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Pawprint’s Carbon Report 2021

​​The following report formally documents our organisation’s environmental impact and the steps we are taking to reduce this impact as much as possible, as soon as possible.

Our carbon footprint 2021*

39.269

tCO2e

(metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions)
Up from 18.881 tCO2e last year
That’s the same as two years’ worth of grocery shopping for an average UK family…
(based on an average diet including meat)
*reporting period 01/04/2021 – 31/03/2022

Average footprint per employee

Within our reporting period Pawprint had 27 FTE (Full Time Equivalent) employees in comparison to our 2020 total of 19, making our average footprint per employee:

1.454

tCO2e

(metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions)
Up from 0.994 tCO2e last year

That’s the same as leaving an LED bulb on for 97 years…

Before we start, we have a couple of disclaimers.

  • You’ll notice quite a drop in our Scope 1 & 2 emissions compared to 2020. As we cover in more depth in the full report, this is due to a misallocation of home working energy emissions data in our previous report, meaning the majority of what we first reported under Scope 1 & 2 is now accounted for in our Scope 3 total (if you remember, that’s our indirect emissions; stuff outside of our organisation and along our supply chain).

    Hey, we all make mistakes, and best to own them and learn from them! And don’t worry, we’ve accounted for the Scope 3 increase accordingly in our reduction targets.

    At Pawprint, we navigated the post-pandemic ‘new normal’ as best we could, trying to balance the value that in-person meetings, travel, and other more carbon-intensive practices brought to our mission, with creative solutions that enabled sustainable choices. Pawprint also grew, climbing from 19 full time employees to 27 during the reporting period. For these reasons we’re not surprised that our total carbon footprint, and our average footprint per employee increased. We predicted it in our last Carbon Report, but promise to own that increase and ensure that it is accounted for when we zero our historic footprint.
  • You’ll also have seen our current carbon footprint reporting period covers a twelve month reporting period from April to March.  In line with best practice, we’ve decided to shift this to align with our financial year for future Carbon Reports, that’s January to January. Read our full report for more on what this means and why we’re making the change.

Breakdown

You might be thinking, ‘Why are their Scope 3 emissions so big?’. It’s quite normal actually.
‍
Scope 3 covers a company’s indirect emissions; stuff outside of our organisation and along our supply chain. As you can imagine, that list is usually pretty long.

SMEs aren’t currently required to report their Scope 3 emissions, but since it makes up the majority of our total footprint, we know it has to be included in our report and reduction targets. We recommend other organisations do the same.

0.010

1.387 in 2020

Scope 1

0.007

1.239 in 2020

Scope 2

39.252

16.254 in 2020

Scope 3

39.269

18.881 in 2020

All scopes

GHG emissions by source

Category
Total (tCO2e)
Scope 1 (tCO2e)
Scope 2 (tCO2e)
Scope 3 (tCO2e incl. WTT*)
Biogas
0.002
n/a
n/a
0.002
Business travel
0.149
0.118
n/a
0.031
Computers
8.985
n/a
n/a
8.985
Electricals
(incl. keyboards, monitors etc.)
1.017
n/a
n/a
1.017
Electricity (UK)
1.501
n/a
1.214
0.286
Electricity (Netherlands)
0.032
n/a
0.025
0.007
Freight
0.568
n/a
n/a
0.568
Hotel stays
0.016
n/a
n/a
0.016
IT Services
(incl. software, social media, data licensing)
58.87
n/a
n/a
58.87
Natural gas
1.434
1.269
n/a
0.165
Paper
0.02
n/a
n/a
0.02
Plastic
0.02
n/a
n/a
0.02
Website and Web App (Desktop Use)
0.056
n/a
n/a
0.056
Website and Web App (Smartphone Use)
0.067
n/a
n/a
0.067
Website and Web App (Tablet Use)
0.003
n/a
n/a
0.003
* WTT: Well-To-Tank emissions are indirect Scope 3 emissions from the extraction, refinement and transportation of raw fuel sources before combustion to an organisation’s site or asset
Biogas
Business Travel
Computers
Other Electricals
Electricity (UK)
Electricity (Netherlands)
Freight
(HGV)
Hotel Stays
IT Services
Natural Gas
Paper
Plastic
Website and Web App

Emissions by greenhouse gases

Total (tCO2e)
tCO2
tCH4
tN20
Scope 1
1.387
1.384
0.002
0.001
Scope 2
1.239
1.203
0.004
0.007
Scope 3
70.113
0.555
0
0.008
All Scopes
72.739
3.143
0.006
1.016
tCO2: tonnes of carbon dioxide
tCH4: tonnes of methane
tN2O: tonnes of nitrous oxide

How did we calculate our carbon footprint?

To calculate our emissions, Pawprint used the services of Compare Your Footprint. Their calculations adhere to the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard.

What’s included?

