Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The most significant man-made sources of greenhouse gases are from the combustion of fossil fuels.

As part of the UK’s Climate Change Programme Johnson Matthey has entered into a number of negotiated agreements – administered through trade associations – which undertake to reduce energy consumption over a ten year period. These agreements relate to processes regulated under the Integrated Pollution Control provisions and allow an 80% discount on the Climate Change Levy. In order to achieve the necessary reduction, investment in energy efficiency continues to be made. The most significant contribution has been from the installation of Combined Heat and Power plant at the Royston and Brimsdown facilities.

Johnson Matthey measures greenhouse gases from processes and energy use. Emissions are converted to tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Emissions from transportation are not considered. The total Global Warming Potential (GWP) for the group was 395,000 T CO2 equivalent in 2002. This was an increase of 9.2 % from the previous year due mainly to the increased use of natural gas within the group. The total GWP has been increasing each year, however, since 1999 there has been an 11% reduction in the GWP relative to sales.