BP's first Australian low carbon accreditation awarded to Ultimate Partnership with OzHarvest
BP has awarded its first Advancing Low Carbon accreditation in Australia to its community partnership with leading food rescue organisation, OzHarvest. In 2018, the organisation rescued 8,517 tonnes of food, which in turn, saved 5,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from being released into the atmosphere
OzHarvest food rescue saves 5,300 tonnes of carbon emissions in 2018
BP’s Advancing Low Carbon accreditation programme is specifically designed to inspire every part of BP to identify lower carbon opportunities, either through actions BP can take itself or in collaboration with others. But they must all have one thing in common – they must demonstrate what BP calls a better carbon outcome.
The BP OzHarvest Ultimate Partnership is one of 52 global initiatives and activities to be certified through the programme. To gain accreditation, each activity must meet rigorous criteria and
requirements and be independently assured by BP’s assurance partner, Deloitte LLP.
Andy Holmes, BP Australia President, said “BP is committed to helping advance the energy transition by reducing emissions in our own operations and products, while finding opportunities to work with our partners and customers to lower their emissions too.”
As their Ultimate Partner, BP fuels OzHarvest’s fleet of refrigerated vehicles and supports the organisation’s education programme Nourish, which provides hospitality training for at risk youth. In addition, BP donates leftover food from 120 retail stations around Australia.
“BP is committed to helping advance the energy transition by reducing emissions in our own operations and products, while finding opportunities to work with our partners and customers to lower their emissions too.”
Andy Holmes, BP Australia president
In Australia alone more than five million tonnes of food ends up as landfill*. When the food rots with other organic compounds in landfill sites it releases methane, a greenhouse gas that, while short-lived in the atmosphere, has a higher global warming potential, compared to carbon dioxide (CO2). Every week OzHarvest rescues more than 180 tonnes of food. As a result, this food – and its associated potential methane emissions – are diverted away from landfill sites.
“We began our partnership with OzHarvest in 2016 and it keeps going from strength-to-strength. I’m incredibly proud that we are working together to make real, sustainable change to the quality of living in Australia,” Andy said.
CEO & Founder of OzHarvest, Ronni Kahn, said “If food waste was a country it would be the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US and China and is a major contributor to climate
change.”
“OzHarvest is committed to the national target of halving food waste in line with UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and we are proud to have a partner like BP to support us in this mission,” Ronni said.
Today’s announcement coincides with the release of BP’s Sustainability Report for 2018, outlining the progress it’s made in achieving its global low carbon ambitions.
Notes to editors
About BP
BP has a proud history of operations in Australia and in 2019 is celebrating its centenary. BP is engaged in the exploration and production of oil, natural gas and liquefied natural gas and the refining and marketing of petroleum and lubricant products in Australia. BP is a leading fuels retailer with a network of approximately 1,400 retail service stations across Australia.
For more information about BP in Australia visit www.bp.com.au
About BP’s Advancing Low Carbon accreditation programme
BP’s Advancing Low Carbon (ALC) accreditation programme is specifically designed to encourage every part of BP to pursue lower carbon opportunities. Activities in the programme range from emission reductions in our operations to carbon neutral products, from investments in low carbon technologies to our renewables businesses. Some activities demonstrate a tangible low carbon impact through emissions saved or offset; others reflect longer term investments in emerging technologies and new business ventures or support of independent academic research.
For more information about the programme visit www.bp.com
About OzHarvest
Founded by Ronni Kahn in 2004, OzHarvest is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, collecting quality surplus food from more than 3,700 businesses. Every week over 180 tonnes of food is saved from going to landfill and delivered to 1300+ charitable agencies, helping to make a positive difference to the lives of vulnerable men, women and children across Australia. OzHarvest’s education programs include: NEST - tailor made workshops that support people in need with nutrition education and life skills, Nourish - a hospitality training program for ‘at risk’ youth, FEAST – a curriculum aligned program for primary school kids and Fight Food Waste – to inspire behavioural change to prevent food waste at home. Since inception it has delivered over 110 million meals and saved over 37,000 tonnes of food from landfill. Every $1 donated allows OzHarvest to deliver two meals to people in need.
For more information about OzHarvest visit www.ozharvest.org
* http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/publications/food-waste-factsheet
Original source: SARDI (2015) Primary Production Food Losses: Turning losses into profit. South Australian Research and Development Institute, Primary Industries and Regions South Australia
Further information
BP Press Office - Australia
Tara Albiston
Phone: +61 (0)410 479 002
Email: tara.albiston@bp.com