Corporate report

Environment Agency: reaching net zero update (January 2024)

Published 31 January 2024

Applies to England

Since 2019, we have had an organisational commitment to stop contributing to climate change through our own operational emissions.

In Autumn 2019 we stated our ambition to become a net zero organisation by 2030. To do this, we said we would:

• reduce our carbon emissions by 45% by 2030
• offset the remaining 55%

Our ambition and pathway at that time, was in line with the robust and widely recognised external standard - The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

1. Our journey so far

When we set our sights on reaching organisational net zero, it was clear that there would be challenges and shared learning. Since 2019, we have engaged in cross-sector collaboration to reduce carbon in our infrastructure, and we have made significant progress. For example, we have made low carbon concrete a minimum requirement, where it meets our specification. Business cases for any new flood schemes need to contain a carbon assessment.

We are working on new innovations such as:

• low carbon steel reinforcement bar alternatives
• using modelling to minimise the embedded carbon of our infrastructure schemes by design

We have reduced our direct operational emissions by more than a third since 2019 by:

• switching a significant portion of our fleet to electric
• reducing the amount we travel
• investing in more efficient infrastructure

We have become the first government body to receive a gold-level accreditation from the Carbon Literacy Trust. Over 7,000 of our staff having completed our carbon literacy training.

Over the last 4 years, the science around net zero has continued to evolve. This includes the revised SBTi net zero definition. It specifies that reliance on offsets should be minimised in favour of emissions reductions. The SBTi standard now requires a 90% reduction in emissions with no more than 10% offset by 2050.

We strive to be a science led organisation. As of January 2024, we have decided to increase our emissions reduction target to 90% between 2045 and 2050. We will now rely less than originally planned on offsetting, and we will use only UK nature-based offsets. Meeting net zero via 55% offsets by 2030 is unachievable due to a combination of: 

• a tougher SBTi standard 
• limited availability of high quality, nature-based UK offsets

We know that our existing commitment to reduce organisational emissions by 45% by 2030 remains challenging. We remain fully committed to achieving this target. However, the change in our offsetting target means that we are now aiming to be net zero by 2045 to 2050.

2. Interim goals

As of 2024, we are also setting out additional interim goals on our net zero journey:

• a reduction in emissions by 45% by 2030 (retention of existing target)
• a reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions of at least 80% by 2030
• a zero-carbon-emitting fleet of cars and vans by 2027
• a zero-carbon-emitting 4x4 fleet no later than 2030

The delivery date range of 2045 to 2050 will enable us to meet net zero date sooner as innovation continues to come forward.

We will continue to:

• work with our partners to share learning and innovation to accelerate our transition
• meet our core obligations to protect and enhance the environment

3. Reviewing our plans

Data and evidence are crucial to our understanding. We have committed to iterate our plans, reviewing them every 3 years with the Executive Director Team and Board.