Bristol-based Alexander May has become the city’s first estate agency business to go carbon neutral and wants to help other estate agencies do the same.

The achievement forms part of the company’s wider long-term environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitment.

In addition to offsetting its entire carbon usage, Alexander May has set an ambitious target to become a net zero company by 2025 – five years ahead of that stipulated by Bristol City Council and the UK government.

The company partnered with a local environmental consultancy, Greener Energy Futures, who calculated Alexander May’s carbon footprint and priority areas. In addition, they facilitated a workshop to identify practical ways the business could get started with carbon reduction.

This led to the estate agency implementing a stringent carbon reduction strategy that enabled it to identify greater energy efficiencies and offset the environment impact across its Clifton, Long Ashton, and Southville branches, whilst making significant cost savings.

Robert Mamuda, founder and director of Alexander May, said: “I am extremely proud that Alexander May has become a carbon neutral business. It is an important first step that is part of a long-term investment in what we seek to achieve in the coming years.

“But it nearly didn’t happen. Like many observers, last year’s COP26 was a real game-changer for me and the business itself for two key reasons.

“First, I will freely admit that until this point my understanding and awareness of what climate change means was limited. The science that emanated during those two weeks in Glasgow last November had a profound impact on me personally. It served as a wake-up call of the need to act, and to do so fast.

“Second, it became clear that the scale and pace of change required to protect future generations from the worst effects of climate change cannot be the sole responsibility of governments and large-scale enterprises. They cannot do it alone.

“We can all bring about positive change no matter the size of business we are. So, we resolved to be part of the change needed. Inaction, we realised, has a cost.”

In partnership with Temwa Carbon Balance, a Bristol and Malawi-based NGO that enables businesses to offset their emissions through the restoration of carbon-rich forests that in turn restores local ecosystems, Alexander May hopes to create a domino effect throughout the whole of Bristol’s business community.

Mamuda added: “It all starts with educating our people and customers on how they can minimise their impact on the environment. The strategy we have in place enables our employees to offset their personal carbon footprint which is matched by the business.

“We also have an internal climate committee in place to help steer staff in the right direction and to develop new ideas on what else can be done to drive down their energy consumption and that of the business itself.

“Likewise, our customers can do so on the assessed carbon footprint associated with the sale or let of their property through simple means such as undertaking virtual rather than physical viewings.”

Alexander May is now offering training and consultancy services to other Bristol based businesses seeking to gain carbon neutrality.

Mamuda continued: “It is my hope that fellow estate agency firms, property developers, and businesses from other areas of the local economy will rethink their choice of partners and suppliers in favour of those who are carbon neutral and more responsible.

“More important, that they are inspired to follow suit by taking action to become the change that is sorely needed to protect this and future generations from the worsening impact of climate change.”