Net-Zero Policy
Our carbon reduction plan.
Last updated: 14/11/2024
The Instant Group Net Zero Commitment
The Instant Group is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
This commitment covers Instant’s operations in addition to supporting clients and supply partners in achieving their own net zero ambitions through the services and delivery that the company undertakes on their behalf.
Post-pandemic, as the corporate real estate sector evolves, The Instant Group will be at the forefront of driving flexibility into corporate and public sector portfolios. With this commitment, we hope to draw on the wealth of experience within the business and unique service offering to reduce the carbon impact of the sector as a whole.
Instant’s commitment is based on three key aspects to achieve by 2030:
A reduction of 42%* in our Scope 1 and 2 emissions across our operations against our baseline year, aligning our emissions reduction targets with the Science Based Target Initiative
Proactively increasing the accuracy and completeness of Instant’s Scope 3 carbon inventory through engagement with its whole value chain including both suppliers and customers
Take a proactive and increasingly leading role in driving the net zero agenda throughout the flexible office sector
The Instant Group’s Carbon Emissions
Following the acquisition of Instant Group by IWG in March 2023, there has been a change in The Instant Group’s reporting year, moving from 1st August – 31st July to 1st January to 31st December.
Our Scope 1 & 2 emissions for our baseline year come from the running of our offices and the consumption of energy when refitting office space in preparation for our clients’ occupation in the UK.
Our Scope 3 emissions for our reporting year include all the categories required to comply with PPN 06/21. As we do not manufacture or produce any goods, we do not produce emissions associated the Category 9. The significant reduction in emissions can be attributed to fewer projects being undertaken on behalf of our clients.
Emissions (tCO2e) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
Scope 1 | 5.5 | 12.2 | 12.5 | |
Scope 2 | 80.8 | 278.2 | 44 | |
Scope 3 | Upstream transportation & distribution | 53.2 | 444.2 | - |
Waste generated in operations | 3.9 | 3.4 | - | |
Business Travel | 81.2 | 34.2 | 21.2 | |
Employee Commuting | 75.9 | 15.1 | - | |
Downstream transportation and distribution | 0 | 0 | - | |
Total Emissions (tC02e) | 300.51 | 787.4 | 77.7 | |
tCO2e (Scope 1 & 2) / sqft | 0.00014 | 0.00027 | 0.00069 |
Emissions Reduction Target
In order to achieve Net Zero emissions, we will follow this trajectory.
This is based on the location-based methodology for calculating Scope 2 emissions and so relies on the greening of the UK electricity grid by 2030.
Using a market-based methodology, we will procure 100% renewable electricity by 2023, eliminating our Scope 2 emissions across Instant’s UK offices.
Our scope 1 emissions come from the combustion of natural gas for heat in our offices. We will prioritise the office space that has full electrification as our organisation develops.
For scope 3, we will implement strategies to further engage with our supply chain partners and employees to decrease our emissions to as near 0 as possible and offset any unavoidable emissions.
As the number of projects we undertake on behalf of clients can heavily fluctuate from year-to-year, our absolute emissions may not reflect our on- going efforts to decarbonise our operations. To account for this, we also track our emissions using an intensity metric i.e. our total scope 1 and 2 emissions per square foot of our operating area.
For 2023, this is 0.00014 tCO2e/sqft.
Carbon Reduction Projects
In 2023, the Instant Group implemented the following measures:
As part of our Head Office relocation, we implemented a number of energy efficiency measures to reduce energy usage, including the installation of LED lighting and PIR sensors, energy efficient AV equipment and energy efficient AC systems
As part of the Head Office fit-out, The Instant Group prioritised the refurbishment and reuse of existing office equipment and office furniture.
Ensured our UK offices procured 100% renewable electricity
Migrated to using a cloud server to reduce the cooling requirements in our comms room
In addition, The Instant Group have made further progress towards creating a robust Sustainability strategy including the formation of a Sustainability Steering Committee, who leads on the development and integration of climate-related strategies into the broader business.
Progress has also been made to increase our data coverage and improve data quality to ensure we have full global data coverage across our relevant emissions categories
The Instant Group Carbon Reduction Plan
When Instant Group first developed the Carbon Reduction Plan in 2023, we set out the following measures to help achieve our ambitions to achieve Net Zero by 2050. In addition to these measures, we are in the process of building a robust climate transition plan aligned with a 1.5⁰C world.
