From CDP A rated council to SmartCarbon – get to know Jack Spence
We’re thrilled to welcome Jack Spence to the team as our new Carbon Consultant. Joining us from the City of Sunderland, Jack has both passion and experience in the world of carbon emissions reporting.
Hi Jack, and welcome to SmartCarbon! What can you tell us about your new role?
I’m very happy to be here. My role as Carbon Consultant involves working with clients to report their carbon footprint, from the initial baseline phase – scoping out key emission sources – through to the data collection phase. As part of this process, we consider how data should be collected and how key barriers can be overcome. I also provide support with onboarding and general consultancy.
My consultancy services include data entry and modelling pathways to Net Zero, something we’ve recently done for Gateshead Council. I’m currently working closely with both Anindya Chatterjee [Lead Consultant] and Lee Jackson [Managing Director].
What’s your previous experience in carbon reporting?
I have three years of experience reporting Sunderland City Council’s scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, as well as city wide emissions.
I also undertook the Carbon Disclosure Project for the City of Sunderland. This is a global disclosure system for cities, businesses, states, and regions to disclose environmental data including carbon, water consumption and energy. It can be a tough process, as it is a graded system looking at leadership, management, awareness and disclosure.
Most UK cities will get a C or D initially, but at City of Sunderland we were proud to achieve an A rating in our first year. This recognised us as a leader in climate disclosure and reporting, and we achieved this rating three years in a row.
Fantastic. How did you find that project?
Challenging but very rewarding. When I started, Sunderland had just declared a climate emergency and a carbon neutral target, but they didn’t have any data, so starting provided a great challenge. My job was to identify the data and put it into something workable in terms of a carbon footprint.
We were one of the first local authorities in the North East to report significant Scope 3 emissions, which was a significant stepping stone. We also used data to model pathways and provide intelligence on how to get to Net Zero.
How rare is it for cities to achieve an A rating in CDP?
Very. In 2023, Sunderland were one of 19 cities in the UK, and 100 globally, to achieve an A rating. This was out of more than a thousand that reported. Roughly 10% of cities achieve an A rating, and most of them won’t do it first time round.
Since 2015 (Sunderland’s citywide baseline for carbon emissions) and 2021, Sunderland has reduced its overall CO2 emissions by 21.0%. These reductions are better than both the North East and UK averages.
What made you want to make the move to SmartCarbon?
I’ve known Anna-Lisa Mills [SmartCarbon Executive Director] for a long time. In fact, she was my lecturer at university! We worked on various projects together during that time.
I also knew Lee and Anindya because the City of Sunderland was a SmartCarbon client. But while I knew the team, it was the platform that drew me in. I knew the product, and I’ve always thought very highly of it. Being able to contribute to what SmartCarbon is trying to achieve felt like an unmissable opportunity.
What do you hope to achieve in your new role?
I’d like to support clients in a range of sectors, helping businesses of different sizes and industries to get a comprehensive understanding of how this challenge impacts different organisations.
Ultimately, I’m very keen to help the business grow, and become a leader in the field of carbon reporting and accounting consultancy.
Commercial carbon emissions present a huge challenge for businesses. How have you seen that challenge evolve over time?
It’s a massive challenge, and we’ve always known that. What’s important now is the sense of time running out. We need to make significant reductions this decade, otherwise Net Zero is going to become impossible. With that comes a great sense of urgency from businesses across different sectors.
The key issue for most businesses is that they don’t know where to start, and they don’t know what their baseline emissions are. There is no one-size-fits-all. When you can’t monitor emissions, you can’t manage them, and you can’t say you’ve achieved what you set out to achieve.
Data availability is essential in getting the knowledge businesses need, especially small businesses who may not have the in-house resources. We provide that support where it’s needed.
Thanks, Jack.