EPRC recently made a payment to the Glasgow-based firm, Carbon Passport, in order to offset the carbon emissions associated with the air travel undertaken by staff in 2008.
EPRC's research activities are undertaken throughout Europe and so involve a significant number of staff flights each year, even though efforts are made to use rail travel or video-conferencing where this is feasible. Carbon Passport's offsets have been approved under the government's Quality Assurance Scheme for Carbon Offsetting, and use only Certified Emission Reductions approved by the United Nations and shown to achieve verifiable emission reductions.
This initiative is part of EPRC's broader commitment to a sustainable approach to research, which also includes efforts to maximise energy efficiency in the purchasing of goods and services and by reducing electricity consumption, as well as to maximise opportunities for waste management and recycling.