As a provider of software solutions, the Group’s operations have a relatively limited impact on the environment.
However, the Board is committed to implementing measures that will result in incremental improvements to the Group’s environmental impact, such as minimising paper usage, considering the environmental credentials of its office spaces and by avoiding unnecessary travel and using video-based meeting facilities where appropriate. The entire workforce is provided with the technology and flexibility to work remotely to minimise travel.
The Board is committed to providing stakeholders with an increasing amount of transparency on its environmental credentials and reports on both its scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions. The Group is pleased to report that it has again seen a significant year on year reduction in its carbon emissions this year alongside a number of proactive measures that incrementally reduce its energy consumption. In 2023, the Group intends to undertake a scope 3 footprint analysis and to set science based targets to achieve a net zero position by 2050.
Approach in 2022
During the year, the Group continued to facilitate the following arrangements to minimize its energy usage and emissions:
• hybrid working practices enabling employees to combine remote working with office-based working thereby
removing any unnecessary travel to and from offices;
• where appropriate, the implementation of client projects on a remote basis, to avoid unnecessary international travel by employees;
• the use of a data centre in Poland where electricity is purchased from renewable energy sources and the site has an environmental management system that is compliant with the ISO 14001; and
• a key provider of the Group’s cloud infrastructure being committed to powering its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025. Data centres used by the Group in Oregon and Frankfurt are confirmed as being carbon neutral.
2023 and beyond
In early 2023 the Group took the decision to dispose of its Warrington lease, as this large office space was highly under‑utilised. The Group will continue to review all property usage over the coming year, to ensure that its leased office spaces are used efficiently and meet the evolving needs of the workforce. When selecting any new or replacement office spaces, environmental considerations are given high precedence in the decision-making process.
This year the Group is also seeking to minimize its paper usage and the associated physical distribution, by encouraging shareholders to receive their communications from the Group, including the Annual Report and Accounts, by electronic, rather than printed means. Printed documents will still be provided to those shareholders that expressly request to continue with paper-based communications, but in the absence of such an election, electronic communications will become the default means of communication. The Board hopes that shareholders will be supportive of this initiative to minimize waste and increase efficiencies for the benefit of both the environment and the business.
The Group currently reports its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, which can be found on pages 36 to 37 of the Group’s annual report. The Group is committed to further evolving its carbon emissions and energy usage analysis and reporting over time and intends to commence scope 3 analysis in 2023. The Group also reports on its compliance with the recommendations of the Task Force for Climate-related Disclosures (“TCFD”), which can be found on pages 32 to 33. The Group’s TCFD report contains further information about the Group’s approach to climate-related metrics and targets and its path to a net zero position.
