Banking on sustainability
Barclays Energy Efficiency And Carbon Management Award
ccording to a release outlining Barclays’ commitment to sustainability, the bank believes that financial institutions have an integral role to play in the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy, as there are significant indirect environmental impacts through lending and investment activities, as well as through general procurement practices.
“As a diverse global business, we recognise the complex challenges of achieving sustainable development in the regions where we operate,” says the Barclays environmental sustainability policy document released in January 2015. “The social and economic consequences of a changing climate will increasingly have an impact on our customers and clients.”
As part of the bank’s commitment to the future, they decided to implement its Climate Action Programme in Barclays’ African footprint by changing 10 inefficient buildings to four efficient buildings. This resulted is an overall portfolio space reduction of 60 000m2
The remaining buildings were further streamlined, with the workstation footprint dropping from 21m2 to 9m2. This resulted in a 62.5% reduction in energy consumption per person.
“This consolidation strategy has enabled agile workspaces that promote a more shared and dynamic environment,” says Aveshen Moodley, vice-president Africa Corporate Real Estate Solutions. “As a result building areas are optimised, colleague engagement has improved, plus there is a reduction in utility costs and carbon emissions.”
At the back office operation known as Pretoria Campus, lighting technology, hot water systems and air-conditioning have been upgraded, resulting in baseline energy consumption reductions of 55%, 69% and 24% respectively. A 1000 kilowatt peak solar photovoltaic system was set up on the rooftop that offsets 1 900 000 kilowatt hours of grid electricity. Pretoria Campus is now regarded as the most advanced back office facility in Barclays, globally.
“Reducing carbon emissions from our own operations by investing in energy efficient buildings and technology, is complimentary to improving our energy management, managing our business travel and influencing colleagues’ behaviour.”
“Climate change and resource scarcity are amongst society’s greatest challenges. As a global organisation we are fully committed to minimising our operational impact on the environment when and wherever possible. This is core to ensuring we do business in the right way,” the policy affirms.”