Carbon Reduction Plan

Version 3.0

Download a PDF version of our current Carbon Reduction Plan

1. Introduction

Supplier name: Datalynx Limited
Publication date: March 27th 2023

Datalynx is committed to corporate social responsibility and, in particular, to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. As such, we have already implemented several steps:

• We are paper-free
• Our vehicle fleet is 100% hybrid
• We actively encourage work from home when possible
• We have reduced consumption of upstream goods and ensured that the carbon footprint of devices purchased is low where possible
• We are in the process of moving from office premises with an Energy Rating of E to a building rated C. This move will take place during 2023

2. Baseline Emissions Footprint

Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases that have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. Baseline emissions are the reference point against which emissions reduction can be measured.

Baseline Year: 2019

Additional Details relating to the Baseline Emissions calculations.

We have used 2019 as our baseline. Our use of materials is minimal, due to the nature of the business. Similarly, water use and waste generated are extremely low; primarily, our “black bag” waste consists of personal, food-related rubbish, with just occasional business-related waste, such as IT equipment packaging.

However, our extensive IT infrastructure means that our electricity consumption is high. We currently operate from a serviced office and our electricity supply is unmetered, however. We have therefore calculated electricity consumption in several ways –

• We have monitored the consumption of specific devices, and then used this to estimate total usage. Due to an error in the presentation of these calculations, we have revised downwards our estimated consumption for both our baseline year (2019) and for 2020 compared with our first report, published in 2021.
• We have taken advice from the company who service our air conditioning units in order to estimate their consumption.

During our annual review of 2021, we noted that an error was made when interpreting our calculations of electricity use by our servers. We have therefore reduced our baseline figure for 2019, and our figure for 2020. (This, of course, makes our targets a little more rigorous.)

Because our team is highly specialist, many reside a considerable distance from our office, or from other work locations. For this reason, travel is another significant source of emissions. We have taken account of vehicle type when calculating total emissions; these are based on actual mileages for business travel and on estimates based on postcodes and Google Maps’ recommended routes for commutes for which no accurate data were available.

We have also amended downwards our baseline, 2020 and 2021 upstream goods figures, since the source we have used for conversion to CO2e was found to be reporting US tons. Again, this has resulted in slightly more rigorous targets.

Baseline year emissions:

3. Current Emissions Reporting

Reporting Year: 2022

4. Emissions Reduction Targets

In order to continue our progress to achieving Net Zero, we have adopted the following carbon reduction targets. Although emissions have increased slightly in 2022, and are likely to do so again in 2023, we project that carbon emissions will show a decreasing trend (see below), so that by 2025 the total will never exceed 180 tCO2e. This is a reduction of 20% compared with our 2019 baseline.

Since such a large proportion of our emissions are normally generated by office energy consumption, commuting and business travel, future work trends will have a significant bearing on our progress. Whilst we operate extremely effectively with home-based working, client requirements may mean that this is difficult to sustain. This could mean that our emissions caused by commuting and business travel, and to a lesser extent electricity consumption, may fluctuate.

Figures for 2022 were again positively affected by increased home working compared with pre-2020. This is expected to continue into 2023, though some further return to office-based work is planned. Indeed, whilst figures have still not drawn close to 2019 – or even 2020 – figures, employee commuting has increased by 126% compared with 2021, and this has affected our emissions figures. However, active transport is encouraged, and although many Datalynx staff live a considerable distance from the office, 151 miles of cycle commuting have been recorded during 2022. Additionally, 20% of total commuting miles have been by train. Both clearly contribute to reduced emissions.

The company is in the process of acquiring new office facilities, which will result in greater energy efficiency. However, this also leads to a certain degree of uncertainty regarding our data (or, more accurately, greater certainty!), because up to now we have not been able to acquire accurate data regarding electricity usage, and our figures have therefore been estimated. It remains possible that our estimates have been low, in which case it is possible that energy usage will appear to be higher. There has been an estimated small increase in electricity usage this year, though this has been offset by a reduced conversion factor (Carbon Trust), presumably as renewables provide a greater proportion of electricity supply. Further, we have invested in energy-efficient laptops, with the result that an increase in company size has not impacted emissions as much as would otherwise have been the case.

