EMBEDDING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS AS USUAL

As a business, we create bespoke software for our clients, and we believe it is our responsibility to do so sustainably. Whilst we have always worked to reduce our environmental impact and support sustainability in our sector, in 2019 we decided to report publicly on our progress. With the help of an independent consultant, we set our climate targets, aligned with the Science Based Targets Initiative. Our goal is to achieve neutrality by 2028 and net zero by 2040.

We are making sustainability part of business as usual to achieve our climate goals. As a Senior Leadership Team, we prioritise climate action in the same way as economic and social performance, and by doing so we have made good progress over the last few years. We have embraced hybrid working and transitioned to cloud-based systems, reducing energy consumption and reliance on hardware infrastructure.

We have relocated our Newcastle head office, which houses 185 employees, to the Helix—one of the most sustainable offices in the city. This new location features state-of-the-art live tracking of energy consumption, heating, and cooling, integrated with the dedicated network of the Helix’s district energy centre. This advanced system enables us to identify numerous smaller efficiency improvements with precision.

However, with a team of 500, spread across 6 UK offices, engaging our employees is a vital part of the process. Since setting our targets, we have worked directly with each employee to ensure they understand what sustainability means for them in their role, what is needed and why, and how changes to our processes can lead to reductions in emissions. We have been careful not to treat climate action as a separate task, but instead enable sustainable decision-making as part of everyone’s day job.

For example, we created new processes and policies, such as our sustainable property policy – setting out “must have”s and “nice to have”s for all our premises, such as city centre locations, bicycle storage, no car parking provision, energy efficiency expectations, and monitoring/reporting capability – and our preferential procurement policy, which helps staff identify the simple changes they can make and how they can make a positive impact, such as using local MSMEs whenever possible and considering the full lifecycle of products.

THE SUPPLIER ISSUE

Our biggest challenge is reducing our Scope 3 emissions, which account for 98% of our carbon footprint. When we started looking at the typical methodology for calculating supplier impact for professional services (which nominally makes up 27% of our carbon footprint), we found ourselves doubting the accuracy of the result. As a professional services company, it made sense to start by looking at how we could improve impact reporting for our clients.

In 2023, we trialled a new methodology, using time and headcount as a proxy for emissions, and created a report for each of our clients. Although engagement with this new set of information varied, it has helped some clients review their reporting methods, and opened up conversations about how we can improve supplier impact reporting in our sector. As a business, we are committed to demonstrating climate leadership, for our clients and peers in our industry, so we will continue to share our work in this area.

COLLECTIVE ACTION

There’s a well-known space called open-source software, this is code made available for free, and for the most part, is maintained by people through their own goodwill. At Scott Logic, we have always been a part of this, and this way of working has spread over into our environmental considerations.

Earlier this year, our Bristol team launched our Tech Carbon Standard (TCS) to bridge the gap between the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the digital technology space. The TCS is a standardised framework to give software companies, or any organisation with a significant IT estate, a structure to measure, reduce, and improve their environmental impact. By producing this framework and these standards, we’re developing guidance and direction to help businesses discuss security and availability alongside environmental sustainability.

We’re sharing our approach and learnings through our website and relevant groups and networks, including Tech Zero, a group of technology firms committed to net zero. It’s been incredibly encouraging to find that when it comes to climate, the competitive landscape vanishes, and makes way for learning and support.

TOP TIPS

• Perfection is the enemy of progress. Remember, even our world-leading experts, don’t have it right yet. So, make a start and do something.
• Collaboration is vital – we will only make an impact if we work together.
• Remember your business can be a force for good and amplify the behaviour and change we need.

To find out more about Scott Logic’s climate journey and access the range of learnings and guidance the team are actively sharing around climate, visit their website.

GOT SOME NEWS TO SHARE?

Through our collaboration with Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership’s Climate Action Programme, we’re keen to showcase climate progress in this area of the city and create more opportunities for businesses to learn from one another.

If you have an initiative or project we can shout about, please get in touch with Bex.