LBS is an award-winning watch strap and watch battery supplier with customers in over 40 countries.
We are also a 2nd generation family business that is committed to addressing our part in the climate emergency that we find ourselves in.
We think that our business and the businesses we work with should be a force for good and that true sustainability involves uniting economic growth and human progress without negatively impacting the planet.
For many years our UK office has been using renewable energy which has helped us to achieve a low carbon office. But we are not content with doing the bare minimum, and for us to make a meaningful impact, we want to go further.
Let us explain…
Our office and our own direct emissions (Scopes 1 & 2) have a small impact on the climate. In fact, it is less than 1% of our total carbon emissions. The biggest factor is our ‘Scope 3’, or in other words, the watch straps and batteries that we have purchased and shipped to the UK.
In 2022 we decided to work out exactly what impact we were having on the climate, so we calculated every last part of it. Calculations were taken for every single product purchased (over 7,000 line items), the materials, packaging, weight and distance travelled from different factories all over the world. Once the goods arrived in our warehouse, every single delivery made to our customers was calculated with its driving distance (over 10,000 shipments) to work out the carbon emissions.
We then ended up with a pretty big number - 475.8 Tonnes of CO2e to be exact.
To put that into perspective, that’s like driving a car around the world nearly 500 times or filling 475 hot air balloons with nasty gasses.
We offset our full carbon footprint for 2022 by purchasing verified carbon credits and became carbon neutral for that year.
What About Now?
Since 2022, we have continued working hard to reduce our emissions year on year. Although we haven’t yet had independent calculations completed since 2022, we remain committed to reducing our footprint and improving the sustainability of every part of our supply chain.
What We’re Doing
Along with managing our operational footprint, we are also looking at more environmentally friendly materials to use in the production of the watch straps themselves. We currently have watch straps made from apple skins (a byproduct of the juicing industry), pineapple husks, and even plastic recovered from the oceans. We are always looking out for sustainable ways to produce our products.
We’re also taking practical steps to reduce emissions across our business:
• Our watch straps are made in Italy, Germany, China and India, and we are cutting our air freight as much as possible by shipping goods by sea instead.
• We are reducing our packaging and plastic use, while developing high-quality packaging that keeps our watch straps in perfect condition.
• We are setting expectations with our suppliers through our Supplier Guiding Principles and Supplier Survey.
• We already have a small fleet of electric cars for business use.
• We are investing in a rooftop solar project to reduce our reliance on the grid.
• We are committed to cutting our carbon impact by 5% and we’re actively working to exceed that reduction as we move forward.
How We Balance the Rest
While we work to reduce what we can, we recognise that some emissions are currently unavoidable. That’s where offsetting comes in.
In simple terms, offsetting one tonne of carbon means there will be one less tonne of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there would otherwise have been. To offset emissions, we purchase the equivalent volume of carbon credits (independently verified emissions reductions) to compensate for what we cannot yet eliminate.
The purchase of these carbon credits enables carbon finance to go to projects that are avoiding and reducing emissions elsewhere in the world, and ensures they are financially viable and sustainable.
Every carbon credit represents one tonne of emissions reductions delivered by a project, and is independently audited to internationally agreed standards. They are certified by third parties and go through a rigorous system of checks and balances to prove they are:
• Real
• Measurable
• Permanent
• Additional
• Independently verified
• Unique
We’re proud of what we achieved in 2022, and although there’s still more work to do, our commitment to positive environmental change continues to grow.
If you'd like to know more about our sustainability journey or have questions about our materials or processes, get in touch.
