Enhesa has a 1.5°C aligned target validated by the SBTi

Over the last months, Enhesa has been working hard to achieve one of our objectives regarding climate change. The objective was to set a science-based target and have it validated by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi). Today, we’re proud to announce that our submitted target has been validated.

More concretely, Enhesa has set a company-wide near-term 1.5°C aligned target to reduce absolute scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 42% from the 2022 baseline by 2030.

Why is this important to Enhesa?

Our mission is to empower businesses to create a more sustainable future. Walking our talk, we also must take action ourselves. We’re aware that we cannot do this alone.

We understand that having an emissions target is important to all stakeholders – our colleagues, our clients, our partners, and our investors – and we are committed to working with all of them to succeed.

Like no other, we know there is huge regulatory pressure for big corporations to not only manage their emissions, but also conduct due diligence across their value chain. We aim to remain a trusted partner to our clients and society; so we take meaningful actions to reduce our emissions against an ambitious target.

Additionally, we’ve already embarked on reporting according to the Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). A crucial step is to account for our greenhouse gas emissions, to identify the risks Enhesa faces, and to reduce our emissions against credible targets – exactly where the science-based target is crucial. Having a science-based target gives companies the credibility to align with science-based objectives and the Paris Agreement.

Even though TCFD was disbanded in late 2023, its work is now embedded in the Standards issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) – that is part of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) foundation. Additionally, the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) require certain climate disclosures which are comparable to the ones referred to by the TCFD framework.

Validating our targets

Besides our validated company-wide near-term 1.5 °C aligned target to reduce absolute scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions from 2022 baseline, we also acknowledge the importance of measuring and reducing scope 3 emissions.

For those who are less familiar with the GHG scopes:

• Scope 1 refers to direct emissions, for example, in our case emissions generated by stationary combustion (heating).
• Scope 2 refers to indirect emissions, for example, emissions from the electricity we use for our offices.
• Scope 3 refers to the emissions generated from people’s activity and from goods and services purchased. Example: commuting and business travel.

In previous years, we’ve calculated our greenhouse gas emissions accounting for our operations. For 2022, we used the Green House Gas Protocol, which is one of the most used standards to calculate GHG emissions. It’s also the one that is mostly required by legislation and by voluntary initiatives. We made use of technology by using an online platform that allows us to record our emissions, and to track progress against our goals.

None of this would have been possible without the support of the executive management who has assigned and entrusted a cross-functional and cross-business unit team – the Sustainability Advisory Committee – to implement and advise on climate related issues and the broader sustainability objectives. The Sustainability Advisory Committee is responsible for the implementation of ongoing actions to reduce our carbon footprint and identify the climate change risks and opportunities.

What did we learn?

In our experience as an office, here are some key takeaways:

• Operational control is tricky when defining the boundaries of your emissions. Because even if you can issue policies applicable for all your sites, you must keep in mind that when you do not have the power to switch electricity supplier, and/or have an actual meter for your consumption, this might lead to a blind spot on your efficiency gains. So, make sure to read through your lease agreements and check with the landlord if they are willing to share the bill. You have to be cognizant of this challenge.
• When your company has set a target to reduce GHG emissions and there has been a substantial change to the baseline emissions used to set the target, it is important to assess if you need to recalculate your baseline.
• The use of technology is crucial to collect, maintain, and track progress.

Next steps?

The next steps for us include improving the process to collect the data and continuing our journey to reduce our emissions in line with our target. Much like our partners, we are committed to our sustainable goals and to always being aware of how we can make positive changes.