Yellowave is carbon neutral
In spring 2021 The Sustainable Business Partnership CIC analysed Yellowave’s carbon footprint. From May 2020 the venue was confirmed as being Carbon Neutral for its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions.
The venue has hit carbon neutral status by significantly reducing it’s greenhouse gas emissions including:
• reducing electricity use
• installing 10.5kW of solar panels
• buying 100% renewable electricity
On sunny days the venue produces more electricity than it uses and so actually exports renewable electricity into the grid.
Yellowave’s Carbon footprint for 2020/21 was 0.81 tonnes CO2e. It was worked out through a Carbon Footprint review of the venue done by the Get Net Zero project using half hourly electricity metering data.
As it is not on the gas network, Yellowave’s Greenhouse Gas emissions come mainly from the propane/gas used in the pizza oven/BBQ. The electricity purchased by the venue for its lights, fridges, ovens and everything else is already 100% renewable. In May 2020 the venue switched on a large solar photovoltaic system on its roof. This has reduced the amount of electricity drawn from the grid by 63% in the monthly comparisons with the previous years so far.
For a number of hours during the day and on the days during the week that the venue is closed, the solar panels produce enough renewable electricity to power everything on site, so the extra is exported to the grid. The avoided emissions of the electricity exported exceeds the Carbon footprint of the venue, and is what makes it Carbon Neutral; instead of using Carbon offsetting to achieve Carbon neutrality.
Being Carbon Neutral is different to being Carbon NET ZERO. Becoming Carbon Net Zero is a huge task and encompasses every aspect of what we do from the internet we use to the way out tomatoes get to our sandwiches. Yellowave is now working on reducing the scope 3 emissions that are in our control, such as how the staff get to work, how we choose the menu we serve and how we deal with waste. Each step is a step closer to becoming Carbon Net Zero. To read our carbon neutrality review report please contact katie@yellowave.co.uk
In 2022 Yellowave won the SILVER for most Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism business in the South East at the Visit England Beautiful South Awards.
Yellowave is Carbon Neutral based on Scope 1 & Scope 2 emissions.
This is the energy we directly and indirectly use and produce. For Yellowave this is electricity used to power the venue and the gas and logs used for our BBQ and pizza oven.
To become Carbon Net Zero we need to do more. Our next steps are to work on Scope 3 emissions.
Scope 3 covers everything else – this is more complex such as how stuff gets to Yellowave, what we sell, how we get to work and how we deal with waste. We have already started on our Scope 3 emissions.
Yellowave waste – creating a circular economy
In June 2021 Paper Round, commercial recycling experts, took away Yellowave’s rubbish and analysed it, completing an environmental waste audit. The results meant that Yellowave could quickly move forward on making sure that every bit of waste gets put into the circular economy – so basically goes in a big circle and makes something else.
It is an amazing feeling to know that the waste we create at Yellowave becomes something else, entering a circular economy instead of just landfill.
Katie MintramYellowave paper
100% recycled in France to create 100% recycled paper. Eventually when paper gets recycled to its end point it gets made into blue roll, the stuff we use in the kitchen.
Yellowave general waste
sent to a biomass factory and turned into energy that feeds electricity in Worthing and Brighton.
Yellowave card
Yellowave plastic
Yellowave organic coffee granules
Yellowave food waste
is collected into special small waste bins. Using a Bio-gen process it gets turned into fertiliser and scattered onto farmland to help grow stuff