Results [0]
dRMM share carbon reduction report ahead of planned London studio move
Having recently become B Corp certified, a topic we will be exploring further over the next few months, we appreciate more than ever the importance of assessing our progress in a transparent manner.
We are sharing our Carbon Reduction Plan, which shows the efforts of the past few years to move towards our 2030 goals. Assessing our emissions for our London and Berlin studios makes it clear to see areas in which we are doing well, and others where improvements are needed. As knowledge around the climate crisis is constantly evolving, our sustainability ambitions must grow and adapt accordingly.
Our overall emissions for 2022/23 (FY23) were 53 tCO2e. Despite being the first period to represent the ‘new normal’ post pandemic, FY23 shows a continued downward trend in emissions even when compared to the two previous abnormal years (57 tCO2e in FY22, 56 tCO2e in FY21). Because of the unusual nature of these Covid years, we are making FY20 our baseline year for comparison when our emissions were 68 tCO2e. This means we have seen an improvement of nearly 15 tCO2e which amounts to approximately 22% reduction over three years, or just over 7% per year, which is in line with achieving our 2030 target.
One of the most impactful initiatives dRMM implemented last year was the shift to cloud services, while simultaneously moving from old workstations to energy-efficient laptops. Despite taking into account the emissions caused by the new hardware, we are already starting to see positive impacts, as demonstrated by the substantial reduction in electricity use.
On the other side of the coin, there are many emissions that are out of our control, due to our position as tenants in a Victorian building within a conservation area. Driven by the desire to have more autonomy over our space, and considering the change in work patterns post Covid, we have made the decision not to renew the lease on our current London premises in London Bridge, where dRMM have been for the past decade.
We’re currently undertaking the retrofit of a former workshop in a self-contained Victorian building in E2. The more significant reductions in FY21 and FY22, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, also provide a margin in cumulative carbon budget terms. This will hopefully be enough to absorb the impacts of our move and the inevitable additional emissions.
But this is not only a case of carbon efficiency. dRMM are approaching our thirtieth year and we want to understand how best a new space might become a direct reflection of the way we practice. We now have a chance to make a workspace that mirrors our studio culture and leverages natural materials and demountable solutions to provide a low environmental impact, climate resilience, and adaptability. We’re moving away from determined layouts that suit a specific single use. Instead, our aim is to create a place that can accommodate changing needs.
We’re looking forward to sharing progress on our new studio ahead of our move at the end of this year.