Emissions caused by upstream goods will fluctuate considerably from year-to-year; there was a significant reduction during 2020, which was bettered again in 2021. However, significant investment has been made this year, due to information security requirements and to significant company expansion. This has resulted in higher figures, though this has largely been offset by purchasing items with a lower carbon footprint. Further, this investment has reduced emissions per device, as set out above.
The company’s size is expected to continue to grow, and since factors such as commuting, travel and upstream goods are particularly significant for Datalynx, such growth will also affect future emissions.

Reducing emissions is a key target, and we expect that we can, however, reach our objectives.

2023 – 2025 – years 3 – 5

We will move to a new office during 2023, with the chosen premises being more energy efficient.

At present, we are unable to quantify our electricity, water or wastewater consumption, because our supply is unmetered (see above). However, we believe that our existing office is almost certainly energy-inefficient, having little insulation; it has a government rating of E. We therefore believe that moving to a more suitable building will result in savings.

Less office-based working

We plan to maintain a situation where all staff complete at least one day’s work from home per week. This results in reduced commuting but also allows us to close the office more frequently, saving energy which was used pre-pandemic for heating, and possibly for lighting also. We also plan to try to restrict client-site working to three days per week.

2026 – 2030 – years 6 – 10

We will move towards using cloud-based servers (using AWS, for example).
By this point, we will have moved to a situation in which all staff work from home at least two days per week, furthering the benefits described above.

At our new office location, we aim to have switched to using renewable energy sources (such as solar panels) for at least some of our electricity requirements.

2030 – 10 years

We will have replaced all electronic equipment and will be using only A+ rated appliances.

At present, our business vehicles are hybrid, but by this point we will have switched completely to electric vehicles.

Client-site working will have been reduced to one day per week.

2035 – 15 years

By this time, we will have moved to a situation in which all staff work from home at least three days per week.

We expect to be taking advantage of replacement equipment, so that our use of renewables and energy-efficient computers and vehicles is enhanced.

2045 – 25 years

We can imagine a situation in which work is entirely from home, so that commuting and business miles, which are highly significant to our carbon footprint, are essentially eliminated.

Progress

5.  Carbon Reduction Projects

Completed Carbon Reduction Initiatives

The following environmental management measures and projects have been completed or implemented since the 2019 baseline. The carbon emission reduction achieved by these schemes equate to 13 tCO₂e, a 5% reduction against the 2019 baseline, and the measures will be in effect when performing the contract. (Note – we have made significant further emissions reductions, but these are not related to planned changes; as set out above, they result largely from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Actual reduction equates to 174 tCO₂e, but as set out above this may not be sustained.)

• Work from home – targeting one day per week (7 tonnes)
• 5% reduction in consumption of upstream goods, including transportation – (6 tonnes)
• Increased train use and active transport (0.8 tonnes)

In the future we hope to implement further measures such as:

• Use of cloud-based servers (using AWS, for example)
• Further work from home, notwithstanding client requirements
• Use of renewable energy sources (such as solar panels) for at least some of our electricity requirements
• Replacement of all electronic equipment so that we will be using only A+ rated appliances
• Move from hybrid to fully electric vehicles.

6. Declaration and Sign Off

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 06/21 and associated guidance and reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans.

Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the GHG Reporting Protocol corporate standard[1] and uses the appropriate Government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting[2].

Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported in accordance with SECR requirements, and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard[3].

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been reviewed and signed off by the board of directors (or equivalent management body).

[1] https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-conversion-factors-for-company-reporting

[3] https://ghgprotocol.org/standards/scope-3-standard

Download a PDF version of our current Carbon Reduction Plan