London — The UK’s biggest supplier of fuel cards – the payment system that van and lorry drivers use to buy fuel – is launching a new service that can offset 100% of the carbon its customers currently release from the 1 billion litres of fuel they use each year.
UK Fuels, owned by Radius Payment Solutions, has partnered with UK-government endorsed carbon offsetting company Forest Carbon to invest in renewable energy projects. The new carbon offsetting service will benefit the 76,000 British businesses of all kinds which use fuel cards from UK Fuels, the 500,000 drivers who work for them and of course their customers.
Businesses which take up the new service can reduce their carbon footprint and support their social and environmental responsibilities while avoiding the risk of wasted investment in ineffective offsetting schemes.
UK Fuels has pledged not to take any profits from the new biodegradable ‘Radius Future’ fuel card. Companies will pay 1 penny on each litre of standard fuel, which will be invested by both Forest Carbon and UK Fuels. Renewable energy projects will include wind, hydro, waste-to-energy and solar power in countries including India, China, Turkey and Guatemala. These projects have been chosen for their ability to achieve immediate carbon neutrality.
UK Fuels customer footprints will be calculated using UK government conversion factors that correlate litres of diesel and petrol to the equivalent emissions in tonnes of CO2, and businesses which participate can request a certificate showing their carbon offsetting record.
Forest Carbon, whose other partners include Microsoft, Siemens, Stagecoach and Ofcom, played a pivotal role in establishing national quality assurance standards that guarantee the ecological impact and carbon sequestration rates of any project. Their new woodland schemes are certified by the Woodland Carbon Code, which is supported by the UK government and internationally recognised by ICROA whilst their peatland programmes are certified by the Peatland Code which is supported by the IUCN. These certification codes guarantee that each tonne of carbon stored is permanent and incremental.
Through planting over 13 million trees since 2006, Forest Carbon is already removing nearly 3 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere, as well as providing other benefits to society including flood mitigation and enhanced biodiversity.
UK Fuels Managing Director Jonathan Haseler commented: “As a company, our whole strategy is now focused on planning for sustainable travel in the future. This includes investing in electric vehicle charging solutions and green energy. If every customer takes up Radius Future, together they could accelerate Britain towards the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.”
To make the service as inclusive as possible, UK Fuels will offer the same carbon offsetting service with any of the other branded fuel cards it provides, which include all the big energy companies plus smaller chains and supermarkets. Businesses which choose this alternative approach will still see their offset carbon itemised on each invoice.
