Support through 'Energy for Business', delivered by the Energy Innovation and Collaboration team at the University of Nottingham, helps Mason Infotech plan to meet environmental goals.
Background
Mason Infotech is an IT support consultancy based in Nottingham.
The company was founded in 2002 and provides a range of products and services positioned at the cutting edge of communication technology.
The company has ambitous environmental goals and a recent tree planting project helped them to become carbon neutral, some 6 years ahead of Nottingham’s 2028 target and well ahead of national targets.
Opportunity
Before the start of the global pandemic in 2020, Mason Infotech was based in an office in Castle Gate, Nottingham. The 18th century building is home to shared office space and is heated between September and April using gas central heating.
As the global pandemic took hold in early 2020, a swift change to homeworking became necessary, enabling the company to take stock and reassess business needs.
Managing Director Stephen Mason heard about the ‘Energy for Business’ support delivered by the Energy Innovation and Collaboration team at the University of Nottingham.
He met with Business Development Officer, Steve Closs, to discuss the support available for analysing the carbon emissions associated with both working from home and commuting to the office with the aim of gathering the evidence required to enable strategic decision making for the best way forward for Mason Infotech to achieve environmental goals.
Steve Mason and Joe Elkington of Mason Infotech
Solution
Dr Gulcan Serdaroglu, a technical officer in the Energy Innovation and Collaboration team, was assigned to the project. She gathered data from an extensive range of sources and provided a detailed analysis of greenhouse gas emissions associated with commuting, the use of heating and electricity, and site visits by staff to clients.
The report concluded that the most significant reduction in the carbon footprint of the business could be achieved by eliminating commuting to work. Figures suggested that a combined saving of over 8 tonnes of CO2e per annum could be achieved by a permanent change to home working.
The report went on to recommend a range of additional changes that could result in further savings. Including the use of electric vehicles for site visits, installation of solar panels, retrofit insulation measures and sustainable heating alternatives.
Stephen Mason commented, “The study and subsequent report from the Energy Innovation and Collaboration team has proved invaluable in enabling Mason Infotech to understand the current position in terms of emissions output. Looking to the future we now have some very clear guidelines as to how we can manage and improve our standards moving forward.”
Benefits
The information in the report has provided the evidence needed to support strategic decision making for the future of the business. If measures are implemented Mason Infotech will be well on the way to meeting environmental goals. This will cut business costs and provide excellent ethical and environmental credentials that are becoming increasingly important to today’s consumers.
Support
Mason Infotech received support from the University as part of Energy for Business. Delivered by the Energy Innovation and Collaboration team and funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Contact the Energy Innovation and Collaboration team for an informal chat about the support on offer.
Email: energy@nottingham.ac.uk
Website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/energyforbusiness
Phone: +44 (0) 115 7484969
