Emission Reduction
On our way to net-zero
Through our mission Enhancing Society Together, we take responsibility for having a positive impact on the world. There is no time to waste to take the necessary actions to reduce climate change. That is why we are committed to occupy a leadership role in our transition to net-zero pursuing ambitious science-based reduction targets that have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in 2022:
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Reduce scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions from mainly offices by 95% by 2030 and 100% by 2050 from a 2019 base year.
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Reduce scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions mainly related to business travel by 67% by 2030 from a 2019 base year.
In 2023, we stayed ahead of our yearly progress to meet these targets. We realised a reduction in Scope 1 emissions following office improvements in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and lower use of fossil lease and rental cars. Scope 2 emissions increased because of higher electricity use in our South African offices that had remained partially closed in 2022 due to Covid. Scope 3 emissions increased because we flew more and did more business trips by car compared to 2022 when parts of the world were still in lockdown.
To track progress on our science-based targets, we follow the GHG protocol and international standard ISO 14064. In 2023, DNV verified our 2022 carbon footprint according to this ISO standard and in 2024 they verified our 2023 carbon footprint.
We are aiming for full CSRD compliance in 2024 which will include transparent insight into our sustainability performance.
The 2022 figures have been updated following the ISO 14064 verification audit that took place after publication of the 2022 annual report. Additionally, the 2022 figures have been restated to use the same definition of the number of employees in both the financial and sustainable reporting.
Carbon footprint, according to the GHG protocol and ISO14064 | ||||||
baseline | restated | |||||
CO2 (Ton CO2-eq) | Scope | 2019* | 2021 | 2022 | 2022 | 2023 |
Scope 1 emissions GHG protocol | ① | 4,309 | 1,229 | 1,286 | 1,244 | 895 |
-71% | -70% | -71% | -79% | |||
Scope 2 emissions GHG protocol | ② | 1,121 | 688 | 792 | 767 | 856 |
-39% | -29% | -32% | -24% | |||
Scope 3 emissions GHG protocol | ③ | 22,929 | 5,708 | 11,157 | 10,898 | 13,596 |
-75% | -51% | -52% | -41% | |||
Total | ① ② ③ | 28,359 | 7,625 | 13,235 | 12,909 | 15,347 |
*Together with the Science Based Targets initiative, we set 2019 as the baseline for our science-based reduction targets because it was the most recent and representative year before Covid. | ||||||
Scope 1: Direct greenhouse gas emissions that occur from sources that are owned or controlled. Scope 2: Indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur from generation of purchased electricity and heat. Scope 3: Indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in upstream and downstream activities. | ||||||
Carbon footprint by buildings and travel | baseline | restated | ||||
Scope | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2022 | 2023 | |
Our workforce/ employees* | 5,295 | 5,428 | 5,726 | 5,551 | 5,675 | |
Totals CO2 footprint | ||||||
Total | ① ② | 5,430 | 1,917 | 2,078 | 2,011 | 1,754 |
per employee | 1.03 | 0.35 | 0.36 | 0.36 | 0.31 | |
Total | ① ② ③ | 28,359 | 7,623 | 13,235 | 12,909 | 15,349 |
per employee | 5.36 | 1.40 | 2.31 | 2.33 | 2.70 | |
-74% | -57% | -57% | -49% | |||
Office buildings | ||||||
Total | ① ② | 1,616 | 1,094 | 1,156 | 1,118 | 1,194 |
per employee | 0.31 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.21 | |
Total | ① ② ③ | 3,280 | 1,915 | 2,198 | 2,208 | 2,361 |
per employee | 0.62 | 0.35 | 0.38 | 0.40 | 0.42 | |
-43% | -38% | -36% | -33% | |||
Travel by car | ||||||
Total business travel by car | ① ② | 3,863 | 895 | 922 | 894 | 561 |
per employee | 0.73 | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.10 | |
Total business travel by car | ① ② ③ | 11,938 | 3,360 | 5,313 | 5,152 | 5,034 |
per employee | 2.25 | 0.62 | 0.93 | 0.93 | 0.89 | |
Total all travel by road | ① ② ③ | 17,12 | 4,399 | 7,136 | 6,919 | 7,239 |
per employee | 3.23 | 0.81 | 1.25 | 1.25 | 1.28 | |
-73% | -59% | -59% | -61% | |||
Travel by plane | ||||||
Total | ③ | 7,735 | 1,314 | 3,769 | 3,653 | 5,588 |
per employee | 1.46 | 0.24 | 0.66 | 0.66 | 0.98 | |
-83% | -55% | -55% | -33% | |||
*For 2019 up to and including 2022 we reported based on workforce. The figures for 2022 have been restated to enable reporting based on employee numbers. | ||||||
Definitions: Office buildings scope 1 and 2 is energy related emission. Office buildings scope 3 is other building related emission like waste, printers. Business travel by car scope 1 and 2 is from leased/owned cars. Business travel by car scope 3 is from private cars used for business mileage. All travel by road scope 1, 2 and 3 covers business and commuting mileage. | ||||||