‘I shudder when I see companies claiming carbon neutrality based on the purchase of carbon credits‘
Susanne Baker, Partner at ERM and Chair of techUK’s Climate Council
To what extent does the tech sector have an issue with greenwashing?
I think there is a very real challenge in the sector about how to meet ambitious sustainability commitments that have been made public. The sector was very quick to commit but perhaps less clear about how they would be achieved. To avoid being accused of greenwashing, it’s vital that companies are working to prepare disclosures outlining exactly how they plan to meet these targets.
What are the dos and don’ts for IT providers looking to publicise their sustainability efforts in a responsible way?
There’s lots of guidance out there: the ASA for example in the UK has provided some sensible pointers for companies. My advice is to validate your claims via a third party and don’t cherry pick sustainability highlights whilst ignoring other significant sustainability impacts.
Without naming names, have you seen any particularly heinous examples of greenwashing in the tech industry?
I shudder when I see companies claiming carbon neutrality based on the purchase of carbon credits without having in place programmes to cut their own direct or value chain emissions. It delays action on climate mitigation and that’s dangerous.
With corporates increasingly being called out over misleading claims, do you think we’ve passed peak greenwash in the IT industry and elsewhere?
Probably – we’re now entering a period of green-hushing, with companies much more cautious about highlighting their work on climate and environment initiatives. Personally I think that is just as dangerous – we need to move fast to avoid climate catastrophe and can learn a lot by what others are doing. Not sharing those stories risks progress.
How should vendors and partners approach the increasingly thorny issue of offsetting, either when it comes to decarbonising their own businesses, or tools they have designed or are selling to help customers do the same?
Under global greenhouse gas accounting rules, offsets should be reported separately. It is additional to any work companies are doing to reduce emissions in their operations and value chain. I think that’s an important distinction. But it’s important that we don’t reject offsets altogether: high-quality offsets can help finance important projects that can reduce and lock-in carbon while also supporting nature. The key is to ensure offsets are of a high quality. The Oxford Principles for Offsetting provide helpful advice here.
“Offsetting should be used in addition to all the other investments and initiatives‘” – Find out Computacenter’s Clare Parry-Jones’ views on next page…
