The climate crisis is the greatest issue facing society today and as a responsible company, we have an important role to play.
By taking science-based actions to reduce our total carbon emissions, and by understanding and reviewing our operational footprint and supply chain, we can ensure we are conducting our business in the most sustainable way.
Focus areas:
Reducing Direct Emissions
Nichols has a strong track record in reducing carbon emissions across our Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and we have an ambitious target to reduce our Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 80% by 2030, in order to reach net zero by or before 2050.
Key Progress in 2024
This year we have reduced our UK Scope 1 carbon emissions by 287 tCO2e to 626 tCO2e. This is a 31% decrease from 2023. Our Scope 2 emissions remained at net-zero as we continued to purchase 100% renewable energy. We are on track to reduce our impact on climate change by reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas emissions by 25% by 2025.
Decarbonising our Supply Chains
Reducing our Scope 1 and 2 emissions is important, but we know the majority of our emissions in the UK are created by the various supply chains that help us create quality products and deliver them to our customers (known as Scope 3 emissions).
Reducing our Scope 3 emissions is vital if we are to really reduce our carbon footprint and reach our decarbonisation targets.
Key Progress in 2024
In 2024, we did not measure our Scope 3 emissions, instead prioritising resources for reducing emissions in our hotspots. We recognise the importance of monitoring progress to inform meaningful emissions reductions and will measure Scope 3 emissions in the future.
Responsible Water Usage
We recognise that it is more important than ever to use water responsibly and address the risk of increased water scarcity in some of our markets.
That is why a focus for us will be to develop a clear water strategy that encompasses all of our impact in the UK.
Key Progress in 2023
Our 2024 total water consumption for manufacturing products in the UK was 242,757m3, which is a 17% decrease compared to 2023. This was due to a decrease in the production of water‑intensive products this year. The complexity of the topic meant that this year we focused our efforts on developing a clearer understanding of our water usage across our entire value chain, informing a comprehensive water strategy in the future.
Highlights
Exceeded Scope 1 and 2 2025 target
Reducing our direct carbon emissions by 28% YoY
Continued 100% renewable energy
Continued to make energy efficiencies at our Ross-on-Wye OoH manufacturing site
Identified areas of alignment between our climate commitments and our international partners
We then began collaborating to address areas of misalignment and identify a common way forward including engaging with our international partners on water usage
Achieved most of the activities planned for 2024 on our net zero roadmap
Focused on tackling the carbon hotspot, packaging, including: Achieved 51% rPET content in all of our UK plastic bottles and reducing the amount of packaging used for transporting our products
Stories
Find out about some of the ways we’re helping to reduce our carbon footprint