Carbon Reduction Plan

Info

Status: pending-signoff · Version: 05.26 · Last reviewed: 2026-05-21 · Next review: 2027-05-21 Owner: Proprietor · Approved by: Proprietor + Governing Body

1. Commitment to achieving Net Zero

The Haven is committed to achieving Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. This commitment is made ten years ahead of the UK Government’s national 2050 Net Zero target and reflects our position as a specialist online education provider whose operational model is inherently low-emission. We expect to be able to deliver our 2040 Net Zero commitment through emissions reduction at source, supported by high-quality carbon removal for any residual emissions.

This Carbon Reduction Plan is published in accordance with Procurement Policy Note 06/21 and the associated technical standard. It will be reviewed and updated annually, and signed off by the Board of Governors. The current version is available at policies.thehavenonline.school.

2. Baseline emissions footprint

Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases that have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. Baseline emissions are the reference point against which emissions reduction can be measured.

3. Current emissions reporting

As this is the first year of operation for The Haven and the first year of this Carbon Reduction Plan, current year emissions are equal to baseline emissions. Annual updates to this section will be published in future versions of this plan.

4. Emissions reduction targets

In order to continue our progress to achieving Net Zero, we have adopted the following carbon reduction targets. Targets are expressed as a reduction against our baseline year emissions of approximately 4.5 tCO2e.

Progress against these targets is monitored annually and reported in successive versions of this Carbon Reduction Plan. Where The Haven grows in scale, targets are reviewed to ensure they remain meaningful in proportion to operational size, with absolute and intensity-based targets considered side by side.

5. Carbon reduction projects

5.1 Completed and ongoing measures

The Haven’s operating model is, by design, low-emission. The following measures are already embedded in our practice and contribute to our baseline being substantially lower than a comparable building-based provider:

• Fully remote operating model with no physical premises, eliminating premises-related Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
• Virtual-first delivery of education, mentoring, governance meetings, training and family workshops, removing the need for routine learner, family or staff travel.
• Use of established UK and EU cloud platforms with published commitments to renewable energy and decarbonisation timelines.
• Digital-by-default record keeping, with no organisation-level paper waste stream.
• Recruitment policy that supports flexible homeworking, which evidence suggests reduces commuting emissions for staff.
• Communication policy that defaults to electronic communication over post or print.

5.2 Planned measures in the next reporting period

Over the next twelve months, The Haven will:

• Refine the emissions baseline using actual operational data including platform reporting, supplier sustainability reports, and a survey of staff homeworking arrangements.
• Adopt a sustainable procurement principle: where The Haven engages new suppliers, environmental performance is one factor considered, in proportion to the size and nature of the engagement.
• Communicate to staff the option to apply HMRC homeworking allowance toward energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy tariffs in their own homes.
• Review cloud and software providers against their published Net Zero commitments and prefer those with credible, externally verified carbon reduction trajectories.
• Include carbon awareness in staff induction so new colleagues understand The Haven’s commitments and how their work contributes.
• Publish the second iteration of this Carbon Reduction Plan with refined data.

5.3 Longer-term measures (2027–2040)

Over the period to 2040, The Haven will:

• Maintain a remote-first operating model in service of mission, learner wellbeing and environmental performance.
• Continue to assess opportunities to reduce emissions across business travel, supplier emissions and cloud computing.
• Develop an offsetting policy that will apply to residual emissions in 2040, preferring high-quality, externally verified UK-based carbon removal.
• Engage with sector partners on shared approaches to emissions reduction for online education providers.
• Report annually and transparently on progress, including where progress is slower than planned.

6. Methodology and reporting standards

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been prepared in line with:

• Procurement Policy Note 06/21 and the associated published template.
• The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard, which defines the three scopes of emissions reporting.
• UK Government greenhouse gas reporting conversion factors as published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). As a small online organisation in its first year of operation, current emissions figures are based on reasonable estimates produced using these standard factors and operational assumptions. The Haven commits to moving to actual measured data within twelve months of publication of this plan. Where assumptions are revised, prior years’ figures are restated transparently to maintain comparability over time.

