scientists in 2024. It raises the bar significantly regarding footprint measurement for infrastructure and energy structure companies globally and is well beyond what is asked for in the Science Based Targets Initiative.
"This work will not be easy but it is definitely what the planet needs. I am very much looking forward to this ongoing project."
SSEN has now included this priority in its sustainability strategy: "World-leading sustainability Planetary boundaries are the processes vital to how Earth functions, and therefore vital to life on earth. They describe the limits of what the Earth can endure, including in relation to climate change, freshwater depletion, and impacts on biodiversity. First developed in 2009, the science behind the idea of planetary boundaries has developed significantly, with data showing what a 'planetary boundaries budget' could look like for different geographies, and for individual businesses. We will partner with experts to quantify a fair budget for SSEN Transmission, and to assess our performance against this budget, and ultimately our impacts on planetary boundaries."
SSEN's full strategy can be read on their website.
Published: 10 October 2024
