Technological First For Carbon Footprinting In Highlands and Islands

25th September 2009

Highlands and Islands businesses are piloting an American web project widening access to carbon footprint analysis to small operators.

Measuring carbon footprint for goods and services has primarily only been affordable to major companies, but the new free website offers small businesses the chance to calculate the impact their activities are having on the environment.

The Sourcemap website is being trialled locally as a result of a tie up between Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the research developers from the Media Lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Businesses involved have included:
- The Lovat, Loch Ness, Fort Augustus *
- Connage Farm Dairy, Ardersier
- Macbeaths Butchers, Forres *
- Cairngorm Brewery *
- Spa Soap Company, Strathpeffer
- Plexus Media, Cromarty
- Tuminds, Forres
- Open Brolly, Forres

*Businesses currently working actively with Sourcemap.

The Sourcemap software allows businesses to input information on where they get various commodities and then provides them with a calculation and a map which they can put on websites or marketing material.

Caroline Gregory, of The Lovat, Loch Ness, has embedded environmental awareness into her everyday business activity. The hotel offers price reductions to guests travelling on public transport, walking or cycling to the hotel. Amongst other practices she uses degradable cleaning products, monitors & minimises waste daily as well as a revolutionary central heating & hot water system fuelled by a computerised biomass wood chip burner.

Caroline captures the mode of transport and journey starting point of each guest to highlight potential individual carbon emissions; Sourcemap is a valuable aid in gathering this data.

She commented: "Sourcemap is a unique tool to record and calculate carbon emissions generated by guests to the hotel. It is also a quirky way to map the supplier food chain from 'place to plate'. As an added extra to their efforts, The Lovat offers a carbon conscious donation through Trees for Life."

Leo Bonnani, one of the researchers behind Sourcemap said that the Highlands and Islands is an excellent place to pilot the project. "We've been developing Sourcemap over the past two years, and other than some initial testing with food and drink companies in Boston, this is our first full study. We've found efforts in local sourcing are much more advanced in Europe than in America, and here in the Highlands there is a growing desire to work more sustainably. Local sourcing in the US might mean 1,000 miles while here in the Highlands people are hesitant to get something from outwith Scotland," he said.
As well as working with individual organisations, Sourcemap is planning to test the benefits of businesses sharing information on suppliers with the extension of the research to include a cluster in Moray.

"As well as the environmental and marketing benefits there is a social network aspect, the site can offer useful market information on local supply chains. We have found particular interest in the food and drink sector and shared information on seasonal suppliers can be valuable," said Mr Bonnani.

HIE's sustainable and environment manager Archie Prentice commented: "Over the next couple of years, the importance of dealing with climate change and green house gas emissions is going to increase. Forward thinking businesses will increasingly consider these issues and this could lead to opportunities for new product and business development. Sourcemap is a perfect example of both the creation of a new service and a technological development that has been created to meet emerging business needs."