Decarbonising our own operations

Decarbonising our operations is about measuring and working to reduce all aspects of Buro Happold business operations that add carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. Our emissions are created through energy use and waste generated in our offices and homeworking, our commuting and business travel, and the goods and services we procure.

Buro Happold has adopted the Greenhouse Gas Protocol corporate accounting standard for measuring and reporting our emissions. We include direct emissions from fossil fuel combustion for office heating (Scope 1), indirect emissions from the electricity we directly procure to power, heat and cool our office buildings (Scope 2) and other indirect emissions from our business and supply chain (Scope 3). 

What are our goals for our own operations?

We have set a target to achieve net zero operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2045. As a route to this long-term goal we have also set a number of near-term targets which have been verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) as being in line with the SBTi corporate Net Zero Standard.

For Scope 1 and 2, our targets will see the reduction of absolute GHG emissions by 21% by FY2025 compared with FY2020, and the sourcing of 100% renewable electricity by the same year.

In Scope 3 we are targeting a 52.6% reduction in business and commuter travel GHG emissions intensity per full-time equivalent staff member by FY2028 compared with FY2020.

We have also set a target for 50% of our suppliers by spend to have committed to science-based GHG reduction targets by FY2028. Our Scope 1 and 2 targets have been classified by the SBTi as being consistent with reductions required to keep warming to 1.5C by mid-century and form part of our support for the Race to Zero through the Business Ambition for 1.5C campaign.

How are we doing?

Our emissions performance for the most recent full financial year 2022-23 is shown below. Our GHG accounts have been independently audited by Carbon Footprint Ltd in accordance with the ISO 14064 Part 3 (2019): Greenhouse Gases: Specification with guidance for the verification and validation of greenhouse gas statements standard.

Graph of Buro Happold Global Operational GHG Emissions for financial year 2022-23 versus baseline year
Buro Happold Global Operational GHG Emissions for financial year 2022-23 vs baseline year (2019-20)
Pie chart of Buro Happold global emissions in 2022-2023
Buro Happold Global Emissions FY2022-23 (tonnes of CO2-equivalent)

How are we achieving these goals for our own operations?  

Scope 1 and 2

Overall, we have reduced Scope 1 and (market-based) Scope 2 emissions by 40% since 2020 through increased purchase of renewable electricity for our offices (to 75% of our total global consumption)We have also continued to identify opportunities for energy efficiency measures that also support productive, healthy, and safe working environments. During 2022-23 measures have included: office space rationalisation to reflect post-pandemic working patterns, office lighting replacement programmes, office closures and part closures for low occupancy periods, installation of electronic radiator thermostatic controls, and electrification of office heating.

Buro Happold will be carrying out energy audits across our UK offices during 2023-24, in line with Phase 3 of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) and to identify further measures to improve energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions. We are including energy efficiency and GHG emissions as key material factors in the selection of new or replacement office space/buildings. An example of this is our new London office where the base build has  an ‘A’ EPC (Energy Performance Certificates) rating and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology) Outstanding rating. We have set high sustainability targets for the fit-out and will be reporting performance once this project is complete.

Scope 3

Over 70% of our GHG emissions relates to the goods and services we buy, including from sub-consultants engaged in project delivery. We have established that 15% of our largest suppliers have science-based GHG emissions reduction targets in place and in line with our own SBTi target we will continue to engage with the remaining suppliers to support the remainder to set targets of their own.

As a global design and advisory business, connecting with our clients is key for us. The way that we travel to meet with our clients and to stay connected between our growing number of offices will continue to require us to travel. Although 2022-23 total business travel emissions were 13% lower than equivalent emissions in our baseline year of 2019-20 (and by 33% on an employee-intensity basis), they continue to increase from the low in 2020-21. We will continue to minimise travel where possible through smarter, virtual ways of meeting. Where travel is necessary, we will support our employees to consider how emissions can be kept to a minimum.

During 2023 we have developed carbon budgets for our business travel. These will be set regionally from our new 2024-25 financial year, and we will track and review actual emissions against these budgets as part of our regular financial and business performance reviews to ensure sound travel management can help reduce our travel emissions intensity.

Alongside our efforts to minimise GHG emissions from our business operations and to support delivery of our wider goals on decarbonising our projects, Buro Happold has launched the Net Zero Routemap. Through the routemap we will lead and support our clients to unlock the financial and sustainability benefits of designing and delivering the net zero built environment we need to secure a safe and equitable future. 

Carbon credits

As part of its decarbonisation objectives, Buro Happold is continuing to evolve its approach to the purchase of carbon credits, informed by research and industry best practice. For our 2022-23 financial year we have established a carbon fund for the purchase of high-quality carbon credits as a contribution to mitigating our climate change impacts outside our value chain, in line with SBTi and UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) guidance. The SBTi states that, ‘in addition to reducing emissions along a science-based trajectory, carbon credits can play a critical role in accelerating the transition to net-zero emissions at the global level.’

We have purchased carbon credits equivalent to 3,872 tonnes CO2-equivalent, reflecting our total Scope 1, 2 and Scope 3 business travel emissions for 2022-23. The credits were purchased through our carbon credits platform partner Patch.io and have been sourced from a portfolio of four projects covering GHG removals (UK afforestation and Germany biochar projects) and avoidance (US refrigerant gases destruction and UK social housing energy efficiency retrofit projects).

Each project has met the appropriate independent voluntary carbon market verification standard and the portfolio was carefully selected to reflect the ‘Oxford Offsetting Principles’ and VCMI Claims Code of Practice.