How to become a net zero business

Kainos Group plc is a United Kingdom-headquartered, global company that helps its customers deliver successful digital transformation projects. Kainos employs more than 2,900 people in 22 countries across Europe and the Americas.

In 2022 Kainos signed up for the Climate Pledge, co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism. Through this initiative, signatory companies commit to taking collective action on positive climate change, eliminating carbon and supporting credible offsetting with real and permanent benefits.

Stephan Sakowicz, Leader of the Climate Action Group in Kainos, explains what sustainability means to Kainos and how they plan to deliver on their climate pledges. 

Why sign the pledge?

"Kainos is an Amazon Web Services partner, so we have been tracking the roll-out of The Climate Pledge from the start. Sustainability is important to us. To play our part in reducing global temperatures, we needed to commit to an ambitious programme reducing our carbon footprint and offsetting emissions. We work with our customers, staff and suppliers to drive the sustainability agenda. We want to be proud of the legacy we leave."

"We have worked hard to achieve carbon neutrality in 2021. Our near-term carbon reduction plan has been approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative, so we knew that we could meet the 2040 deadline. In fact, we will be able to beat it by 15 years. We are committed to achieving net zero by 2025."

What prompted Kainos to commit to the shorter timeframe?

"As a global organisation, we believe we are responsible for positively impacting society, local communities and the environment. We know planting trees or donating to charity will not make a difference that reflects a business of our size. We want to make a meaningful difference sooner and do not think the Earth can wait. We believe that joint action with suppliers and customers is the way forward – and we are happy to take the lead on this."

What is Kainos doing to deliver on these targets?

"We are embedding best practice across our offices to reduce the environmental impact of our activities. We operate an activity-based working model. This approach reduces the need for business travel and day-to-day commuting, and we have started to engage with our supply chain to achieve end-to-end reductions across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, not just our direct emissions."

"The organisation has also taken steps to help our clients tackle their carbon emissions. Innovations like our cloud carbon calculator make it easy for customers to understand and reduce their emissions through technology."

"While we strive towards net zero, we also invest in offsetting and removal schemes to compensate for our residual footprint. We have supported forest preservation, reforestation, wind power, landfill gas-to-energy and cooking stove programmes in Europe, North America, Africa and South America, and from 2022 onwards, have begun to invest in atmospheric carbon removal and avoidance schemes."

How did Kainos get everyone on board? 

“We have a Climate Action Group comprising over 250 global staff members. This group, led by senior managers with oversight from the board, defines the vision and aims for Kainos, including the roadmap to net zero. This Climate Action Group is open to all employees who are encouraged to submit ideas, best practices or success stories on Kainos has helped our customers improve their environmental impact."

Why become an advocate for net zero? 

“The organisation wants to understand the real impact our business activities have on the environment, and we want to reduce that impact in any way we can. We can use the knowledge that we have gained to help our customers, staff, and suppliers achieve their own low-carbon goals. Furthermore, by helping to digitise organisations and cutting down on manual or intensive working methods, we can reduce the carbon impact of doing business."