  • tick
    (Home) office energy (gas and electricity)
  • tick
    Electrical equipment (computers, monitors, keyboards etc.)
  • tick
    Employee commuting
  • tick
    Deliveries
  • tick
    Dwell time emissions of our app and website
  • tick
    Business travel and hotel stays
  • tick
    Paper and plastic purchases
  • tick
    Supplier online services (legal paperwork, marketing support, eco-blog writing etc.)
  • tick
    Office furniture and crockery
  • tick
    Food and drink
  • tick
    Textiles (branded T-shirts)
  • tick
    Waste (domestic)
  • tick
    Water use (domestic)

What isn't included (for now)?

  • tick
    Cloud infrastructure emissions (as we explain in the full report, due to the current size and scale of our organisation and infrastructure being under the reporting threshold for AWS and Google, we were unable to obtain accurate emissions data for our database and internal productivity suite)

We’re still committed to real net zero by 2050, at the latest

The world needs businesses of all shapes and sizes to work towards emissions reductions that are in line with science-based targets, to limit global warming to 1.5°C. If you remember back to our inaugural 2020 report, at Pawprint we’re taking a reduction first approach to our carbon footprint. What this means in practice is we’ll do what we can to maximise the environmental efficiency of our operations, behaviours and services first.

In time, once we’ve gathered a few more years’ worth of emissions data (and permanent carbon removal technologies have hopefully proven themselves) we’ll look to zero our historic footprint.

In short, our commitment remains to report our carbon footprint every year until 2025, when we will use the collected data to plan our permanent removal strategy and therefore bring our overall net zero target forward from 2050.

Without diving too deeply into the carbon offsetting debate, we’re still not at a stage in our scaling journey to be able to dedicate resources to proven and validated offsetting schemes. We don’t include this in our net zero targets, but we are proud to invest in the power of nature and people through our regular donations to 1% for the Planet validated charities fighting climate change.

For more detail on our real net zero strategy, see our full 2021 Carbon Report:

Download

Science-based targets

18.881

Total Emissions (tCO2e)

2020

18.086

Target Total Emissions (tCO2e)

2021

39.269

Total Emissions (tCO2e)

2021

14.916

Target Total Emissions (tCO2e)

2025

10.95

Target Total Emissions (tCO2e)

2030

6.985

Target Total Emissions (tCO2e)

2035

As recommended by SBTi, these targets represent:

  • tick
    a 21% reduction in Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions by 2025
  • tick
    a 42% reduction in Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions by 2030
  • tick
    a 63% reduction in Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions by 2035
  • tick
    real net zero emissions by 2050

We see these targets as the bare minimum, and will strive to reduce our emissions faster.

Science-based targets

Year
Scope 1 (tCO2e)
Scope 2 (tCO2e)
Scope 3 (tCO2e)
Total
2020
1.387
1.239
70.113
72.739
2021
1.329
1.187
67
69.5
2022
1.270
1.135
64
66.4
2023
1.212
1.083
61
63.3
2024
1.154
1.031
58
60.2
2025
1.096
0.979
55
57.1
2026
1.037
0.927
52
54
2027
0.979
0.875
49
50.9
2028
0.921
0.823
46
47.7
2029
0.863
0.771
43
44.6
2030
0.804
0.719
40
41.5
2031
0.746
0.667
37
38.4
2032
0.688
0.615
34
35.3
2033
0.630
0.563
31
32.2
2034
0.571
0.510
28
29.1
2035
0.513
0.458
25
26
As recommended by SBTi, these targets represent:

Emissions per Employee

Year
tCO2e
2020
3.828
2021
3.68
2022
3.49
2023
3.33
2024
3.17
2025
3.01
2026
2.84
2027
2.68
2028
2.51
2029
2.35
2030
2.18
2031
2.02
2032
1.86
2033
1.69
2034
1.53
2035
1.37
As a start-up, Pawprint will grow quickly over the next few years. More people of course means more potential emissions, and we will be completely open in reporting any increases and up our reduction efforts to match. Despite our ambition to build the team, we will strive to keep the environmental impact of each member as low as possible, ensuring sustainable practice is at the forefront of company-wide operations right down to individual employee level.

What have we done so far?

We’ve done a pulse check on the actions we’ve taken to reduce our emissions so far compared to the plans we set out last time round. Read our full report to hear what more we’ll aim to introduce going forward.

Scope 1 & 2 Emissions

Pawprint office

What we said

  • tick
    We’ll engage with with the owners and management team in charge of our shared office space to promote the use of renewable energy in the building
  • tick
    We’ll keep our private office space as low-energy as possible - that means we’ll limit lights and gadgets to what’s really necessary

What we did

  • tick
    Despite facing challenges obtaining the energy data for our WeWork office space, we discussed ways with the community team to raise awareness of green energy and efficient energy usage – we even got them involved in Green Jumper Day 2021
  • tick
    Just that, other than a repurposed polar bear night light we didn’t add any flashy gizmos to the office set-up

It’s an oldie but a goodie, if you’re looking for more ideas check out our guide to sustainability in the office.

