Case Studies

Imperial Bank

The Background

Imperial Bank was established in 1996 as part of the Imperial Group. Nedbank Limited has had controlling interest in the bank since 2001 and it is presently managed as a joint venture between Nedbank Group Limited (50.1%) and Imperial Holdings Limited (49.9%).

Its core business was initially motor finance, but it has since branched out into the financing of other assets such as aircraft, properties and corporate assets.

Imperial Bank is aware of the global challenges of climate change and is commited to addressing its impacts. As part of a sustainability reporting initiative, Imperial Bank commissioned a carbon footprint assessment of its business operations for 2008.

The Objectives

Imperial Bank’s key objectives for conducting this assessment were:

  • To be environmentally responsible – it’s the right thing to do;
  • To align itself with its major shareholder, Nedbank, as a “green” company;
  • To prepare itself for sustainability reporting, which is a
  • To increase efficiency and reduce operating costs.

The Process

Imperial Bank’s carbon emissions were measured in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol - Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, the most widely used international carbon calculation methodology.

  • The organisational boundaries included emissions incurred at Imperial Bank facilities around South Africa as follows:
  • The control approach was used to consolidate all emissions;
  • The operational boundaries included:
    • Scope 1 direct emissions resulting from Imperial Bank-owned or controlled equipment, in this case: company cars, generators and air conditioning systems;
    • Scope 2 indirect emissions from consumption of purchased electricity;
  • The following voluntary Scope 3 indirect emissions:
    • Business travel in rental cars
    • Business travel in commercial airlines
    • Business travel in employee-owned vehicles
    • Commuting of staff to/from Imperial Bank facilities
    • Consumption of office paper
    • Water consumption (embedded CO2)
    • Solid waste sent to landfill
  • The activity data was supplied by Imperial Bank for the financial period January to December 2008.
  • Most emissions factors used were from IPCC (2007) or DEFRA2 (2009).
  • The electricity grid emission factor used was taken from Eskom (2009).
  • Paper production emission factors were from Mondi Paper Profiles, Rotatrim Business Paper (2008).
  • The emission factors used for calculating the embedded carbon associated with pumping water from source to Imperial Bank facilities were from Watergy (2008).
  • Where data was incomplete, extrapolation was used.

The Results

Imperial Bank’s total carbon footprint for the period January to December 2008 was 10,051.20 tonnes of CO² equivalent (CO²e). The chart below shows the total 2008 inventory of emissions by source:

This chart shows that for the year assessed the biggest sources of carbon emissions were:

  • Scope 2: Electricity consumption (59.3% or 5.96 mega-tonnes CO2e)
  • Scope 3: Employee commuting (28.3% or 2.85 mega-tonnes CO2e)

In summary:

  • Scope 1 emissions accounted for only 0.5% of Imperial Bank’s total emissions;
  • Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions accounted for almost 60% and 40% respectively.

The table below shows total direct and indirect emissions for Imperial Bank by source:

The following table indicates carbon emissions intensity which makes it possible to accurately compare the emissions from one year with the next. Note that when benchmarking against other companies, intensity reporting should be limited to Scope 1 and 2 emissions only.

  1. Total employees used : 1148
  2. Total man hours for the year is 1,997,520 hours
  3. Total floor space in 20,654m2
  4. Annual turnover at R6,567,560,000

Imperial Bank’s total annual emissions :

  • are equivalent to burning 3.435 tonnes of coal per year;
  • will require the planting of 26,133 trees per year to offset.

The Recommendations

Some of GCX’s recommendations were the following:

  • Imperial Bank should establish an holistic carbon management strategy. This should incorporate a combination of emissionsreduction targets as well as timelines for the implementation of technology-requiring reductions and for awareness-raising activities.
  • Due to the high proportion of emissions arising from electricity consumption, as well as the increasingly significant operational cost of electricity, GCX recommended that Imperial Bank conduct a full energy efficiency audit as part of its emissions-reduction strategy.
  • The company should consider the limitations of the first assessment and implement systems to facilitate improved information recording in certain areas to optimise reporting for future assessments.

These recommendations, together with a clear action plan, will not only save costs but will also enhance the company’s image and will greatly increase awareness around climate change within Imperial Bank, with other business entities as well as with its suppliers and customers.

The Future

If Imperial Bank was to:

  • Reduce its carbon emissions by 10%, this would have the same effect as removing 235 medium-sized petrol cars from the road.
  • Reduce its annual electricity consumption by 25%, this would save enough electricity to power 145 middle-income homes for 1 year.