Chris Jones on Edwards’ initiatives for science-based targets

Edwards is a market leader in the industry and our products have an impact on our customer’s environmental footprint, and therefore indirectly also on global warming.

The world has agreed that we want to keep global warming to less than 2 degrees C, preferably less than 1.5 degrees C, to help to mitigate against the worst aspects of climate change. But what do we need to do specifically to reverse climate change?

Chris Jones, Edwards’ Environmental Solutions Business Development Manager, talks about science-based targets. He explains how these targets reflect in climate change, how we measure success towards these targets, and the commitment that Edwards is making.

VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT

How Edwards helps the fight against global warming by committing to science-based targets.

What does it mean to be science-based?

Our approach to climate change is “science-based”, but what does that mean? This means decisions are made either based on the scientific method, or by using the results from scientific experiments.

Scientists have been studying the impact of atmospheric science on climate change for over 200 years. There's now a consensus among scientists that man-made emissions of greenhouse gases are causing global warming and climate change.

Scientists also calculated the effects global warming would have and agreed that the world needs to keep the temperature change to less than 2 degrees, preferably to no more than 1.5 degrees C.

Scientists such as Joseph Fourier, Eunice Newton Foote and Cevante Arenas were able to identify that the atmosphere plays a significant role in maintaining the earth's temperature. They reflected that carbon dioxide and water were significant contributors to the blanket effect and that, should the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere double, then the earth would warm by 4 degrees C. And that would have a significant impact on the way that we live. The conclusion: if companies and countries lower their greenhouse gas emissions, the effects of global warming can be mitigated or even reversed.

These science-based targets provide a clear goal for companies, which can work to meet those temperature goals by optimizing their processes and products. We now have global systems for measuring greenhouse gases and the average temperature of the surface of the earth.

How can companies commit to combating climate change?

All the plans that companies create have to be independently validated, publicised and reviewed. As a first step, companies submit a letter of intent to organizations such as “The Science-based Targets Initiative”.

As the next step, companies use the accountancy principles enshrined in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, to estimate their own global warming gas emissions. This needs to cover all greenhouse gas emissions, not only from their own factories, but also from their suppliers’ factories, and the use of their products in their customers’ factories. For near-term targets they need to identify at least 95% of the emissions from their own operations and more than two-thirds of the emissions from their suppliers and also from the use of their products in their customers’ factories.

Which science-based targets does Edwards commit to?

We have identified which efforts are required to remain consistent with a 1.5 degrees C pathway, as described by the Science-based Targets Initiatives.

Edwards Vacuum, as part of Atlas Copco, has committed to:

reduce its own emissions by 46%
reduce the emissions of its suppliers and the use of its products by 28%.

All these goals are to be achieved by 2030, versus a 2019 baseline.

It has taken over 200 years to demonstrate that man-made releases of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, have caused significant global warming. If we want to turn the tide, we have to reduce these emissions, and Edwards takes its role as a market leader very seriously. By committing to reduction targets across our value chain, we remain consistent with the 1.5 degrees pathway. Edwards’ plans are already in motion and our progress is being independently verified and reviewed.