Our Commitment to Sustainability

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Since Acaster Lloyd was created back in 2016, we've always believed in the power of intelligent, collaborative minds to drive meaningful change — not just in our research, but also in our approach to sustainability. That's why our plan for a greener future helps guide who we are and what we do: our decisions, partnerships and culture. 

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We're committed to reducing our environmental footprint and supporting sustainable practices in everything we do: from day-to-day decisions around the office to broader, more strategic goals.

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And because we needed to understand our environmental impact in the first place, we undertook our first carbon baseline assessment, which analysed our 2022 Carbon Footprint. This has helped guide where we need to focus our efforts in order to reduce our emissions. Here are some of the ways in which we're doing this:

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Eco-Conscious Office Culture

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• All paper towels used in the office are recyclable.

• Our milk is delivered in reusable glass bottles to reduce plastic waste.

• All employee laptops and even personal mobile devices can be recycled through our office initiative — where profits are returned to staff as a thank-you for participating.

• Unused office furniture is sold and proceeds go into our internal Green Pot to fund further sustainability initiatives.

 

Encouraging Sustainable Travel
 

• We run a Cycle to Work scheme to promote active commuting.

• Staff are encouraged to take public transport and reduce reliance on taxis.

 

Promoting Employee Wellbeing

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• We actively support our team's health by encouraging regular health check-ups and making time for themselves.

• Mental and physical wellbeing is part of our commitment to a healthy, empowered workplace.

 

Built-In Innovation: Our Green Working Group

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To further our efforts, we’ve established a dedicated Sustainability Working Group — a team of passionate employees committed to improving our ‘green footprint’. The group's actions include:

• Running internal surveys to gather ideas from staff.

• Proposing and implementing new green initiatives regularly.

• Leading on education and awareness within our company.

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All new environmental policies are shared through our weekly team newsletter and further discussed in our quarterly business updates.

 

Carbon Offsetting

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After reviewing our carbon footprint, we decided to offset our business travel emissions. The offsetting projects are in collaboration with Carbon Neutral Group and the United Nations, which ensures the highest quality of credits, all while allowing us to give back to communities socially, economically and environmentally. 

 

NET ZERO by 2030 

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Responsible business conduct 

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To us, it's important that we provide assurance and advisory services not only to our clients, but the wider business community. Our vision is to be a role model of transparency in every aspect of our business practices. To achieve this, we apply high ethical standards that are in line with our Code of Conduct. We act fairly towards suppliers, deliver sustainable client service and share our thought leadership along the way.

 

Our goal is to achieve net zero GHG emissions by the end of 2030 by reducing company emissions via carbon offsets and capture — a goal that's been set since August 2025, which was based on our existing global commitment regarding climate. 

 

We're committed to decarbonising our activities, including our business trips, along with neutralising the remaining climate impacts. This is done by investing in offsetting projects that remove emissions from the atmosphere. 

 

To achieve this goal, we have put in place a number of measures across our company. We are actively working on reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 10-15% (from the base year of 2022) and Scope 3 emissions (business trips) will be monitored — and the business will be looking to offset these emissions.  

 

We will proactively improve energy efficiency in our office and change other ESG factors in our work with clients to help us achieve this goal. 

 

Considering the quality of our services and client relationships, we are gradually transforming our model for the provision of client services to balance both remote work and on-site work, as travel is a source of additional emissions. Our annual Carbon Reduction goal is a reduction of emissions by 5%.  

 

Sustainability Goals

 

Scope 1

Scope 2

Scope 3

Direct emissions from own or controlled sources.

indirect emissions from the purchase and use of electricity, steam, heating and cooling.

All other indirect emissions that occur across the value chain and are outside of an organisation’s direct control (e.g. emissions associated with business trips, purchased goods and services, etc.)

 

In response to the climate crisis and the threat that the crisis poses, the UK Government has written into legislation that UK businesses must be net zero by 2050. In addition to the UK-wide target, Scotland has set its own and is aiming to become a net-zero economy by 2045. The UK has also committed to a 68% reduction in emissions by 2030 as part of its Nationally Determined Contribution towards the Paris Agreement.

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However, we have set ourselves the ambitious goal of achieving Net Zero by 2030. We strongly believe that by fulfilling this commitment we will contribute to keeping the global warming of our planet below the 1.5°C threshold by 2030. 

 

Our strategy and commitment consist of transforming our business model and decarbonising our value chain, increasing transparency and supporting the development of sustainability-reporting methods.

 

Our approach means we can play an integral role in managing the transition to a net-zero economy. 

 

Scope 1: Our goal for our Scope 1 emissions, mainly gas consumption, is a reduction by 10% over the next financial year.  With no fugitive emissions or company vehicles, reducing gas consumption is our main focus for the year.  

 

Scope 2: Electricity consumption is a key focus as part of this scope. Switching to a renewable-energy provider will lead to a reduction to almost zero in Carbon Footprint for this scope.

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Scope 3: This is Acaster Lloyd's largest emission area and the one that needs the most focus. For the scope 3 emission, we have started by looking at our operational emissions. This includes how the team commutes to work, remote working, water, waste, business travel and transmission, as well as distribution of electricity. The business-travel emissions are over 80% of scope 3 and with alignment with our Environmental Plan, we are already encouraging team members to fly economy class and take trains and tube travel where possible. This ensures that public transport is a focus for us. Currently business flights are for our client and supplier meetings only and at present, they will be offset while we look to reduce other areas of the business.  

 

Accountability and External Partnerships

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We don’t just set our own standards; we hold ourselves accountable to external frameworks and experts to ensure we’re always improving.

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• Certified by EcoVadis
  We hold a certification with EcoVadis, a global leader in business sustainability ratings.

• Working with the Carbon Neutral Group
  The goal here is to help with the carbon calculations, reporting and guidance. With their support, we have been able to understand our footprint, the risk areas, setting realistic carbon-reduction targets with the end goal of being a Net Zero business.  

• Mandatory Environmental Policy
  As part of our new starter induction, every new employee is required to read and understand our environmental policy. This is an important part of the induction process as they will need to understand our environmental goals and processes.  

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Responsibility towards clients 

 

Maintaining strong and healthy partnerships with our clients matters to us. During our projects, we only collect essential client data and retain it for the time needed to perform our team tasks. We always work with client data discretely and we respect client privacy, protecting it in compliance with applicable legislation in this area.

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People and workplace culture 

 

Creating a work environment that pioneers diversity and encourages our team to move forward in corporate responsibility is important to us. It's why we invest in their training, development and well-being. Our objective is to educate future leaders with a genuine interest in corporate responsibility. 

 

Community engagement 

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What we do as a team and as individuals has a direct impact on the community we're part of, which is why colleagues here often get involved in community projects focused on the environment and people in need. 

 

Greening Our Supply Chain

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We are embedding our values into our supply chain through improved due diligence, ensuring that the partners and suppliers we work with reflect our environmental and ethical standards.

 

Looking Ahead

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Whether it’s through conscious choices in our office, giving back to our community or setting ambitious goals for carbon neutrality, our commitment to sustainability is constant and evolving. In fact, we're always looking for ways to improve and develop our sustainability programme — and while we may not have all the answers right now, we’re asking the right questions and taking meaningful actions every day.