Our Commitment to Carbon Neutrality
At Wilmington we are committed to playing our part in addressing the climate crisis, so we are working hard to reduce the environmental impact of our business.
We are pleased to report that we have achieved our goal of becoming carbon neutral in FY22 by supporting high quality verified carbon offsets. We have offset 750 tonnes of CO2, which is well in excess of the scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions we reported in respect of FY21. Our aim was to offset more than we measured in FY21, to account for any scope 3 emissions that were difficult to identify. We are therefore working hard this year to understand more about the true carbon footprint of our business by doing a more detailed analysis of our material scope 3 emissions.
The projects we have supported to offset our emissions focus on biodiversity protection in rainforests to secure the long-term carbon storage provided by these environments; and on renewable energy provision to provide viable non-carbon sources of power.
In addition to these offsets, we have also sponsored theĀ Freedom Flight Prize, a fund that supports innovation to develop zero carbon aviation. This is because we know that reducing emissions in this area is a particular challenge for our business as we continue to connect effectively with our customers and colleagues across the world.
Next steps: Net Zero ambitions
Whilst we are making good progress, we know that offsets are not a long-term solution and that the real work to tackle climate change must come from widespread decarbonisation. That is why we are committed to reducing our footprint in absolute terms, and why we are working hard to set science-based targets in respect of all our material emissions before the end of FY22.
We will continue to offset the emissions that we cannot yet eliminate as we strive to become a net zero carbon business as soon as we are able.