The company had been working to be carbon neutral by 2025, but managed to reach their goal five years ahead of schedule. The company’s values ensure there is a focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, all while being conscious about the planet’s natural resources and depleting air quality.
Alexander May partnered with a local environmental consultancy, Greener Energy Futures, who analysed the agency’s carbon footprint. In addition, they hosted a workshop to pick out practical methods the company could implement to offset their carbon footprint. To achieve this, Alexander May placed strict measures, allowing the company to identify energy efficiencies and create less of a negative impact across its other branches (in Clifton, Long Ashton, and Southville) as the entirety of the chain adopted the same strategy.
Robert Mamuda, founder and director of Alexander May, explained: ‘I am extremely proud that Alexander May has become a carbon neutral business. It is an important first step that is part of a long-term investment in what we seek to achieve in the coming years. But it nearly didn’t happen. Like many observers, last year’s COP26 was a real game-changer for me and the business itself for two key reasons. First, I will freely admit that until this point my understanding and awareness of what climate change means was limited. The science that emanated during those two weeks in Glasgow last November had a profound impact on me personally. It served as a wake-up call of the need to act, and to do so fast.’
He went on to add ‘it became clear that the scale and pace of change required to protect future generations from the worst effects of climate change cannot be the sole responsibility of governments and large-scale enterprises. They cannot do it alone. We can all bring about positive change no matter the size of business we are. So, we resolved to be part of the change needed. Inaction, we realised, has a cost.'
Mamuda highlighted an important point by saying ‘we also have an internal climate committee in place to help steer staff in the right direction and to develop new ideas on what else can be done to drive down their energy consumption and that of the business itself. Likewise, our customers can do so on the assessed carbon footprint associated with the sale or let of their property through simple means such as undertaking virtual rather than physical viewings.’
In partnership with Temwa Carbon Balance, a Malawi-based NGO that creates greener businesses through the restoration of carbon-rich forests, Alexander May hopes to ignite a domino effect throughout the whole of Bristol’s business community.
Alexander May offers training and consulting to other Bristol based businesses seeking to gain carbon neutrality, in hopes that more businesses will jump on the bandwagon and care for our land.