Tracking Our Impact
Verdical Group’s Annual Carbon Footprint Reporting
By Cassiel Nortier-Tilly
At Verdical Group, our purpose is clear: to make a positive impact on the climate crisis through the decarbonization of the built environment. But our commitment doesn’t stop with our clients. We strive to meet the same rigorous standards we help them achieve, holding ourselves accountable for our own environmental footprint. This commitment is deeply ingrained in our identity, especially as a certified B Corporation.
As a B Corp, we’re required to complete comprehensive assessments covering our environmental impact, community involvement, company structure, and employee and customer satisfaction. These evaluations are essential for meeting the high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency that align with both our B Corp certification and our core mission.
Our annual carbon footprint calculation helps us understand our impact and, based on the results, purchase the necessary carbon offsets to ensure a net-zero environmental impact. So, what exactly is a carbon footprint?
Simply put, it’s an evaluation of the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by every aspect of an operation. This can be applied to everything from running a business or creating a product to your daily routine. For a business like Verdical Group, the assessment typically includes emissions from travel, office electricity and natural gas usage, waste generated, and the embodied carbon of items we purchase.
The practice of calculating carbon footprints has grown significantly in recent decades, driven by increasing awareness of climate change and the need for measurable action. It’s a powerful tool for transparency and accountability, helping organizations and individuals understand their contribution to global emissions. By meticulously examining the results of our calculations, we’re not only able to identify our total emissions impact but also pinpoint specific areas where we can improve and reduce our environmental impact.
Our Carbon Footprint Calculation
When calculating our carbon footprint for 2024, we followed widely recognized protocols and looked at three distinct scopes of emissions:
Scope 1 Direct Emissions: This covers emissions from on-site natural gas combustion at our Verdical Group office locations. We calculated this by multiplying our share of the total gas consumption in each building by the associated U.S. EPA GHG emissions factor to determine the total emissions in units of carbon.
Scope 2 Indirect Emissions from Purchased Energy: Scope 2 assesses emissions from purchased electricity. Similar to Scope 1, we calculated this by considering our portion of the office building’s usage. We also identified the energy sources (e.g., coal, nuclear, hydroelectric) powering our electricity to apply the most accurate emissions factors.
Scope 3 Other Indirect Emissions: Our third emissions scope covers a broader range of indirect carbon emissions from our operations:
- Waste: Emissions from waste generated by our staff.
- Procurement: Embodied carbon of items ordered and shipped to employees, including emissions from their production and transportation.
- Commuting: Total carbon emissions from our team’s work-related travel, including commutes to the office and client site visits.
- Work-From-Home (WFH): Since many employees operate from home, we estimated emissions from their home offices to accurately represent our impact. We used an online tool, Zero Tool, to calculate emissions for each home and then factored in the proportion represented by the employee’s home office.
Our 2024 Results and Looking Ahead
Our total carbon footprint for 2024 amounted to 27 metric tons of carbon. As anticipated, the majority of these emissions came from Scope 3 employee commuting. This is understandable, given that many of our team members frequently travel for client work, such as advanced commissioning and site assessments.
We were thrilled to discover that in four out of six emissions categories, we significantly reduced our carbon footprint since the previous year! In the remaining two categories, we matched our prior year’s emissions. This positive outcome directly reflects the strategies we implemented after last year’s assessment. We had identified commuting and company purchases as significant emission sources. In response, we actively encouraged more frequent remote working arrangements and emphasized limiting purchases of expendable items. These strategic adjustments have created a demonstrably positive impact on our total carbon footprint over the last year.
Moving forward, we’ll continue to encourage our employees to prioritize essential purchases and limit commuting to what is necessary. Furthermore, as part of our unwavering commitment to environmental responsibility, we’ve already purchased the carbon offsets covering our emissions as well as additional credits to achieve a Net Positive status for Verdical Group. This commitment underscores our dedication to not only understanding our impact but actively mitigating it, leading the way for a more sustainable future.
