Our carbon reduction plan
We are committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2040.
Download the pdf version of our carbon reduction plan.
Last updated: November 2024
Commitment to achieving Net Zero
We are committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2040, ten years ahead of the government target.
We are currently working to develop a new sustainability strategy and environmental management system. All emissions reported and future plans include the entities under our financial control (Jisc Services Limited and Jisc Commercial Limited).
Baseline emissions footprint
Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases that have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. Baseline emissions are the reference point against which emissions reduction can be measured.
Baseline year: to 31 July 2023
We began collecting emissions data in accordance with the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) requirement for our financial year ending 31 July 2020. We recalculated our baseline in the year ending 2022 due to organisational changes and the availability of additional data.
| Emissions | Total (tCO2e) |
|---|---|
| Scope 1 | 8.60 |
| Scope 2 | 15.32 |
| Scope 3 (included sources) | Waste generation: 0.33 Business travel: 508.87 Employee commuting: 68.96 Downstream transportation: 4.05 Scope 3 Total: 582.21 |
| Total emissions | 606.13 |
Current emissions reporting
| Emissions | Total (tCO2e) |
|---|---|
| Scope 1 | 7.20 |
| Scope 2 | 13.41 |
| Scope 3 (included sources) | Waste generation: 0.17 Business travel: 632.16 Employee commuting: 69.98 Downstream transportation: 7.01 Scope 3 total: 709.32 |
| Total emissions | 729.93 |
This year, we have added refrigerant gases to our scope 1 data collection. Emissions from natural gas (scope 1) and purchased electricity (scope 2) have decreased.
As we continue to grow in our support for the sector, our staff numbers have increased by 8% since July 2023, therefore increasing our emissions from business travel. We have seen an increase in travel via all forms of transport, aside from car travel which decreased. Rail travel has increased by more than 40%, likely due to an increase in attendance of conferences, team meetings, training, workshops and other in person events.
Our full carbon footprint report can be found in our annual sustainability report.
Emissions reduction targets
We have made the commitment to be net zero by 2040. This includes emissions in scope, including gas, electricity, business travel and staff commuting. We will be net zero across our remaining scope 3 emissions, including our supply chain, transport and distribution, waste and electrical use of our leased assets by 2050.
We plan to put interim targets in place to ensure sufficient progress is made and will work towards aligning with the Science Based Target Initiative in future.
Carbon reduction projects
Completed carbon reduction initiatives
The following environmental management measures and projects have been completed or implemented during our reporting year, August 2023-July 2024:
- Undertook discovery phase of the sustainability impact and monitoring programme
- Rebaselined our GHG emissions to include emissions from our supply chain
- Tackled our digital storage to reduce indirect emissions, reducing a total 20.6TB so far
- Completed an energy audit of our Bristol Office, identifying next steps to move to net zero across our scope 1 and 2 emissions
- Reduced our natural gas and electricity usage in our Portwall Lane office by 14.5% from the previous reporting year, and generated 14,481 kWh of solar energy
- Recycled 1315 pieces of IT kit and renewed 1255 pieces for new life
- Embedded sustainability into our advisory activities including the launch of Jisc FE and skills digital sustainability community
- Established a GEANT sustainability special interest group
Planned carbon reduction initiatives
Over the next 12 months we plan to expand our new approach to sustainability across the organisation by undertaking the following:
- Publish our new sustainability strategy
- Submit a business case for 2-year sustainability impact and monitoring programme
- Develop an environmental management system which is aligned to our existing quality and information management systems
- Profile and forecast our energy consumption, develop a strategy for energy procurement, and plan for reducing emissions across all offices
- Verify our carbon data to ISO14064 standard
- Create a methodology to calculate the GHG emissions and sustainability impact of our key products and services
- Assess our climate risks and opportunities
- Complete a supply chain analysis to identify top products/suppliers for GHG emission contribution
- Develop a travel plan
- Offer new digital sustainability workshops to the sector
- Publish a digital sustainability e-learning model for our members
- Continue to promote and showcase best practice sustainability initiatives alongside industry and the FE and HE sectors
Declaration and sign off
This carbon reduction plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 06/21 and associated guidance and reporting standard for carbon reduction plans.
Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for carbon reduction plans and the GHG Reporting Protocol corporate standard and uses the appropriate government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting.
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported in accordance with SECR requirements, and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported (where available) in accordance with the published reporting standard for carbon reduction plans and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard.
This carbon reduction plan has been reviewed and signed off by the board of directors (or equivalent management body).
This statement was signed on behalf of Heidi Fraser-Krauss, trustee and chief executive, Jisc. Date: 21 November 2024