‍Discover Res publica's latest carbon footprint

As part of our our CSR policy policy and in order to reduce the carbon footprint of all our activities, Res publica draws up an annual carbon report. Having just completed our latest assessment, we'd like to take this opportunity to tell you a little more about our approach.

What is a carbon footprint?

The carbon footprint is a methodology for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions developed by the French Agency for Ecological Transition in the early 2000s. The carbon footprint is calculated by taking into account all an organization's direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

Carbon footprint calculations are mandatory every 4 years for companies with over 500 employees. To go even further, and in line with the recommendations of the Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat (which Res publica supported), we have been carrying it out every year since 2020, with the help of the Sami agency, a French company that supports companies in calculating their carbon footprint and in their low-carbon strategy.

Our carbon footprint is carried out on the three "scopes" that designate the different perimeters of GHG emissions:

• Scope 1: direct GHG emissions, mainly due to the combustion of fossil fuels for heating or company vehicles.
• Scope 2: indirect emissions associated with the production of electricity and heat
• Scope 3: all other indirect emissions from the company's value chain (travel, purchasing, waste...). It generally concentrates most of the emissions‍

Res publica's 2022 carbon footprint

In 2022, Res publica emitted 104 tonnes of CO2e (CO2 "-e" for "equivalent": this is a unit created by the IPCC, which takes into accountall the different greenhouse gases, the main one being CO2).

This represents an increase of 5 tonnes on 2021 (99 tonnes). This increase is mainly due to the growth in our activity and the size of our team, leading in particular to a greater number of business trips (travel, catering and accommodation to be taken into account) and an increase in some of our equipment expenses.

Beyond the gross value of our balance sheet, our company's economic carbon intensity (the ratio of our emissions to our sales) has nevertheless decreased in 2022, from 46kgCO2/k€ in 2021 to 43 in 2022. This indicator allows us to neutralize the effects of changes in activity and sales on the carbon balance: from this point of view, our overall carbon performance has therefore improved compared with last year, even if we note a slight increase in our carbon intensity per employee (the ratio of emissions linked to our employees to the average workforce over the year), which rises from 1.3 in 2021 to 1.4tCO2e per employee in 2022.

What next?

For several years now, we at Res publica have been making strong commitments to limit our emissions as far as possible. The balance sheet enables us to direct the actions we have been implementing for several years, and which we are stepping up wherever possible. This is notably the case for recycling and limiting our waste (containers have been made available to employees to reduce their waste during lunch breaks). We are working to reduce energy consumption on our premises, thanks to a 100% renewable electricity contract with the EnercoopThe installation of a programmable thermostat and theoptimization of heating during the winter (which has led us to invest in plaids, a great success with some of our colleagues on cold days). Finally, we are committed to using low-polluting modes of transport for our business trips and home-to-work journeys (public transport, train, bicycle, electric car rental). We only fly when we can't do otherwise for an assignment, with approval from management on a case-by-case basis.

It is also important to us that all our employees are aware of the climate issues at stake. Each and every one of us is invited to take part in a Fresque du Climat workshop. In 2024, we want to go even further in raising awareness of the decarbonization of our individual lifestyles and activities, thanks to new training courses!