Carousel Calendars has successfully engaged its first suppliers in China to commit to Science Based Targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the publishers’ boldest move yet to address its own Scope 3 emissions.
Its Hong Kong-based partner, Anpak Printing Ltd first started measuring its scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions in 2021 and managed to drive down its total emissions by “a very impressive” 10% within its first year.
It follows a swathe of successes the brand has had in engaging its main European supply base with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the results of which will be published by the SBTi soon.
In alignment with Carousel Calendar’s own commitment to the SBTi, Anpak has committed to a near-term target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% by 2030.
“By Anpak, and other suppliers committing to Science Based Targets, we reduce our Scope 3 emissions,” said Steve Plackett, MD of Carousel Calendars.
Carousel Calendars has been cutting its carbon emissions and plastic for over five years and in 2022 signed up with the SBTi. It has since set the formally approved target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions 46% by 2030.
“The tougher goal for us, as a publisher, is to reduce our Scope 3 which makes up 90% of our greenhouse gas emissions,” said Steve. “So, the biggest impact we can have is in convincing our manufacturers to sign up to the Science Based Targets initiative, too.”
Other recent successes at Carousel Calendars includes the removal of shrinkwrap across 75% of the business’ entire calendar range, saving over 3 million bits of plastic shrinkwrap in the last year alone.
Steve and the team has been open to sharing its efforts with publishers and retailers across the world, encouraging a significant number of UK and US publishers to follow suit. This, Steve believes, has led to the removal of “tens of millions of bits of plastic shrinkwrap across the global industry.”
Steve added: “Our three companies: Calendar Club, Otter House, and Carousel are all committed to continuing to reduce plastic and carbon emissions. It may seem a drop in the ocean for a company our size, but if every business measured its footprint and set a credible net zero target, the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions would be significant. We all have to try to do out bit.”
