As the world becomes increasingly aware of the impact of climate change, many companies are striving to become more sustainable. CMC Marquees lives and breathes conscious practices in all areas and is committed to reducing its carbon footprint in line with the guidance from the Science Based Targets Initiative

We understand the importance of sustainability and are committed to reducing our environmental impact. We believe that every business has a responsibility to protect the environment and promote sustainability, and we want to share some of the steps we are taking to improve sustainability and reduce our carbon footprint.

What we’ve done so far

We have put years into our efforts to become a sustainable and low impact business. The rental nature of our product means reuse is ingrained into our practices. We have in-house management of all equipment to maintain our premium standards and ensure maintenance for maximum reuse.

From our beautiful base in the heart of North Somerset we supply 100% of our own electricity and heat, and most of our own water too. Our office and warehouse run entirely on solar power, generated by our solar panel system on our warehouse roof. Our biomass boiler provides us with heat and hot water when we need it. We have a responsibly managed fleet of Euro 6 / Ad Blue Trucks and Electric Cars. We have onsite recycling, composting and responsible disposal facilities as well as PVC washing machine to increase product lifespan.

Our review of 2022

We have recently undertaken a carbon footprint assessment for scope 1 and 2 emissions. Scope 1 emissions encompass emissions that a company makes directly, for CMC this only includes our vehicle fleet due to the manual nature of our work. Other scope 1 emissions were deemed negligible. Scope 2 emissions include all indirect emissions, specifically energy use, which due to our solar panels, is 0tCo2e. After calculations using the most recent emission factors, we were found to produce only 0.2 tonnes of C02e in 2022, meaning we are well on the way to being a carbon neutral business.

Our total CO2e produced was 3.7 tonnes due to our vehicle usage. However, our solar panel system generated 4887KWh of energy resulting in 3.5 tCO2e being offset and avoided. This form of carbon offsetting is known as ‘Mitigation Measures’ whereby it reduces future emissions being created.

Future Plans in 2023

As part of the Bristol One City Plan, we have pledged our ambition to become Net Zero by 2030. We are well on our way to this promise. There’s always ways to improve and we continually review our practices to ensure we’re doing all we possibly can and make steps to improve. We have since increased our solar panel capacity by 25% and expect our 2023 carbon footprint to be carbon neutral. We have also modernised our lighting throughout our premises, we have installed new LED lighting into our warehouses and offices to further minimise unnecessary energy consumption. We’ve just been recognised as an Albert Sustainable Supplier, the second marquee business to be given this title, acknowledging our work within the Television and Film industry.

Carpets have previously been an area of waste in our business but this year we’ve partnered with a supplier to recycle these carpets into plastic pellets for use in the construction industry. Better still, one tree will be planted for each roll we use in order to offset the carbon.

We are lucky enough to be situated in the beautiful North Somerset countryside where we are surrounded by fields and forests. We’re no stranger to a deer at our lake, squirrels scurrying past and horses passing by our front gates. Nature is important to us and Biodiversity is in as much a crisis as energy consumption. We’re taking steps to protect and encourage our local ecosystems to thrive. We are rewilding part of the property and sowing native wildflowers to encourage more bees, butterflies, birds and small creatures to flourish.

We are also looking into exciting initiatives that will allow us to pass on carbon savings and offsetting to our clients, while continuing to review and improve in all areas. We look forward to having you on this journey with us.

Read more about our green credentials here