Page 15 - Food&Drink Business magazine September 2022

partner in Northern Uganda that drills wells for drinking water as part of a program called Cents for Seeds. It is a microfinancing campaign to support women in the community to turn their work into an enterprise for a more secure income.
“What they discovered was a lack of potable water, which was inhibiting further success. So Hydroflux now funds the construction of 12 drinking water wells a year,” Seddon says.
The company, keen to find carbon credits that related and expanded on that project, found an opportunity to buy carbon offsets in the community by providing fuel efficient cook stoves.
“The credits are generated by switching out the fuel being used, reducing the number of trees being cut down and the amount of fuel needed. Hydroflux then claims the difference in carbon emissions to offset its own,” she explains.
SOCIAL LICENCE, BUSINESS BENEFITS There is another aspect to shifting to carbon neutral practices which is to set the tone for a company’s culture and, more broadly, normalise decarbonising behaviour.
“It can help empower the decisions of others and has a trickle-down effect on employees, suppliers, and customers, giving them a gentle nudge in the right direction,” Seddon says.
Koumoukelis adds, “Some of our suppliers have asked for assistance and guidance on what they should do and while they may not go out and gain their own certification, they certainly have engaged with this in terms of what it is that we have done that they can apply to their business. It's a chain reaction.”
It can also be a strategic business benefit along with the intangible benefit of social licence. For example, businesses with net zero targets are more likely to purchase equipment, systems or services from a carbon neutral company because it is a zero gain against their inventory score.
This is where the strategic business benefits can truly come into play. One of the easiest ways to try to wrangle Stage 3 emissions down is to look for suppliers on the same pathway.
Seddon says Cress is seeing the flow-on effect of other companies, like those in the construction and infrastructure industries, setting more ambitious targets to reduce emissions not just offset them.
“We are working with suppliers to those industries to help them achieve their own carbon neutral certification, so they are a more
attractive option than their competitors when it comes to winning contracts.
“We have worked with clients this year that have told us they didn’t win a tender even though they were cost competitive because
they didn’t have anything on climate or carbon. It can make a big difference to contractors winning jobs,” she says.
CEO Adrian Minshull adds, “There is more we can and will do as part of our commitment to reduce emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate
change. The solutions we design, the plants we install, and the equipment we provide are built to last. We have been looking at how to make these long lasting assets as efficient and effective as possible, and ultimately carbon neutral, to assist our clients achieve their zero carbon goals.”
Seddon points out that ultimately, carbon neutral certification is a business decision with a rapidly growing imperative for everyone to commit to doing their bit to decarbonise, with or without offsets. ✷
“ We have worked with clients this year that have told us they didn’t win a tender even though they were cost competitive because they didn’t have anything on climate or carbon. It can make a big difference to contractors winning jobs.”
LEFT: Hydroflux works with companies around the world on waste water management and sustainability programs. FAR LEFT: Hydroflux funds the construction of 12 drinking water wells in Northern Uganda every year.
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