Chris H Walker FCIM FIMechE, Director, CEO, Diamond Hard Surfaces Ltd
“As a small company we are striving for a better future for all and we believe that everyone can make a difference, no matter how small”
Diamond Hard Surfaces is a UK based micro-SME trading with customers in 22 countries on three different continents globally. The business uses its patented CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition) coating process for the application of carbon in the form of diamond at low temperature to advanced engineering components in the Chemical Processing, Aerospace and Electronics sectors.
Even before the advent of Net Zero when we were first launching our product, we were able to confidently promote our process as a “green for green” technology, i.e. low carbon footprint and contributes to a reduction in our customer’s impact and that of our customer’s customers.
In 2020 we set out on our journey to net zero. At this time the following statistics were being quoted:
SMEs are responsible for 30% of all current UK greenhouse gas emissions and up to 50% of total emissions from UK businesses. 76% of small businesses are yet to act on their carbon emissions. Only 13% have set targets to reduce their carbon footprint.
We at DHS do not want to be part these shocking statistics and firmly believed that we could quantify and obtain our objective by 2025. Our process has an inherently low carbon footprint using very low levels of energy and small quantities of precursor to produce a coating which enhances the performance and lifetime of the components to which it is applied.
We started by hiring a graduate engineer who, as part of his degree, studied sustainability practice and the principles of Net Zero. As a part of our work on environmental sustainability, we wrote a report outlining our carbon footprint in the year 2020. In this report, we have been very harsh on ourselves in terms of our carbon footprint, using worst case scenarios in our calculations. We have included scope 1 and 2 emissions and we have attempted to calculate our scope 3 emissions as best we can with the information that we have at our disposal. After comparing our carbon footprint to the potential carbon savings that our services provide, we believe we are in a net carbon deficit of 5.7 tons CO2.
Many of our customers are large blue-chip companies with ESG front and centre of their shareholders priorities. They typically promote their green credentials and highlight the importance of working within the whole supply chain to reduce their impact on the environment. One of whom has even set up a ‘club’ for aspiring net zero companies within their supply chain.
We therefore assumed that assistance in evaluating our scope 3 emissions would be easily forthcoming. Not so. Unfortunately, this has not been the case.
We know we have all the right ingredients to show that we are making a positive contribution toward Net Zero however as an SME we have so far found it impossible to engage with our customers further upstream on such a level that it allows us to quantify the scope 3 benefits to them.
As a small company we are striving for a better future for all and we believe that everyone can make a difference, no matter how small. Net zero only works as a concept if all the actors in the supply chain engage, we all want the prize- a sustainable future, but it will only be meaningful if we work together and share experience.