As a responsible business, we recognise our role in protecting the planet and promoting sustainability. As a result, we have committed to reducing our carbon footprint to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
This is not just a statement of intent – we are currently developing a comprehensive plan towards a greener, more sustainable future – which will culminate in the publication of our Carbon Reduction Plan.
So, read on to learn what the plan involves – and some tips for organisations looking to do the same.
Our Roadmap to Net Zero Emissions
Achieving net zero is a complex challenge that requires a multi-faceted approach; our robust strategy includes the following five initiatives.
1. Energy Efficiency
Our plan begins with a significant reduction in energy consumption across all operations. Some of the key measures we will implement include optimising the server usage regarding our grant management system and sourcing renewables from our energy suppliers.
We’re also fostering awareness among our employees about the importance of energy conservation, ensuring every team member is a proactive participant in our environmental strategy. Through these actions, we aim to drastically lower our consumption.
2. Remote Working
The shift to remote work has been one of the most notable changes in the global workplace in recent years, and different studies indicate that it can reduce an employee’s carbon footprint by varying degrees.
One study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, found that the sustainability benefits of remote working largely depend on the habits employees engage in at home.
For example, while on-site workers may drive to the office and back, many remote workers are likely to take several short trips by car during a typical day. Naturally, this cancels out some of the benefits. There’s also the fact that hybrid workers often choose to move out of urban areas, giving them a longer commute on the days they do work on-site.
The study concluded that workers can reduce their carbon footprint by up to 58%, providing that their non-commute-related transport choices and energy consumption are aligned with this goal.
We plan to continue embracing remote working arrangements and minimising office space requirements; combined with our changes in organisational culture (see below), we will ensure it makes a positive impact.
3. Green Procurement
Our green procurement strategy focuses on sourcing eco-friendly products and services that align with our sustainability objectives, ensuring that our supply chain contributes positively to our environmental targets.
Companies looking to make their procurement more sustainable must rigorously assess potential suppliers on their environmental practices and select products that are certified by recognised environmental standards such as EPEAT (for electronics).
Some metrics to track to ensure that procurement is sustainable include the percentage of recycled content in purchased products, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions due to improved supply chain practices, and the cost savings resulting from energy-efficient purchases.
There’s also the calculation of the proportion of spending on goods and services that meet sustainability criteria relative to the total procurement budget.
4. Employee Engagement
Achieving net zero is not just about technicalities and policy implementation; as mentioned, it also demands a shift in organisational culture and individual behaviours.
Therefore, educating our employees and integrating sustainable practices into their professional responsibilities and personal lives is another cornerstone of our plan – one that enables our vision to expand far beyond our internal operations.
Participation in CSR Activities
As part of our plan to cultivate a culture of environmental stewardship, we are encouraging our team to participate in CSR activities focused on environmental improvement. Such activities can greatly enhance a company’s cultural shift towards sustainability, strengthen their teams’ connection to environmental causes, and reinforce the importance of individual impact. Activities could include tree planting days and community clean-ups, for example.
Other Steps Towards Sustainability
Organisations can take simple steps such as promoting digitisation in order to reduce paper use, encouraging public transport, cycling, or carpooling to reduce commuting emissions, and maximising natural light in office spaces to reduce electricity use. Each of these actions requires employees to adopt new habits, which can be encouraged through regular training sessions and the provision of necessary resources.
These actions can also be supported through incentivisation, rewarding teams that successfully reduce waste, conserve energy, or excel in meeting sustainability KPIs.
Engaging employees in sustainability efforts not only helps achieve environmental goals; it has the potential to boost morale and deepen the individual’s sense of belonging and purpose within the company.
5. Continuous Improvement
Sustainability is a continuous journey, so we are committed to ongoing monitoring and evaluation of our progress towards achieving net zero emissions. This not only ensures that we stay on track but also allows us to adapt our strategies in response to technological advancements.
Sustainability KPIs
Some common sustainability KPIs that companies are monitoring within continuing improvement initiatives include:
- Carbon footprint: This is typically quantified in terms of total tonnes of CO2 equivalent emitted annually, which includes direct emissions from company operations and indirect emissions from sources like purchased electricity and transportation (or scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions).
- Emissions reduction: A measure of the reduction in total emissions over a set period compared to a baseline year, often expressed as a percentage.
- Energy consumption: This is often broken down by source, and by business unit or location.
- Energy saved due to efficiency improvements: This measures the energy savings resulting from specific initiatives compared to historical consumption data before their implementation.
- Water usage: This metric is often tracked in cubic meters or gallons used per year.
- Waste management: This is made up of several metrics quantifying the total weight of waste produced and the percentage recycled, reused, or sent to landfills.
- Supply chain sustainability: This can be measured by the percentage of suppliers compliant with environmental standards or by the percentage of raw materials sourced sustainably.
- Employee sustainability engagement: The percentage of employees participating in sustainability training programs or engagement activities; or the number of volunteer hours contributed to environmental projects.
Conclusion
As we look towards 2050, we are excited about the prospects of exceeding our own expectations. Through our Carbon Reduction Plan, we aim to mitigate our impact on the planet and lead by example in our industry – and we hope our policy inspires similar actions from other organisations, helping to create broader environmental changes.
As mentioned, digitisation is one step towards greater sustainability as it minimises paper waste and makes processes more efficient on the whole. At Fluent Technology, we provide world class grant management software that can help you achieve exactly that; to request a demo, contact us today.
