Scope 3 levers – How to Leverage Operational policies
This is the sixth part of our series on decarbonising Scope 3 emissions. This video we look internally to your company and explore how operational policies are an easy-win solution to lowering your organisation’s Scope 3 emissions.
There are some Scope 3 emissions that a company can influence more readily than others, these are business travel and employee commuting.
On the back of the COVID pandemic, everyone has been excited to travel again. I’ve had this conversation with clients many times, they have managed to survive through the pandemic, and several have expanded operations during this period. They have managed this on little to no business travel, utilising the digital technology that is now available to us, however, they are now creeping back into old habits.
Operational policies can be a key lever
Operational policies can be a key lever to reduce Scope 3 emissions in this space. It doesn’t need to be complicated and can be an easy win!
Establishing criteria for business travel to challenge the necessity is a simple solution. If it is necessary, then commit to offsetting the associated emissions.
Employee commuting is more challenging, but it’s simply promoting public transport or jumping on a bike. You can supply your employees with travel cards to encourage the use of public transport.
Try and set some internal goals. A good way is to gamify it and have an internal office challenge!
How your office location plays a part
A recent client of Evolveable Consulting was seeking a new office location. Their carbon footprint demonstrated that over 90% of employee commuting was via car due to the office’s location.
As part of their decarbonisation strategy, we supported them in developing criteria to include emissions as part of their new office location selection. This criterion considered the proximity to public transport, end-of-trip facilities for employees to refresh after a cycle or run into work and the potential to install Electric Vehicle Charging Bays for employees that wish to utilise an electric car.
This helps demonstrate to your employees that your company is serious about reducing emissions, not only from a business perspective, but can also help employees lower their carbon footprints.
Make sure you look at the other videos in this Decarbonising Scope 3 series.
If you would like to know more
Contact us at Evolveable Consulting, and we assist businesses in identifying decarbonisation solutions and strategies to reshape their business. You can learn more about our services or book a consultation directly with us.