CGI announces science-based targets and net zero plans in the UK
The UK business of CGI has received validation for its science-based targets and is committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2026. The move comes as part of the consultancy’s global net zero commitment.
CGI’s UK and Australia President, Tara McGeehan, commented, “Climate change is a serious focus for our members and our operations, and we are on this net zero journey not just because we have to be, but because we want to be.”
“Achieving net zero might not be a typical business goal, but it is the only goal that makes sense when it comes to emissions. The climate crisis is affecting all of us now, and the sooner our emissions are net zero, the better, which is why we aim to meet this goal 26 years earlier than the Paris Agreement suggests.”
Using 2019 as its base year, McGeehan added that CGI is now fully committed to achieving a 46% reduction in absolute emissions from its operations and business travel by 2026. Globally, CGI already has reduced its emissions by 50% since 2014, through environmentally-oriented operating practices.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure these goals are met,” McGeehan stated. “As well as looking at our own operations, we will work with our suppliers, through our supplier engagement SBT, to ensure that they also are on a science-based net zero journey, as we are fully aware that our impact as an organisation extends beyond the walls we work within.”
In the UK, the firm’s validation for its science-based targets (SBTs) mean the targets are consistent with reductions “required to keep global warming to 1.5°C,” or the most ambitious goal of the United Nations Paris Agreement. CGI will now look to reduce green-house gas (GHG) emissions under its direct and indirect control over the next five years. The net zero goal of CGI’s UK business is defined by scope one and two emissions, as well as those from business travel in scope three, of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
CGI’s aim now will be to reduce its scope one and two GHG emissions for its own operations by 46%, in absolute terms. It will aim to do the same for scope three from business travel over the same period.
As part of its net zero strategy, CGI will remain transparent throughout the journey by publishing its progress annually. Further, it will set absolute reduction targets for its full value chain emissions, including its supply chain, to ensure it is making the most impactful changes possible in response to the climate crisis.
In addition, CGI will engage with and support all of its UK suppliers to ensure they are on a net zero journey and commits to ensuring that a minimum of 50% of its suppliers by spend, covering purchased goods and services & capital goods, will have set their own science-based targets for reducing their climate impact by 2026.
Elsewhere, the IT and business consulting services firm is supporting COP26 – the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. The 26th United Nations Climate Change conference is scheduled to be held in the city of Glasgow, between the 1st and 12th of November 2021, under the presidency of the UK, and CGI will be putting on a showcase in the Scottish city during the summit.