Oakland Care has claimed it has become the first care home group in Britain to be certified as a carbon neutral business.
The care provider, which operates six care homes in the southern England, received the certificate by Carbon Neutral Britain, a carbon offsetting organisation.
Carbon neutrality refers to the achievement of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. That 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 is now supporting various projects around the world to offset their carbon emissions, including funding wind, solar, hydro and cook stove initiatives.
Oakland Care’s carbon neutral status is accredited using the international CER, VER and VCS Carbon Credit Standards.
The status is awarded annually, meaning that Oakland Care will continue to regularly assess and offset their emissions as required in the years to come.
“This certification builds upon our existing commitment to the environment which saw the group achieve Green Mark Level 1 status a few months ago,” said chief executive Joanne Balmer.
“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,” she added.
