EY has announced it is now carbon negative due to reducing absolute emissions and offsetting and removing more carbon than it emits.
The announcement from EY Ireland is a significant step toward its carbon ambition of becoming net zero by 2025. Becoming carbon negative means EY is now reducing its total emissions and offsetting or removing more carbon than it emits.
To reach carbon negativity and continue towards net zero by 2025, EY has set a challenging target of 40% reduction in emissions by 2025 through seven key actions. In achieving carbon negative status, EY is committed to continuing its support of accelerated climate action and empowering its people to help EY clients as they also seek to improve efforts to decarbonise.
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Stephen Prendiville, Head of Sustainability, EY Ireland, commented:: “From agriculture soil revitalisation projects, to forest protection and development, EY investments also support innovation and development in every global region. Our ambition is to remain carbon negative into the future, as our teams also work to reduce our absolute emissions by 40% and achieve our science-based target of net zero by 2025.”
EY global FY21 emissions (394k tons of CO2e) reduced by 60% compared to FY20 (976k tons of CO2e), achieved through a significant reduction in business travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing delivery of the EY seven-point carbon action plan. This also represents a 71% decrease from the 1,354k tons of CO2e emitted in the FY19 baseline year.
As EY resumes business travel and returns to offices and clients, EY teams will continue to keep emissions below the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)-validated 1.5°C pathway in FY22 and beyond. EY will remain carbon negative as it works toward net zero in 2025.
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EY has also invested in a carbon offset portfolio with South Pole, a leading global climate solutions provider, which includes multiple projects that offset or remove carbon through reforestation, regenerative agriculture, biochar and forest conservation. Six new projects, invested in through South Pole, including the QianBei Afforestation Project in China, contribute to removing or offsetting a total of 528k tons of CO2e, meaning EY is removing an additional 34% of the EY FY21 carbon footprint, making EY carbon negative.
Frank O’Keeffe, Managing Partner, EY Ireland, says: “As both Governments on the island of Ireland work to drive action and momentum to tackle climate change, the critical role of Irish business leaders is becoming even more urgent. After EY became carbon neutral in 2020, we looked at the latest climate data and knew we could and should do more. Companies that can move faster on climate action have an obligation to do so.”
EY also recently reported for the first time against the WEF-IBC stakeholder capitalism metrics - a set of 21 ESG disclosures, against which companies and organizations can report, spanning four key areas; Principles of Governance, Planet, People and Prosperity aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Source: Written from press release.
