3DPRINTUK attains certified carbon neutral status.
Earlier this year, we announced our commitment to a sustainable approach to our additive manufacturing operations and outlined our “Road to Net Zero”. We are thrilled to announce that we have already taken a significant step towards this goal by attaining certified carbon neutral status.
Thanks to our partnership with Climate Partner, we’ve gained a better understanding of our carbon footprint and identified ways to reduce it. We’ve also been able to offset the emissions that we can’t eliminate through our current carbon reduction programme.
Through this collaboration we have been able to offset an impressive 448,000 kg CO2e, equally split between two supported projects: Improved cookstoves in Uganda and Wind energy in De Aar, South Africa. Both projects contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and have been verified by Carbon Check (India) Private and TUV SUD South Asia Private Limited, respectively.
Improved cookstoves, Nationwide, Uganda
This project aims to replace conventional and less efficient cookstoves in Uganda with improved cookstoves. Three objectives are being pursued: reducing fuel consumption, improving the health of the population in Uganda, and reducing deforestation.
More than 90 percent of households in Uganda use firewood or charcoal for cooking. Therefore, cooking with wood is one of the main reasons for deforestation in the country. The improved cookstoves distributed through this programme are significantly more efficient, resulting in a significant reduction in wood usage. This not only saves CO2 emissions but also improves people’s health by reducing indoor air pollution.
Wind energy, De Aar, South Africa
Close to the town of De Aar in South Africa, 96 wind turbines have been producing an average of 439,600 MWh of electricity per year since 2017, which is being fed into the South African grid.
Wind energy, De Aar, South Africa
The aim of the project is to harness the region’s wind energy potential to balance its energy needs in a sustainable way. The share of electricity now supplied by the wind farm would have otherwise been generated by fossil fuels. The wind power project avoids about 433,920 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. In addition to the environmental benefits, the project assists the local community by creating jobs and improving the access to healthcare.
Further details about the projects that 3DPRINTUK are involved in with ClimatePartner can be accessed via this QR code.
Commenting on this significant milestone, our CEO Nick Allen said:
“We were very serious when we made the announcement about our Road to Net Zero initiative. We set ourselves some important goals as a leading 3D printing service provider, with the full intent to meet them as soon as practicably possible. Offsetting our carbon footprint and achieving certified carbon neutrality is a really great start, and we are proud of this achievement, but it remains just the start. We push on.”
Nick Allen, CEO at 3DPRINTUK