Liz Harris is the ESG Global Coordinator at 8x8. In this blog post, she takes us through the key findings of 8x8’s latest carbon assessment report from Tunley Engineering.

There is no escaping the fact climate change presents a very real threat to the environment. It’s up to all of us to do what we can to reduce global warming by reversing the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, also known as carbon emissions. Our latest report by Tunley Engineering shows we’re on the right path, but also that we’ve a long way to go.

This obviously extends to organisations, and we recognise the role 8x8 can play by limiting the carbon we emit in our business activities. Carbon reduction is a key part of our ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) strategy. Our goal is to be Net Zero Carbon by 2050, a target we are actively working towards.

There’s a saying that ‘if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it’. While this isn’t necessarily true about everything, it’s certainly true when it comes to carbon emissions. Knowing how much carbon our business activities are responsible for generating helps show us where we can make a tangible difference.

In 2020 we undertook our first carbon assessment through the experts at Tunley Engineering. Its assessment covered the period of April 1, 2019 - March 31, 2020. But the following year wasn’t exactly typical, and any 2021 figures would be massively skewed by events, so we skipped a year. Our latest assessment covers the period between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022. This gives us valuable insight into the impact of some of the initiatives and strategies we introduced in 2020 to reduce our carbon footprint.

The 2022 report shows some encouraging results, and also highlights the next areas to focus on.

GHG emissions are down a third

What stands out to me is that 8x8 has reduced our entire greenhouse gas output in the UK by about a third. The 2022 assessment shows that 8x8 emitted 2,830 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) compared to 4,180 tonnes in 2020, a percentage reduction of 32%.

Some of this is down to the policy decisions we've made – enabling remote working, for example, reduces carbon from commuting less – and some is down to changes in individual behaviours. These include turning off monitors when we’re away from our desks, unplugging chargers, printing less and using paper-free options where possible.

Reducing our office space in Aylesbury as a result of remote working policies, has had a significant impact on the utilities we use. This saves 45.1 tonnes CO2e a year. The saving from reducing our electricity use since 2020 alone comes to 35.1 tonnes CO2e. This is followed by 8.18 tonnes CO2e p.a. saved from reducing waste.

A focus for the future

There are still some other areas where we can make more of a difference by increasing our focus and efforts. One area that will make a big difference is the amount of waste material we send to landfill. In 2022 we produced 51.1 tonnes of waste (that’s 23.6 tCO2e of emissions) and sent 50.6 tonnes to landfill. We could certainly improve things by using less office consumables, reusing and recycling more, and sending waste for energy recovery.

Perhaps the most important emission source we could reduce is in the products we purchase. As these come from third-party suppliers we don’t have as much control over these emissions as we do our own, but we can influence them. Emissions from the manufacture of products we buy from suppliers make up the largest percentage of our total emissions at 98.7%. Almost all of this is from goods we purchase for customers.

We aim to use all of the feasible reduction opportunities open to us, finally offsetting any remaining amount. With so many active options available to 8x8, our goal of Net Zero Carbon by 2050 is certainly achievable.