As a Tech Zero and SME Climate Hub signatory, Adopter has committed to halving our emissions by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
We pride ourselves on our sustainability and our commitment to placing the planet alongside profit.
These commitments are demonstrated by our B Corp Certification and our involvement with Tech Zero & SME Climate Hub.
We, therefore, see monitoring and managing our carbon emissions with transparency as a necessary step in working to mitigate our impact on the environment.
Which types of emissions have been calculated?
When reporting on emissions, there are three different types of emissions that need to be measured. They are Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions.
Scope 1 - Direct emissions that are produced from sources that are controlled or owned by a company.
For example, emissions produced from the running of machinery or the driving of company vehicles count as Scope 1 emissions.
Scope 2 - Indirect emissions that are created from the production of energy that a company purchases to help run its operations.
For example, the emissions produced from electricity usage in an office would count as Scope 2 emissions.
Scope 3 - Indirect emissions that are produced as a result of actions from external sources up and down a company's value chain.
As Scope 3 emissions are controlled by a company's related suppliers and customers, they have the least amount of influence on these emissions making them the hardest to report on and reduce.
Emissions from the manufacture and transportation of products purchased by a company are examples of Scope 3 emissions, as are the emissions produced from consumers disposing of a company’s own product.
Adopter’s emissions from the last financial year (2023-2024)
For Adopter, the last financial year was about understanding how our emissions increase as we scale compared to the initial baseline. Using these calculations, we can begin to understand where and how to improve.
For the financial year of 2023-24:
To help contextualise these numbers, the WWF suggests that the average UK person's carbon footprint is 8.8 tCO2e.
Our Scope 2 emissions have increased by 0.02 tCO2e from last FY.
Our Scope 3 emissions have increased by 4.22 tCO2e from last FY.
As a remote-first service company, we have no Scope 1 emissions and very few Scope 2 emissions. Our Scope 3 emissions - like most companies - form the bulk of our emissions. Most of our Scope 3 emissions came from our suppliers and travel , while some also came from purchases, websites we created, and home-working employee emissions.
The scope 3 emissions have slightly more than doubled from FY 22/23 to FY 23/24. This is largely due to a big increase in supplier emissions (from 1.9 tCO2e to 4.7 tCO2e) which comes from the growth of our business and larger scale of our work and an increase in travel-related emissions (from 0.65 tCO2e to 1.5 tCO2e).
Adopter is scaling, and we are aware that we must be realistic about our future emissions. As we hire new team members and expand our work, our emissions will rise for a period. Nevertheless, we are aiming to work to reduce our emissions intensity as we scale and are determined to reach our emissions targets.
Currently, a large amount of our Scope 3 emissions are residual and difficult for us to mitigate. But we are committed to reducing our emissions where we can.
Our Calculations
We have calculated our emissions using Tech Zero guidance and the most accurate information possible. However, practical constraints meant that we could not include our emissions from waste, paper, and purchases of less than £50 that did not fit into categories of food, electronics, clothing, metals, or plastics. Our calculations are thus likely an underestimate.
What can we do better?
Our Co-Founder, Matt Jaworski, is responsible for our net zero targets and emissions. Have you got any feedback on our emissions plan or how we can become more sustainable?
Reach out to Matt Jaworski on Linkedin; we’d love to hear your thoughts!