7. Declaration and sign-off

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been completed in accordance with Procurement Policy Note 06/21 and associated guidance and reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans.

Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard, and uses the appropriate Government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting.

Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported in accordance with SECR requirements. The Scope 3 categories included reflect those most material to a fully remote online education provider.

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been reviewed and signed off by the Board of Governors.

Signed:

Cathy Wassell Proprietor Date: 13/05/2026

Vicki May Chair of Governors Date: 13/05/2026

8. Publication

This Carbon Reduction Plan is published on The Haven’s website at thehavenonline.school and is freely accessible to commissioners, partners and the public. Updates will be published annually.

9. Contact

Questions about this Carbon Reduction Plan, or requests for further information, should be directed to:

The Proprietor

hello@autisticgirlsnetwork.org

Document version	1.0
Date issued	May 2026
Next review	May 2027
Document owner	Proprietor
Approved by	Board of Governors

Baseline year: financial year 2025/26 (1 September 2025 – 31 August 2026)	Baseline year: financial year 2025/26 (1 September 2025 – 31 August 2026)
Additional details relating to the baseline emissions calculations	Additional details relating to the baseline emissions calculations
The Haven launched in September 2025 as a specialist online education provision. The 2025/26 financial year is therefore our first year of operation and forms our baseline year. As a fully online provider with no physical premises and no organisation-owned vehicles or fleet, our direct (Scope 1) and energy (Scope 2) emissions are minimal. The figures presented below are first-year estimates produced using UK Government greenhouse gas reporting conversion factors and reasonable assumptions about staff working patterns, cloud infrastructure use, and occasional in-person activity. The Haven commits to refining the baseline using actual operational data within the first twelve months of publication of this plan.	The Haven launched in September 2025 as a specialist online education provision. The 2025/26 financial year is therefore our first year of operation and forms our baseline year. As a fully online provider with no physical premises and no organisation-owned vehicles or fleet, our direct (Scope 1) and energy (Scope 2) emissions are minimal. The figures presented below are first-year estimates produced using UK Government greenhouse gas reporting conversion factors and reasonable assumptions about staff working patterns, cloud infrastructure use, and occasional in-person activity. The Haven commits to refining the baseline using actual operational data within the first twelve months of publication of this plan.
Baseline year emissions	Total (tCO2e)
Scope 1	0.0 tCO2e (no organisation-owned premises, vehicles, equipment or gas use)
Scope 2	0.0 tCO2e (no organisation-purchased electricity; no premises)
Scope 3 (included sources)	Approximately 4.5 tCO2e (estimated)
Of which:
• Category 4 — Upstream transportation and distribution	≈ 0.0 tCO2e (negligible; no physical goods movement)
• Category 5 — Waste generated in operations	≈ 0.0 tCO2e (negligible; no physical waste stream)
• Category 6 — Business travel	≈ 0.8 tCO2e (estimated; occasional in-person meet-ups, training delivery and partner meetings)
• Category 7 — Employee commuting (homeworking allowance)	≈ 3.5 tCO2e (estimated; homeworking energy attributable to Haven staff at HMRC homeworking standard)
• Category 9 — Downstream transportation and distribution	≈ 0.2 tCO2e (estimated; cloud computing emissions attributable to learning delivery)
Total Emissions	Approximately 4.5 tCO2e (estimated)

Current emissions reporting	Current emissions reporting
Reporting year: 2025/26 (this is the baseline year)	Reporting year: 2025/26 (this is the baseline year)
Emissions	Total (tCO2e)
Scope 1	0.0 tCO2e
Scope 2	0.0 tCO2e
Scope 3 (included sources)	≈ 4.5 tCO2e (estimated)
Total Emissions	≈ 4.5 tCO2e

Milestone year	Target emissions reduction against baseline	Estimated tCO2e
Baseline (2025/26)	—	≈ 4.5 tCO2e
2030	25% reduction	≈ 3.4 tCO2e
2035	50% reduction	≈ 2.3 tCO2e
2040	Net Zero	0.0 tCO2e (residual emissions offset)