Scope 3 Emissions

Homeoffices

What we said

  • tick
    We’ll offer savings for employees switching to green energy providers through Big Clean Switch and share a recommended renewable energy supplier list with employees.

What we did

  • tick
    Agreed to take the Uswitch Gold Standard energy tariffs as our recommended list - however, with the year’s events causing instability and rocketing energy prices, experts advised it wasn’t the right time to push anyone to change suppliers.

    Also partnered with Ripple Energy, allowing Pawprinters to invest in a slice of a wind farm at a reduced cost

Electronic Equipment

What we said

  • tick
    We’ll only buy electronic equipment for staff that is necessary for them to work
  • tick
    We’ll always seek out repair options for damaged or faulty equipment over buying new
  • tick
    When required we’ll buy second hand equipment for items such as work phones
  • tick
    We’ll make it known that every employee is responsible for taking care of their equipment
  • tick
    We’re committed to sending no company e-waste to landfill

What we did

  • tick
    Formalised this mantra in our Hardware Policy.

    Additional equipment (monitors) only purchased for remote Pawprinters who didn’t already have a home office set-up.

    Chose the most energy efficient shared monitors we could find for our office space (B-rated, which is rare!)
  • tick
    Made a couple of trips to our local Apple store when laptops were acting funny, but found a fix every time
  • tick
    All testing phones purchased for our product and tech teams were  refurbished or even donated by staff and their networks
  • tick
    Signed off and circulated official policies clarifying the appropriate use of technology to avoid damage and e-waste
  • tick
    Kept up our partnership with Junk It, a local organisation that collects, responsibly recycles or rehomes electronic equipment

Deliveries

What we said

  • tick
    We’ll try to keep our deliveries to a minimum, and where possible send multiple deliveries at the same time to reduce the journeys required
  • tick
    We’ll look for green delivery options such as electric vehicles, and for short deliveries (in and around Edinburgh) we will use the services of a local bicycle delivery company
  • tick
    We won’t bulk buy or blanket sell Pawprint merch, and we’re committed to using sustainable suppliers

What we did

  • tick
    Bulk bought whenever we knew we’d use a lot of a particular item (big orders of books for example)

    Avoided some deliveries altogether by walking to local shops to grab business cards, banners, video props etc.
  • tick
    Made use of the awesome cargo bike service from Farr Out Deliveries
  • tick
    We sent out very little merchandise, and any we did came from Teemill, who are committed to responsibly sourced materials

Third party services

What we said

  • tick
    We’ll engage with our key suppliers in an attempt to identify and encourage ways to minimise the impact of their services

What we did

  • tick
    Struggled to make any serious inroads with the likes of AWS and Google this time round, but we did reach the majority of our consultants and advisors to add their emissions to our report

Business travel and hotel stays

What we said

  • tick
    We’ll always favour travelling for work by train instead of individuals driving or flying
  • tick
    Where hotel stays are required, we’ll encourage sustainable choices and avoid extravagant, resource-heavy activities

What we did

  • tick
    Upheld our no domestic flights policy and opted for direct flights over multiple short hauls when they were unavoidable. (see our Founder Christian’s whopping four-train return journey from Zurich here)
  • tick
    Managed all hotel bookings centrally (via TravelPerk) and booked as close as possible to the location of particular events to minimise the need for further transport.

Food and drink

What we did

  • tick
    Introduced an increased business travel food expense budget for plant-based options
  • tick
    Decided that for any internal team events, we won’t offer any choices containing red meat. Our 2021 festive dinner was a seasonal veggie feast, and we loved it!

Paper and plastic purchases

What we said

  • tick
    If we need paper or plastic products for business and marketing purposes, we’ll seek out responsibly sourced materials from the greenest suppliers, reusing products as much as possible

What we did

  • tick
    Used local printers and shops for items like posters, business cards and banners

    Tried plantable seed paper for a batch of info cards - a little tricky to write on, but a cool concept!

    Set up our mini office library which gives old books a new lease of life and shares that paper carbon

General waste

What we said

  • tick
    We’ll invest in reusable crockery for our office space, no more single use!

What we did

Our charity partners

Through our 1% for the Planet membership, we are committed to donating a minimum of 1% of gross sales annually to these environmental causes.

Bright Green Futures

An environmental leadership programme for young people from Black, brown and other minority ethnic backgrounds, with the aim of tackling the systemic underrepresentation of these groups in environmental careers.

Learn more

Seawilding

A Scottish charity that works with local communities to deliver seagrass and native oyster restoration. Both are ecosystem engineers which enhance biodiversity, sequester carbon, and improve degraded marine habitats.

Learn more

Solar Aid

SolarAid combats poverty and climate change. Through its social enterprise, SunnyMoney, they are working with entrepreneurs, schools and clinics to distribute solar lights to people living without electricity in Zambia and Malawi.

Learn more

Saving for pawsterity

Time to start that archive, if you’d like to look back at our 2020 Carbon Report, you can read it here:

Download