The IPCC Synthesis Report

Who is the IPCC?

The IPCC, or Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is a scientific intergovernmental body established by the United Nations in 1988 to provide policymakers with objective scientific information about the causes, effects, and solutions to climate change.

The IPCC has been instrumental in increasing awareness of the impacts of climate change and the need for action to address it.

What does the report summarise?

The IPCC Synthesis Report for the 6th Assessment has been released. It summarises the risks of inaction and rewards of action in seven key figures.

Together, these demonstrate how:

• Climate change has already caused widespread and substantial losses to almost every aspect of human life on this planet, and the impacts on future generations depend on the choices we make NOW!
• Every bit of warming matters. The warmer the planet gets, the more widespread and pronounced the changes in both average climate and climate and weather extremes become.
• It’s impacting every aspect of life on earth, from our food and water to the viability of the many species that share this planet with us.
• We are not doing nearly enough to avoid dangerous impacts, let alone achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement.
• Our choices matter and the faster we act, the better off we will all be – all of us who call this planet home.

Initiatives by the UK government:

Readers of my blogs will be aware packaging materials are now in the spotlight like never before, the latest UK government’s initiatives to tackle the circular economy and redress greenhouse gas emissions include: Plastics tax (which goes up in April from £200 to £210.82/mt), EPR’s, DRS’s, Green Claims Codes, The Industrial De-Carbonization Strategy and businesses are also encouraged / required to demonstrate a carbon Journey to Net Zero.

The latter requires more clarity which is due shortly, as the UK High Court (August 2022) determined the Net Zero Strategy to be “unlawful” and “inadequate” with a view to meeting the UK’s 2050 net zero ambitions, and ordered that the Strategy be refined and reissued by the end of March 2023.

UK DEFRA has also issued reporting requirements of packaging volumes during 2023. Whilst Modulated fees to incentivise the use of recyclable packaging has not been shared to date by the UK Government, nevertheless, require volumes of packaging in various categories to be collated and reported. The modulated fees will be applicable to packaging materials based on recyclability assessments. The fees are intended to incentivise producers to make more sustainable decisions when designing or purchasing packaging.

I believe it is only a matter of time before a carbon (CO2e) tax is also introduced.

Benchmarks position:

To enable our customers to capture, measure and report their data, Benchmark has expanded its unique estimating software solutions to meet Green House Gas (GHG) emissions (CO2e), the Circular Economy (EPR) reporting alongside our calculating cost, price and financial measures, to enable well informed leaders of the commercial cost and cost to the environment in one place.

Our unique estimating software solutions for packaging can now;

• Calculate the price at the level of the Sock Keeping Unit (SKU).
• Calculate the carbon footprint (CO2e) at the level of the SKU to stringent ISO 14067 standards
• Calculate Plastics tax, and other taxes e.g. EPR implications at the level of the SKU.
• Whilst our primary unit of measure for all SKU assessments will be in kilos for Government requirements, we also provide the data in numerous other weight and area units of measure.
• Our software enables you to benchmark numerous specifications at any stage from NPD ideas through to what you buy
• Our single largest portfolio of stock keeping units (11,250 rows of data) was calculated for CO2e, price and plastics tax in one go, in only a matter of minutes.
• Our process has been audited & verified by
  • Academics at the University of Nottingham
  • Commercial Life Cycle Analyst
  • (Europe’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification service provider).
• SGS tell us that our methodology and approach is the most detailed they have seen with regards to granular data, accurately calculated and transparently reported.

Some customers of ours are also using our templates for commercial specification reporting, price list and tender management.

Benchmark provides commercial and carbon footprint analysis for less than conventional LCA and we provide far reaching clarity beyond other carbon footprint or commercial software solutions to enable business decisions.

Benchmark has no vested interest in material type or manufacturing process so are authentic with the results / reports.