Environment
Decisions and initiatives related to our environmental impact and footprint are led and supported at the operating group and/or individual business unit level.
Scope 1
Direct Emissions
(Owned or controlled sources)
Scope 2
Indirect Emissions
(Generation of purchased energy)
Scope 3
Indirect Emissions
(Throughout the value chain)
Yonder Works to Understand It’s Carbon Footprint
Yonder, one of our TSS Blue portfolio business units, has been working to understand their data center and cloud infrastructure carbon footprint. In total, they estimate that their Yonder Cloud and data centers produce 87 MTCO2e per annum, with the most significant contributor being the data center. In consultation with Yonder, the 3rd party data center provider will be installing solar panels such that moving forward 30% of the energy consumption will come from renewable sources.
Yonder also has 2 physical offices, that it estimates produce 201 MTCO2e per annum. Effective April 2023, the largest of its 2 offices will derive 100% of its electricity consumption from renewable sources.
Jonas – Making a Difference
Our Jonas UK Portfolio has formalized and brought its existing and new initiatives under one program that they refer to as the Jonas Foundation. The three pillars to the Foundation are apprenticeship, charity and sustainability.
Their sustainability board remains actively engaged with our employees including providing a tool for calculating your carbon footprint, a site for what can be done to create change and setting priorities for 2024.
One of their 2024 projects is to ensure that all our business marketing websites are ‘hosted green’. Using the Green Web Foundation site to track progress - currently 17 of 24 sites are able to display this image in their website footer:
Our Jonas Fitness Portfolio is also seeking ways to reduce their carbon emissions. One of their focus areas is transitioning to cloud computing from traditional on-premise IT infrastructure.
Volaris | Reducing Our Carbon Footprint through Sustainable Travel
One of our Volaris portfolios significantly reduced its carbon footprint during a recent Portfolio Organic Growth Summit event – including pledging meal donations to Feeding America for each room occupied, partnering to have 565 trees planted as well as purchasing carbon offset credits.
Renewable Energy’s Role in Curbing Global Warming
Our Volaris-owned ConWX business unit provides software that forecasts weather patterns and provides decision support to the renewable energy vertical – specifically wind and solar. Jesper Thiesen, the co-founder and General Manager, closely follows data and reports released by IPCC, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to ensure we continue to support our customers. The volatility and unpredictability of wind and solar energy sources are creating opportunities to invest in and investigate P2X (electricity storage and conversion) technologies to be able to store power for low-production days as well as convert surplus production to other energy sources.
Electrification of Public Transportation
Most policy experts, including those at the World Bank, see investment in public transport as a viable option for cities to resolve air pollution problems in rapidly growing cities. Technology has a significant role to play, as well as investments in infrastructure that allow transit operators to support vehicle charging. Dominique Mueller, a product manager within our Volaris-Modaxo Group works with our transit operator customers in support of their efforts to meet their emissions targets. Modaxo’s software solutions help transit operators address two key challenges of electric buses: (1) limited range; and (2) the need for charging.
HCTC 2023 (Harris Customer Training Conference)
Our Harris Operating Group successfully delivered their twenty-third annual customer training conference. The conference was designed with a primary focus on fostering networking, building relationships, and sharing product knowledge, while also aligning with Harris' commitment to making a positive difference. This years’ conference adopted eco-friendly practices by eliminating the use of paper and plastic materials and significantly reduced hotel housekeeping services to minimize the environmental impact. Harris also purchased carbon offset credits to neutralize the environmental impact of conference-related travel for all attendees as well as continuing their tradition of giving back to the communities hosting the conference by donating $15,000 to the One Heart Foundation.
Agency Software | Saving Trees One Invoice at a Time
In Q4 of 2023, Harris’ Agency Software, transitioned from paper-based invoicing to electronic delivery, resulting in a reduction of approximately 6,000 mailed letters annually. The BU is also moving to have its customers pay invoices electronically via ACH or credit card as opposed to mailing in paper checks.
