On the digital frontline in the fight against climate change
Interview with Benjamin Bergeron, Head of Atos Global Environmental Program.
How is Atos responding to the threat of climate change?
Digital technologies are responsible for an estimated 4% of total global CO? emissions. At the same time, however, studies have shown that such technologies have the potential to help cut global CO? emissions by 15% to 20%.
Atos is a leader in the use of digitalization to decarbonize the global economy. Our main climate change ambition is not only to contribute to a more decarbonized and sustainable world by reducing and offsetting our own carbon emissions. It is also to promote digital solutions that support our suppliers and clients in their own decarbonization journeys.
We have an ambitious environmental program in place to reduce our energy consumption, business travel and greenhouse gas emissions. This environmental program is embedded in our strategic plan.
We want to use digital technology to make a real difference in the fight against climate change and to accelerate the progress toward net-zero by our clients, suppliers and society in general.
What are your targets for reducing emissions?
In 2021, Atos shifted its 2°C carbon reduction target to the 1.5°C pathway that was set by the new Net-Zero Standard of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) shortly before the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). We are committed to halving our overall carbon emissions by 2025 from a 2019 baseline. That is five years ahead of the SBTi requirement. Our commitment also covers Scope 3 emissions, therefore going beyond the SBTi guidelines, which only refer to Scopes 1 and 2.
We have a new long-term target of reducing our carbon emissions across all scopes by 90% by 2039, which is 11 years before the SBTi target requirement of 2050. We are also committed to meeting our net-zero target in 2039, with neutralization of all our residual emissions.
All these targets are fully aligned with the new SBTi Net-Zero Standard’s targets and criteria. They are even more ambitious in terms of the level of decrease, more ambitious in terms of perimeters and more ambitious in terms of completion dates.
What progress did Atos make in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in 2021?
We reduced our absolute emissions by 14% in 2021 compared with 2020, and by 27% compared with 2019. We are cutting our emissions faster and deeper than the requirements of the SBTi. Each year, we expect to reduce CO?e by around 11% for Scopes 1, 2 and 3.
Our achievements have been recognized by external ratings agencies such as S&P Global which through the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) scored Atos in 2021 with the best score of the environmental dimension within its industry, and we were awarded the much-coveted “A” grade by CDP. In 2021, Atos was awarded a SEAL Sustainability Award among the top 50 most sustainable companies in the world. We are leading the way to a net-zero future.
What environmental priorities does Atos have in its sights for the future?
Climate change remains our number one priority. In 2022, we will increase our use of renewable energy and electric vehicles, improve the energy efficiency of our activities and reduce our emissions even further. We want to have an all-electric company car fleet by 2024. At the end of 2021, 27% of the fleet was electric, up from 14% at the start of the year.
While we will of course continue to address environmental challenges such as e-waste, recycling, the circular economy and biodiversity, we are determined to make an impact to tackle climate change that extends well beyond our direct control or influence. By developing more energy-efficient IT, spurring innovation and using IT and digital to help our clients implement more energy-efficient processes, we intend to make an invaluable contribution to the global fight to prevent climate change.
