Environmental Impact
In addition to social and economic impacts, we considered NNL’s impact on environmental sustainability. NNL has consistently proven its commitment to a sustainable future both by minimising the impact of its own day-to-day business operations and by conducting research and development of alternative and sustainable sources of energy. In this section we analyse how NNL’s carbon footprint has changed over time and the work it has conducted as part of its Clean Energy Environmental Restoration focus areas.
£770,000
Monetary value of reduction in emissions since 2018/2019
2030
NNL's target to reach Net Zero emissions
27.1
Carbon industry ratio, down from 47.1 in 2018/19
NNL’s Own Environmental Impact
NNL’s overall greenhouse gas emissions across all scopes totalled 2,401 tonnes of CO2e (Carbon Dioxide equivalent) in 2021-22. This was down from 5,557 tonnes of CO2e emissions in 2018-19, a reduction of 3,156 tonnes, or almost 60%. Using the Treasury’s Green Book supplementary guidance on the valuation of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, the reduction in emissions equates to a monetary value of over £770,000. However, 2021-22 was still partially affected by the pandemic and therefore it is hard to predict what proportion of this reduction in emissions will fully endure.
Figure 9: NNL greenhouse gas emissions by scope
As can be seen in Figure 9, Scope 1 emissions form the lowest share of NNL’s emissions. These decreased from 143 tonnes of CO2e in 2018-19 to 124 in 2021-22. These originate from the combustion of fuel to generate gas. Scope 2 emissions form the largest share (83% in 2021-22) of carbon emissions, and decreased by almost 60% from 4,718 tonnes of CO2e in 2018-19 to 1,994 in 2021-22, accounting for the majority of the reduction in overall emissions. The reduction equates to a monetary value of over £660,000. The majority of the emissions were produced from the generation of electricity purchased from the Combined Heat and Power Plant at Sellafield and from the national grid. Finally, Scope 3 emissions also fell by almost 60% from 696 tonnes of CO2e in 2018-19 to 283 in 2021-22. However, this figure was most impacted by the pandemic as it includes emissions from business travel, which was heavily reduced during the pandemic. Travel fell from 1.8m kilometres in 2018-19 to 0.5m kilometres in 2021-22.
Figure 10 shows NNL’s emissions relative to its business activity over time. The steady decrease in the energy intensity ratio can be attributed to various education measures implemented by NNL, including eLearning, regular promotion of best practice on reducing environmental impact and energy management awareness. Physical improvement measures have also been implemented, including refurbishment of facilities, care and maintenance and equipment purchasing considering sustainability and energy efficiency. In particular, NNL has established environmental and energy management improvement activities across 14 departments, with progress being constantly monitored and formally reported as a key performance indicator.
Figure 10: NNL carbon intensity ratio trends
Clean Energy and Environmental Restoration Focus Areas
Clean Energy
NNL has addressed the challenge of achieving Net Zero through its Clean Energy focus area. It has done so by building capability across the fuel cycle through initiatives such as the Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme (AFCP), part of DESNZ’s £505m Energy Innovation Programme and also collaborating with the nuclear sector to provide the infrastructure needed to commercially deploy new technologies.
A key shift in the path to new energy has been the government’s backing for a new modular approach. While large scale nuclear power keeps playing an important role, the Energy White Paper calls for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and a demonstrator Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) by the early 2030s. The modular approach offers the significant advantage of enabling nuclear build projects to be shifted from construction sites to purpose built factories, with standardised components manufactured on a production line before being transported to site and assembled. The infrastructure thus becomes more replicable from one project to the next, making it cheaper to finance and quicker to deploy.
NNL has contributed to the deployment of modular reactors by working with the Government and the UK nuclear sector to support the demonstration of an AMR by the early 2030s. NNL has further supported the development of new nuclear technologies including SMRs and AMRs in the following ways:
● NNL is supporting Rolls Royce SMR, developing a UK concept for small modular reactors
● In 2020, NNL led a government review of how the UK’s nuclear R&D sector and domestic supply chain should be developed in order to support the deployment of AMRs
● NNL provided early R&D support to vendors in the first round of the AMR programme and have continued this with ongoing involvement in Westinghouse and U-Battery’s reactor development projects. This has helped the sector to progress promising technological solutions and develop national capabilities.
Environmental Restoration
Aside from contributing to the sustainable generation of nuclear energy, NNL has also enabled development in the handling and removal of past hazardous materials to restore the environment for future generations. It has always been a key strategic priority for NNL to leave the planet stronger and more sustainable.
NNL’s work in this focus area is done in partnership with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which is responsible for nuclear clean-up in the UK, and Sellafield Ltd., which is responsible for the Sellafield nuclear site. NNL has a lifetime collaboration agreement with Sellafield Ltd., which includes a Technical Services Agreement, signed in 2017, designed to enable cost savings and better outcomes. In particular, since 2008, NNL estimates that its collaboration with Sellafield Ltd. has saved UK taxpayers over £7bn, with hundreds of millions of pounds more in savings to come over the next few years.
A central part of the collaboration both with the NDA and Sellafield Ltd. is the Replacement Analytical Services Project, a £650m investment in the Central Laboratory that will give rise to the biggest analytical nuclear laboratory in the country. These benefits could multiply several times over in the next few years if the partnership between NNL and Sellafield Ltd is replicated across other NDA sites, generating transformative cost savings for taxpayers as well as contributing significantly to restoring the environment.
NNL’s work supporting Sellafield with environmental restoration
Examples of innovation and contributions to environmental restoration originating from NNL’s collaboration agreement with Sellafield Ltd. include:
- NNL and Sellafield Ltd. have pioneered the use of thermal treatment, which mixes waste with glass or ceramic materials – as opposed to the traditional cement – which, once consolidated at high temperatures, reduces the final volume of waste. Furthermore, as a result of this form of waste processing, the final waste is cheaper to look after, more stable and more resistant to proliferation.
- In collaboration with Sellafield Ltd., NNL has developed robots able to remotely handle hazardous materials in radioactive environments, contributing significantly to the NDA’s goal of completely removing humans from this type of work by 2030.
- NNL has delivered the Game Changers programme in conjunction with FIS360. The programme has incentivised over 100 organisations, including universities and SMEs, in the supply chain to overcome some of the most complex challenges in the nuclear sector. An example of this was a project with Resolve Robotics, a Cumbrian SME, who received funding to develop its modular robotic deployment system CellRail, which will make it cheaper and safer to conduct inspection and intervention processes in nuclear cells.