Sustainability at GoCardless
We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and to leaving a more sustainable world for future generations.
Economic sustainability
By helping our customers get paid, our platform plays an important role in creating economic sustainability for businesses and the wider economy.
Communities and the natural world
We need to ensure that in the process of creating economic value, we are conscious of the wellbeing of communities and the natural environment.
Sustainability progress
We are continuously measuring and reviewing our progress. We are also creating tools to help our business partners to also create sustainability plans.
Our commitment
In 2021, we became co-founders of the Tech Zero coalition, a group of businesses committed to taking climate action as part of the UNFCC Race To Zero. Since then, we became signatories of Business Ambition for 1.5°C, committing to set both short-term and long-term emissions reductions in line with the Science Based Target initiative Net Zero standard.
Race to Nature with GC
At GoCardless, we are committed to not only reducing our impact on the environment but creating positive change for communities and the natural world.Â
This summer, we are challenging our employees to Race to Nature and collectively walk, run, push, cycle and swim the equivalent distance of travelling from our London HQ to Cop27 in Egypt (and back) - 15,000 KM. This is not only for the health and wellbeing benefits - every KM contributes to projects that tackle climate change, enhance biodiversity, and support communities.
When we reach our target, we will:Â
Plant 3000 Trees with Rewards.Earth and The Green Task ForceÂ
Protect rainforest elephants for 20 days with Rebalance EarthÂ
Train 10 teachers to deliver the Innovate for Climate course in Schools with Apps For Good
Restore 5 kelp forests with Green the UKÂ
If you want to join us on the Race to Zero, then click here to find out more and download our free toolkit.
Measuring our impact
Our first step was measuring our greenhouse gas emissions. In 2020, our greenhouse gas emissions were 5459.84 tCO2e. Read our climate impact report 2020 here.
We have since improved the accuracy of our measurements and addressed any data gaps in our latest Climate Impact Report. In 2021, our greenhouse gas emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3 were 7923.24 tCO2e.
Our strategy and action plan
We are pleased to launch our Sustainability Strategy and Net-Zero Action Plan. This sets out our long-term strategy of not only reducing our impact, but seeking opportunities to create positive change.Â
This also sets out our Science Based Targets:Â
2027: Short term science based targetÂ
2035: Long term science based target (Net-Zero)Â
Our Net-Zero action plan outlines how we plan to reduce our emissions and reach these targets by working with our customers, suppliers, and our employees.
Reducing our impact
Reducing our environmental impact is our first important step and we have achieved some key reductions in recent months.
Reduced direct emissions
We have reduced our market based scope 1 & 2 emissions by 90% since 2019, and in 2022 this reduction will reach 99%.
Renewable energy pilot project
We have developed a pilot project with one of our customers (the Big Clean Switch) to ensure the energy use from our customer use of our product - alongside home working energy - is either provided by renewable energy, or matched.
Our Environmental Sustainability Policy
We still have a lot of work to do on our scope 3 emissions. This year, we will be focusing mainly on travel and home working, as set out in our Environmental Sustainability Policy.
Payments, Plastics, People and Planet
We recently worked with environmental consultants Carbon Footprint to understand how plastic pollution and climate change are interlinked. Â
Some key findings:Â
In 2021, 17.2 billion cards manufactured, creating 293,525 tCo2e
This is equivalent to driving around the Earth 43,000 times in an average diesel car.Â
With 20.5 billion cards predicted to be in circulation by 2025, this could rise to 349,841 tCo2e.Â
Resources
Want to learn more?
To find out more about our sustainability strategy or if you have any questions, please get in touch.