Members of the Devon Climate Emergency Response Group (DCERG) have welcomed the first business to endorse the Devon Climate Declaration.
Griffiths, a civil engineering contractor that works on projects across Devon, has become the first to support the declaration, which aims to engage residents, businesses and visitors to develop and implement a plan to reduce Devon’s carbon emissions.
The company has pledged to provide carbon footprint data for their projects as well as agreeing reduction targets and supporting sector- specific working groups.
In 2019, the company successfully achieved their target of reducing organisational carbon emission intensity by 20% by 2020. Following this, they have introduced new targets which aim to achieve an 80% reduction by 2050 and the elimination of all avoidable waste by 2030. They will also continue to work to minimise project impacts on the natural environment and enhance ecological resilience and biodiversity around project sites.
Dr Simon Dunn, Griffiths’ Operations Director for the South West, said: “Griffiths are delighted to become the first business to endorse the Devon Climate Declaration. This demonstrates our commitment to identifying and implementing innovative solutions that will help us on journey towards net zero carbon emissions. For example, we are currently trialling solar power generators which claim to reduce diesel consumption by up to 80% each day. If successful, this plant will be used on our ongoing and future projects in Devon. In the same way we exceeded our 20% emissions reduction by 2020, I believe we will arrive at our 80% reduction target well ahead of our deadline 2050.”
