NET ZERO EYECARE releases new standards to drive Climate Action

NET ZERO EYECARE releases new certification standards to drive climate action in the optical industry

The new suite of standards, released today, are designed to guide and support Practices, Service Providers, Distributors and Manufacturing Suppliers along their journey to Net Zero Emissions.

The UK Government has a national Net Zero target of 2050, while the NHS’s procurement strategy sets an earlier target of 2045. Net Zero Eyecare, among other climate-focused organisations, calls for companies to set Net Zero targets as early as realistically possible – but certainly no later than 2045.

Net Zero Eyecare recognises the importannce of significant emissions reductions in order to reach global Net Zero by 2050, but also recognises the degree to which supply chain emissions are outside of many companies control. They therefore strongly promote carbon offsetting via verified carbon credit schemes, so that businesses can achieve Net Zero Emissions now while continuing to work on meaningful emissions reductions throughout their supply chains.

The newly released certification standards offer recognized status as having met certain key carbon objectives, starting with a Net Zero Commitment, and working through to comprehensive carbon accounting to achieve full Net Zero Carbon emissions.

The standards have been released after a lengthy stakeholder review process, and review by the Net Zero Eyecare steering group who present diverse and informed voices from the optical industry.

Andrew Clark, founder of Net Zero Eyecare said, “I’m tremendously proud of what Net Zero Eyecare has achieved since it’s launch less than 18 months ago! Our certification standards present the highest global standards in carbon accounting in a way that is clear and accessible for the optical industry, but these new standards make it easier than ever for companies to take meaningful action on the climate crisis, as they so clearly break down the journey to Net Zero into simple, achievable steps.”

He added, “There are various companies in optics taking affirmative climate action to one degree or another, but to consumers all these different claims are proving to be confusing.

Our approach is to provide the optical industry with a single banner to rally behind, with confidence that it reflects the most highly-regarded international standards [incorporating guidance from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and Science-Based Targets Initiative], while reflecting and respecting the real-world challenges faced by our industry.

“These standards make it OK not to be perfect, but to be actively working towards a common goal – and to be encouraging others to do the same.”

Andrew also leads the Net Zero Optics programme, delivered by Practice Building, which supports Practices and Suppliers on their journey to achieving Net Zero Eyecare’s Carbon and Plastic certifications among other sustainability targets.

Megan Harper, Sustainability Manager at Bayfields Opticians and Audiologists, and member of the Net Zero Eyecare steering group, said

“NZE’s new standards offer a clear and manageable path for practices. These standards simplify the journey towards sustainability, ensuring that every step contributes to a meaningful net reduction in your carbon footprint.”

Anna Williams, QEH&S Manager at HOYA Lens UK, and member of the Net Zero Eyecare steering group, said

“The Net Zero Eyecare standards help you formulise your approach to sustainability, and especially to carbon accounting, no matter if you are just starting out on your journey or are deciding your next steps.

“In developing these standards, we’ve taken the approach to help businesses get to a place where they can calculate their carbon footprint and end up with a repeatable model that also allows them to build better data and scale their impact year on year.”

THE NEW STANDARDS:

Net Zero Commitment – A business is publicly committed to achieving Net Zero Emissions, to a clearly defined standard, by a declared date. An important step, demonstrating a business is taking the climate crisis and their responsibility to act seriously, and encouraging others to follow suit.

Powered By Renewables – Divesting from fossil fuels in their electricity supply is one of the most important actions a business can take to address the climate crisis now and support a low-carbon future.

Carbon Neutral Eyewear – Practices can utilize available data on the average carbon footprint of eyewear and commit to offsetting the carbon footprint of all the eyewear they sell via verified climate action projects.

Carbon Neutral Audiology – Practices and/or Locum Audiologists dive deeper to the process of carbon accounting to quantify and offset the greenhouse gas emissions from the provision of Audiology services, as a sub-set of a Practices overall carbon footprint.

Carbon Neutral Event – Event Organisers are now able to use this comprehensive assessment strategy to diagnose the carbon footprint of events – including delegate travel, venue power, and catering – engage in reduction opportunities and offset the unavoidable emissions via verified climate action projects.

Carbon Neutral National Operations – The carbon footprint of products manufactured overseas must be addressed, but it realistically outside of the control of many Distributors and Suppliers. This standard allows businesses to start accounting and taking action on their emission from local activities without being overwhelmed by the more challenging, international aspect of optics.

Net Zero Carbon (for Practices and for Suppliers, separately) – slightly different accounting for Practices and Suppliers, but no less grounded in a business’s core activities and deeply inclusive of all emissions sources. Practices, for example, must account for patient travel; while suppliers are required to take a deeper look at the products in their supply chains. For any business type, this is a full execution of carbon accounting defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and demonstrates that the certified business is paying absolute due diligence to their carbon accounts – and then offsetting their unavoidable annual emissions in the present.

All of these new certification standards can be found in full at: www.netzeroeyecare.org/certifications

Net Zero Eyecare (NZE) is a not-for-profit organisation working to guide the optical industry on a path of sustainability, focusing on two critical issues; the climate crisis, and plastic pollution.