![Firm-wide emissions Firm-wide emissions](https://corporateresponsibility.thorntontomasetti.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/emissions-rev1.png)
In pursuit of our goal of carbon-neutral business operations by 2030 – and in line with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) – we’re aiming for a 5% reduction in absolute CO2e emissions (from 2018 baseline levels) each year. To achieve carbon neutrality, we’re reducing carbon emissions wherever possible and purchasing offsets to cover the rest.
In 2023, our absolute emissions declined by 3.4% from the previous year, despite a 10% growth in our workforce. Per capita emissions continued to drop, with reductions of 12% from 2022 levels and 53% from the 2018 baseline. And for the first time, we purchased Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for green power for all U.S. offices.
We accomplish reductions by:
-
- Designing or moving into high-performance offices. We design every newly leased office space to meet energy-efficiency standards set forth in our Sustainable Fit-Out Policy, based on the best specifications of LEED and other green-building rating systems. For existing offices, we offer grants and other resources to encourage our green champions to implement energy-efficient retrofits.
-
- Purchasing renewable energy. We are a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership, and we’ve met the program’s green-energy purchasing percentage targets every year since 2015. Our annual purchase of RECs, now covering 100% of our U.S. offices, brings the net carbon footprint of our U.S. office electricity emissions to zero.
-
- Reducing air-travel emissions. Because as a service firm we don’t often work directly with major suppliers, a large portion of our Scope 3 emissions originates from business travel. We avoid unnecessary travel by hosting meetings remotely and by centralizing large internal meetings. When travel is unavoidable, our travel policy encourages employees to choose lower emissions options like trains, nonstop flights and economy seating.
In this, our ninth year of offsetting all air-travel emissions, the offsets we purchased contributed to the Landfill Methane Gas to Energy project in New Bedford, Massachusetts. This project, which is not far from our Boston office, converts methane emissions from New Bedford’s landfill into liquified natural gas to be used as fuel.
We’re committed to pursuing the SBTi’s near-term targets, and next year we’ll set science-based reduction targets for our Scope 2 and 3 emissions, per SBTi guidelines. And we’ll further inspire reductions in energy consumption by upgrading our data-management and visualization technologies.
Each year, we recognize offices that have gone above and beyond to reduce the carbon footprint of their operations. Please visit these social media posts for stories about our 2023 carbon footprint winners.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram