Net Zero Carbon Reduction Plan

Sopra Steria is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2028

Introduction

Sopra Steria adopts the UN Climate Neutral Now definition of Net Zero as “the state where a balance between anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals is achieved”. It will reach Net Zero defined in this way by taking the following actions:

Measuring all of its GHG emissions
Reducing its GHG emissions at source as far as possible; and
Offsetting its remaining emissions through projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere in the long term.

The Net Zero Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) lays out Sopra Steria’s approach and annual progress towards its objective of achieving Net Zero emissions by 2028.

Baseline and Current Emissions Footprint

Sopra Steria’s total absolute emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3) declined by 12.5%, from 40,645 tCO2e (in the baseline year, 2015) to 35,552 tCO2e (in the reporting year, 2021).

The PDF version of Sopra Steria’s Net Zero CRP provides a full breakdown of its emissions.

Emissions Reduction Targets

Sopra Steria will implement a phased approach, through intermediate targets, to achieving Net Zero emissions by the end of 2028. The Net Zero CRP document gives the milestone dates.

To support its progress to Net Zero, Sopra Steria has adopted the following emissions carbon reduction targets, against a 2015 baseline:

24% reduction in Scope 1+2 emissions per full-time employee by the end of 2021; and
20% reduction in Business Travel emissions per full-time employee by the end of 2021.

We project that Sopra Steria’s absolute GHG emissions will decrease to 32,916 tCO2e by 2025 (a reduction of 19%) and to zero by 2028 (a reduction of 100%).

Science-Based Targets

42% reduction in Scope 1+2 (market-based emissions) by end of 2025.

This is our 10-year SBT for all our Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Sopra Steria expects to achieve this target by procuring more renewable energy and through emissions reduction activities.

Ensure that the Group’s suppliers that account for at least 70% of its supply chain emissions control their GHG emissions by 2025; and

Ensure that 90% of the Group’s suppliers that account for at least 70% of its supply chain emissions have set GHG emissions reduction targets by 2025.

85% reduction in Scope 1+2 (market-based emissions) by end of 2040.

This is our 25-year SBT for all our Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Sopra Steria expects to achieve this target by procuring more renewable energy and through emissions reduction activities.

Science-based targets do not admit carbon removal offsets as a means of emissions reductions.

The Sopra Steria Group was one of the companies that road-tested the SBTi Net Zero Standard prior to its publication in late 2021.

We project that with carbon removal offsets, our GHG emissions will decrease to zero by 2028, a reduction of 100%.

Carbon Reduction Projects

Renewable Electricity

By 2019 Sopra Steria had raised to 100% the proportion of electricity consumed in the UK from renewable sources, reducing Scope 2 emissions to zero on a market basis.

Energy Efficiency

In 2018, Sopra Steria replaced the oil-fired boiler at its head office in Hemel Hempstead with a gas-fuelled one, reducing its GHG emissions by an estimated 94tCO₂e a year and its expenditure on energy by more than £28,000 a year.

The continuing constraints accompanying the coronavirus pandemic in 2021 reduced the consumption of energy in Sopra Steria’s offices by an estimated 27%. During the pandemic, Sopra Steria continued to address energy efficiency.

In 2021, Sopra Steria undertook energy efficiency initiatives and investment in measures to reduce our carbon emissions, including the following:

Sopra Steria signed an agreement to upgrade its company car scheme, which will focus entirely on environmentally friendly and tax-efficient Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). The scheme will be launched in 2022 and also offer support to employees with arranging discounted home charging points.
Sopra Steria completed the replacement of existing T8 lights, which commenced in late 2020, with light fittings using energy-efficient LEDs at our main office in Hemel Hempstead. This investment will reduce electricity consumption by 25,893 kWh and GHG emissions by 12 tCO2 each year.
Further upgrades of lighting to energy-efficient alternatives and LEDs were made at both offices in Hemel Hempstead. This investment is expected to reduce electricity consumption by 5,194 kWh and GHG emissions by 1.1 tCO2 each year.

Since the baseline year of 2015, Sopra Steria’s absolute energy footprint had decreased by 70% in 2021.

Energy-Efficient Data Centre Solutions

Migration of on-site data centres to off-site cloud-based solutions; reducing the proportion of electricity consumed by on-site data centres from 78% in the baseline year to 47% in 2020.

Business Travel and Internal Carbon Price

In the UK Sopra Steria applies an internal shadow carbon price to business travel. This facilitated a year-on-year reduction of 87% in business travel emissions per employee in 2021 against the baseline year.

Waste Management

100% of waste from collections managed directly by Sopra Steria is diverted away from landfill. Over 242,000 items of single-use plastic food and drinks packaging eliminated from on-site canteens each year.

Sustainable Purchasing

To reduce the environmental impact of printing, Sopra Steria goes beyond double-sided and “pull” printing to using “closed loop” paper made from recycled fibre. Closed loop paper requires no deforestation and uses less resources to manufacture than paper from virgin fibre: 83% less water; 72% less energy and 53% lower CO₂ emissions.

Carbon Offset Initiatives

In 2021 Sopra Steria purchased carbon removal offsets for GHG emissions from its offices, data centres and business travel that it did not avoid. Offsetting the GHG emissions from these sources in this way means that they had no net effect on the amount of GHGs in the atmosphere, making emissions from these sources net zero.

Since 2015 Sopra Steria had made its GHG emissions from offices, data centres and business travel carbon neutral by investing in projects that avoided future GHG emissions, particularly renewable energy projects in India.

In 2020, as part of its strategy for becoming net zero by 2028, Sopra Steria migrated its offsets for carbon neutral certification to a new partner accredited by the United Nations Climate Neutral Now programme. This partner invests in projects that remove the primary GHG carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, particularly afforestation projects in Uruguay that create new land for trees that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and that do not simply replace trees in deforested areas.

Future Initiatives

Sopra Steria expects that future ways of working patterns will lead to increased hybrid working. As a result, the Sopra Steria will explore and implement, through our UK property strategy, smart technology that provides management information and enables control of energy usage in line with dynamic changes in demand for office utilisation.

Sopra Steria will continue to extend carbon removal offsetting, for all relevant sources of indirect emissions, so that 100% of all emissions are net zero by 2028, as follows:

2022: All operations under direct control
2025: Certain indirect operations (i.e. waste, indirect fuel & energy, employee commuting and downstream leased assets) added
2028: Indirect operations related to the supply chain (purchased goods and services) added.

The Carbon Reduction Plan, as part of our Net Zero 2028 UN Climate Neutral Now initiative, is a key component of our wider Environmental Sustainability programme. This programme integrates our ISO14001-certified Environmental Management System, efficient resource consumption, renewable energy, circular economy, sustainable supply chain and support for our clients with solutions and services in their transition to a Net Zero economy.

Sopra Steria Group plans to continue to seek Net Zero through the UN Climate Neutral Now programme (2021: Measure: Gold; Reduce: Gold; Contribute: Silver). As a parallel exercise, Sopra Steria is due to make the Commitment to the new SBTi Net Zero Standard later in 2022. Then within the SBTi stipulated 24 months period, submit its existing SBTi 2019 validated targets to 1.5C for revalidation with the necessary revisions for SBTi validation.