2021 really has felt like a landmark year for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). The Covid-19 pandemic drastically altered our reality, pushing us to think about a new normal, including how we can live and work more sustainably. The IPCC report highlighted the gravity and immediacy of the climate crisis we are facing. COP26 bought together policymakers, activists and businesses aiming to catalyse vital change. COP26 resulted in some landmark pledges, but raised significant concerns about the ability of the global community to act on the crisis.
Here at Colt, 2021 has also been a year of championing ESG. In terms of environmental sustainability, it’s been a packed 12 months of data gathering, setting Science Based Targets and building a strategy to drastically reduce our emissions, alongside defining other key environmental KPI’s.
To round off the year, let’s take a look back at our 12 landmark environmental sustainability moments of 2021:
- Carbon Baseline set and Science Based Targets approved by SBTi: Scope 1 and 2 road maps aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory (47% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030) and a Scope 3 road map aligned with a well-below 2-degree trajectory (28% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030).
- Improving our ESG ratings: We’re proud to have achieved a Gold EcoVadis rating, putting us in the 97th percentile of rated companies, and a B for our Carbon Disclosure Project submission.
- 100% renewable energy power in Europe (for Scope 2, energy for our own consumption): This has been achieved across Colt Core and DCS, via REGOs (Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin).
- Driving forward our commitment to having a 75% electric fleet by 2030. We’ve delivered 38 fully electric and 12 plug-in hybrid vehicles across eight sites.
- Kickstarting our Sustainable Procurement Strategy with the launch of our Sustainable Procurement Policy. We have trained 100% of our Procurement team in ISO20400 (Sustainable Procurement), integrating new sustainability-focused questions in RFPs and surveying our top 260 suppliers to better understand their ESG data.
- Donating over 1,000 refreshed Colt laptops (and counting) to schools and charities globally via the Colt Connected Classroom Initiative, not only helping to prevent e-waste but also bridging the technology gap.
- Mobile donation: To save working phones from going to landfills, we’ve encouraged Colt employees to keep their replaced work mobiles and donate to charity or return phones to Colt for recycling.
- Championing Circular Economy Initiatives, including our pioneering, partnered bioleaching trial to combat e-waste and making strides to hit our zero waste to landfill goal.
- Launching the Green Teams Initiative globally, giving employees a forum to make environmentally impactful changes on-site and in their local communities.
- Two inspirational winners selected for our Sustainability Champion Awards: Read more about their amazing stories.
- Being recognised for our environmental initiatives: We’ve been shortlisted for Edie’s Sustainability Leaders Awards 2022, and featured in Mobile Magazine’s top 10 Sustainable Telcos.
- Becoming part of GESI (Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative); collaborating with others in the IT industry to drive forward actions within the Circular Economy Partnership, Climate Change Working Group and Digital With Purpose project.
If you want to read more about Colt’s sustainability commitments and actions, head to our Sustainability Matters page. Read more on our latest CDP and EcoVadis Scores.
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