Blackbaud announces carbon neutrality across operations & data centres for 2021
Melanie May | 20 April 2022 | News
Blackbaud has this week announced that it achieved carbon neutrality across its operations and data centres for 2021.
Blackbaud began working towards carbon neutral by evaluating its Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, which included emissions from its owned buildings (Scope 1), emissions from sources that are not owned but controlled – like leased offices (Scope 2) – and emissions from data centres, cloud services and employee work from home energy consumption (Scope 3).
Since 2019, Blackbaud has reduced its global real estate footprint by 50%; reduced the energy emissions required to run its office space by 63%; and reduced employee commute emissions by 75%, transitioning to a remote-first workforce strategy in 2021.
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Blackbaud has retained one owned office building – its headquarters in Charleston, SC. The building uses solar power and, according to Blackbaud, operates with 30% more energy efficiency and 20% less water than other buildings of its class. Blackbaud has also implemented waste reduction and wellness programmes to increase sustainability.
To balance the remainder of emissions from its business operations, Blackbaud has invested in renewable energy credits (RECs) and carbon offsets. The company purchased Green-e® RECs, which funded clean energy generation at a South Dakota wind farm, to account for its Scope 2 emissions.
To reduce the effects of Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions, Blackbaud is supporting several carbon offset projects, including Mississippi valley reforestation in the U.S., community reforestation in Ghana and a portfolio of global renewable energy projects.
It has also formed an ESG steering committee co-chaired by CEO Mike Gianoni and joined the UN Global Compact, which is focused on aligning business activity to the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). Earlier this year, the company made a multi-year, six-figure gift to Project Drawdown, a nonprofit working in science-based climate solutions research, communications and engagement. Project Drawdown is also partnering with Blackbaud to consult on environmental strategy and provide educational opportunities for Blackbaud employees on how to apply climate solutions in their own lives and become climate advocates.
Rachel Hutchisson, Vice President, Global Social Responsibility at Blackbaud said:
“We are committed to doing our part for climate change by calculating and reducing our emissions, investing in renewable energy and sustainable projects, and working with our employees, customers and partners to collectively advance our efforts.
“Achieving carbon neutrality is a significant step in our journey, but we know there is more work to do, and we remain focused on progress.”
Blackbaud says it will next adopt the Taskforce and Climate Financial Disclosure Framework (TCDF) in its reporting this year, and report climate date to CDP to help it maintain transparent sustainability reporting and progress towards its climate goals.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.