5. Our Carbon Reduction Plans
Jacobs has made solid progress against our carbon reduction targets. This has been a result of all the initiatives we have put in place, aided by the global travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The travel restrictions helped us achieve significant carbon reductions in a short period of time: however, we must now seize this opportunity to embrace new ways of working and further decarbonize our operations. Below are just some of the ways we intend to advance our commitments.
Emissions from our Operations
This section covers our Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions. Our direct Scope 1 emissions relate to our vehicle use and energy consumption for those offices where we have direct control. Our indirect Scope 2 emissions comprise emissions associated with electricity and heating purchased by Jacobs for leased offices.
Our commitment to 100% low-carbon electricity means that our energy needs will be supplied through a variety of sources globally, which may include green tariffs, renewable energy certificates (RECs), energy attribute certificates (EACs) and virtual purchase power agreements (VPPAs).
In the U.K., we purchase 100% low-carbon electricity through Renewable Energy Guarantees Origin (REGO) certificates for all offices where Jacobs is directly responsible for procuring energy. This accounts for over half of our U.K. offices.
In 2021, we began purchasing 100% low-carbon electricity through our utility energy providers in Australia and New Zealand for offices where Jacobs is directly responsible for procuring energy and where certified renewable energy was available. We purchased the remainder of our 2020 and 2021 global electricity through third party providers of RECs or EACs to cover 100% of our electricity consumption globally.
2021 Low-carbon Electricity Purchases
were sourced according to where our electricity consumption occurs globally as shown below.
Asia-Pacific - 9,053 MWh
Europe - 19,662 MWh
North America - 70,400 MWh
MENA - 1,093 MWh
TOTAL - 100,208 MWh
Ongoing Scope 1 and 2 Reduction Activities
Real Estate:
- Improve energy data collection
- Continue office energy audits and efficiency measures across our portfolio
- Ongoing consolidation of real estate portfolio
- Green leases and other arrangements with landlords
Fleet Vehicles:
- Promote broader use of electric vehicles (EVs) and increase number of electric vehicles in our fleet
- Improve data collection on fuel consumption and mileage – from 2022 all new vehicles will come with telematics for better data analysis
- Commitment to achieve 20% EV use for North American fleet by 2030
Low-Carbon Electricity:
- Procure 100% low-carbon electricity
Scope 3 Value Chain Emissions
We completed a Scope 3 screening evaluation in 2020 using 2019 data to identify Scope 3 sources that are material to Jacobs and assess where we can make impactful changes. Based on screening level estimates, our four largest Scope 3 sources include business travel, employee commuting, purchased goods and services and upstream Fuel and Energy Related Activities not already included in Scope 1 and Scope 2.
On March 3, 2021, we announced we had taken a 65% stake in PA Consulting. PA Consulting was not included in our Scope 3 sources when this assessment was initially completed. However, our investment in PA Consulting will be included within our Scope 3 emissions and PA Consulting will be submitting science-based targets in 2022.
Ongoing Scope 3 Reduction Activities
Business Travel & Employee Commuting:
- Internal carbon pricing on corporate business travel
- Employee engagement around travel reductions and use of less carbon intensive modes
- Encourage continued use of digital technology to avoid non-essential travel
- Improve employee commuting data collection
- Partnership in place with Hertz to increase EV rental
Supply Chain Engagement
Jacobs operates in 40+ countries and engages more than 30,000 suppliers worldwide. Jacobs’ Supply Management is focused on ensuring project delivery, reducing overall performance and supply chain risk, and building strategic relationships with our suppliers to help drive savings and meet our key priorities, including sustainability, human rights, and diversity. In January 2021, we made a three-year commitment to CDP as a supply chain member to engage our suppliers, pinpoint risks and identify opportunities to support our suppliers in reducing carbon emissions and strengthening their climate resiliency. We’re proud to have earned a place as a leading company on CDP’s 2021 Supplier Engagement Leaderboard, for taking action to measure and reduce climate risk within our supply chain.
We are in the process of reviewing and updating our sustainable supply chain management activities as part of our PlanBeyond sustainable business approach. Our Supply Management and Procurement teams will establish climate action goals for major suppliers; partner with our supply chain to improve Scope 3 data and target reductions; and explore green financing mechanisms attached to climate and carbon performance incentives.
