<p>The financial services provider has adopted a phased approach to going carbon neutral and plans to focus on improving energy efficiency and using increased amounts of renewable energy prior to offsetting the remaining carbon emissions. <br /><br />The group has a target of reducing its UK CO2 emissions per GBP1 million of income from 16.8 tonnes in 2005 to 12.5 tonnes by 2010. From April 2007, Barclays will source 50% of the energy used by its UK operations from green sources, which is expected to reduce its carbon emissions by around 120,000 tonnes a year. <br /><br />Barclays is committed to taking a responsible approach to the environment and the issue of climate change, said Andrew Flett, head of environmental management at Barclays. Going carbon neutral is a milestone in our environmental strategy but is absolutely not an end in itself. Focusing on energy consumption and sourcing an increasing part of it from green sources remain our top priorities. These make sense both from an environmental and financial point of view. <br /><br />The bank is also executing an offset program that will see 60% of the firm's emissions being offset through certified emissions reductions, while the remaining 40% is being offset through investments in small-scale projects such as small-scale wind power initiatives in India and China.</p>
