A suite of CO2 KPIs has been developed in support of our corporate values, our objectives in the area of customer strategy, and our CR commitments. We will align Inchcape with best corporate practice from a broad range of companies, not restricted to motor retailers.
In 2008, the Group commenced collecting data on its CO2 footprint, measured against three core Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
Energy
This KPI measures our global electricity and gas usage.
Transport
This KPI measures the movement of cars and parts from the point of
ownership (which means legal or contractual ownership) to the point
we cease to have legal ownership. This includes test drives.
Flights
This KPI measures the impact of the movement of our people. We have
recorded the number of flights (each flight leg counts as one unit)
and calculated our flight CO2 emissions with a multiplier by flight
kilometre.
In January 2009, following an internal review of the data collected and the collection process, it was agreed that the processes should be refined.
Since that review, we have continued to collect data from our
markets against all three core KPIs. This data has begun to provide
us with insights into our CO2 footprint. However, we consider that
additional data collection is required in order to provide
meaningful guidance. Namely:
• additional CO2 data is required in order to understand if
seasonality has an impact on our data usage;
• while there are early indications of trend patterns in the data,
there is insufficient data to establish if these are actual or
perceived trends;
• verification of the robustness of our data. We are ensuring that
from the start of the process we are building in sufficient control
points so that our data is capable of independent verification as
part of our overall planning process for this element of our CR
programme.
Early conclusions
Analysing our CO2 footprint is providing us with data from which we can evaluate how we can manage emissions and reduce costs in the supply chain. For example, in some markets we rely on air freight to support our business, particularly around the import of critical supplies which can be dependent on aftersales requirements. We will use the data to analyse if changes are appropriate to support our business requirements, reduce our CO2 footprint and reduce costs, thereby benefitting our customers and our stakeholders alike.
Additionally, measuring our direct costs using a CO2 metric will present opportunities to work closely with our brand partners as we can support their CR values and vice versa, ensuring that there is a consistent approach throughout all elements of the supply chain.
We have reviewed our travel policy and have used alternative communications where practicable, such as conference calls, video conferencing and virtual offsites.
We have already introduced a number of measures to protect the office environment such as recycling bins, use of recycled paper and stationery and water purification systems.
Our goals for 2010
Having established solid foundations for our CR programme, in 2010 we will look to embed these practices within our global operations, particularly focusing on people and our CO2 footprint management.
For more information on our goals for 2010, please visit the 2009 Annual Report and download the corporate responsibility section.