Measures | Progress to date | Next steps |
Renewables : Ensure all our direct office operations procure 100% renewable electricity by 2023 and when introducing new workplaces into our portfolio. | Our UK offices now operate using 100% renewable electricity. | Monitor new Instant locations (India) to ensure alignment with 100% renewable energy purchase. |
Travel : Update our travel policy to eliminate unnecessary travel. Where travel is essential, trains and public transport will be prioritised over individual car travel and commercial air travel. We are also planning to introduce an internal price on the carbon emissions associated with business travel to help our managers make more sustainable choices. | Our updated travel policy is in in the final stages of Quality Assurance and will be submitted for board level sponsorship and approval in Q4 2023. | Release travel policy and implement a data collection and transparency program for on demand reporting. |
Engagement : Implement an engagement strategy with our employees to decrease the amount of waste produced in our offices and increase recycling rates. We will also work with the managing agents of our offices to obtain more accurate waste data from our offices. | We have introduced clearer bin signage in our London office to improve our recycling rates. Signage has also been received for Newcastle deployment. As part of the projects that we deliver on behalf of our clients, we are also working with our supply chain partners to improve the data coverage of waste being generated during fit-outs. | Work with our landlords to find a solution for obtaining more accurate waste data |
Travel : Implement an engagement strategy with our employees to help them make more sustainable choices during their commute,and equip them to work from home in the most sustainable way possible. | As part of our office relocation in Newcastle, commuting considerations were made as part of our site selection process where we have been able to reduce commuting emissions by 14%. Our travel policy also includes a hierarchical approach for travel programs that can be mapped to commuting. | Improve employee awareness by introducing sustainability training into our Learning & Development suite. |
Data : Improve how we monitor and measure the carbon emissions associated with our clients’ fit-outs, including prioritising procuring 100% renewable electricity and making more sustainable decision choices including the reduction and reuse of materials. | We continue to work towards improving our carbon footprint coverage associated with our clients’ fit-outs, including collaborating with our supply chain to improve their data coverage and monitoring. | We intend to go further and provide guidance and support to our clients in making sustainable choices as part of the fit-out. |
Operation : Procured a guide to help our clients increase the energy efficiency and reduce the carbon emissions of their office spaces during their occupation. | We are currently working on developing a sustainability report for our clients, which provides them with regular updates on metrics such as energy usage, waste generated and vehicle emissions from the services provided to them. | We are engaging operational teams for seasonal efficiency programs and will go further in producing a calendar of events for Instant operations that support clients to address their deliverables in the sustainability reporting landscape |
Supply Chain : Engaging with our supply chain to increase the accuracy of our Scope 3 emissions and incorporate sustainability requirements into our procurement process. | We have started to engage with our Tier 1 suppliers and included sustainability data requirements into the contracts. In addition, we have introduced a sustainability screening questionnaire as a requirement for all of our supply chain. | We intend to introduce stakeholder engagement initiatives to help facilitate emissions reductions across our supply chain including supplier round tables, incentives tied to environmental performance, as well as introduce KPIs. |
Transparency : Develop a process that is both fair and transparent for offsetting unavoidable emissions to achieve Net Zero by 2050 | We are still in the process of developing our global net zero and science- based targets. As part of this programme, we will also explore options for off- setting unavoidable emissions to help achieve these targets. | We intend to commit to setting a Science Based Target in 2024. We now have our emissions baseline and are currently in the process of building our emissions reduction target in line with SBTi’s criteria. |
Carbon Accounting Methodology
Our disclosed emissions have been calculated in line with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (revised edition) and use the UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting for each respective accounting year.
Our emissions have been calculated for our UK-based operations and have been calculated using the “Operational Control” boundary approach.
We have used primary evidence in the form of meter reads, building reports from our landlords and energy invoices to establish the energy consumption used to calculate our emissions. Where this data is incomplete, we have applied an appropriate estimation methodology in line with the GHG Protocol reporting standard.
As we continue to establish the emissions associated with our value chain, we will implement more accurate data collection for our Scope 3 emissions including engaging with our suppliers to collect and provide us with the emissions our contracts are responsible for.
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 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 Will Duncan, General Counsel & Corporate Development Director.
*Globally we must halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and hit net zero by 2050 to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. The reduction of 42% is linked to this 1.5oC science-based target
**The decrease in our emissions can be generally attributed to the number of projects that we undertake for our clients. In 2022, we delivered fewer projects compared to 2021.