Oakland Care Receives Ground-Breaking ‘Carbon Neutral Award’
Oakland Care has been revealed as the first care home group in Britain to be certified as a carbon neutral business.
The luxury care home provider, who operate six care homes in the South of England, received the certificate by Carbon Neutral Britain, the UK’s leading carbon offsetting organisation.
Carbon neutrality refers to the achievement of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be done by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal or alternatively by eliminating surplus emissions.
To achieve the certification by Carbon Neutral Britain, Oakland Care were required to follow two core steps. First, to calculate their carbon emissions, then to take steps to offset their carbon footprint by backing projects which support carbon offsetting.
After calculating their carbon footprint, Oakland Care are now supporting various projects around the world to offset their carbon emissions. This includes funding wind, solar, hydro and cook stove initiatives, all with a strong focus on providing lasting social and economic benefits in developing countries around the world.
As a result of the high standards that govern the certification process, Oakland Care’s accreditation has been regulated by strict rules, using the international CER, VER and VCS Carbon Credit Standards.
Carbon Neutral status is also awarded annually, meaning that Oakland Care will continue to regularly assess and offset their emissions, as required, in the years to come.
Speaking of their Carbon Neutral status, Joanne Balmer, CEO of Oakland Care, said:
“The climate crisis is a pressing issue that every sector should be taking steps to address, including the care home sector. In the UK, businesses alone account for over 85% of the country’s total emissions, meaning that taking corporate action should be a key priority in our efforts to stop climate change.
“At Oakland Care, we take responsibility for ensuring that our care homes are supporting efforts to mitigate global warming and are delighted to be the first care home group to have received this certification. This certification builds upon our existing commitment to the environment which saw the group achieve Green Mark Level 1 status a few months ago. Protecting the environment is a key part of our mission to create exceptional care homes where our residents can live, love and be loved. We are now working towards Green Mark Level 2 accreditation and are looking forward to learning about how our support for brilliant carbon offsetting organisations around the world are playing a vital role in the global fight against climate change.”
