The effects of climate change on all communities around the world is clearer today than it has ever been. At ALD we are committed to play our part and reduce the impact of the emissions we create directly as a business, as well as the impact that our customers make by using our products and services. ALD UK forms one part of the ALD SA Group (Group) which spans 40 countries globally, stretching over South America, Europe, Africa and across Asia. As the global leader in the provision of mobility services, we can play a leading role in not only reducing our own internal emissions but also by helping our customers source lower-emission mobility requirements through ALD. Therefore, whether you are already a customer or are considering using ALD for the first time, you can be assured that our products, services and delivery are all centered-around promoting more environmentally-sustainable options.
Our commitment as a sustainable business was a key focus when we launched our new Group five year strategy – Move 2025 – in 2020. This plan looks to the future and how the mobility sector will evolve so that we remain a leading global mobility provider. One of the four fundamental pillars underpinning this strategy is a focus on Move for Good. This mean we place social responsibility at the core of how ALD conducts business. Put into practice, this means that ALD is reducing its own 2019 internal emissions to 30% by 2025. By 2030 we intend to go further and reduce our emissions by 50%, and by 2050 we want to be net zero.
ALD’s focus on emissions reduction has been embedded across the business for many years. In 2017, ALD achieved Go Ultra Low status for its work on fleet carbon reduction across our company car fleet. In 2018, ALD achieved (the then-highest) gold rating from Ecovadis, and achieved it again in 2019. In 2020, with the re-categorisation of the ratings, ALD achieved the highest platinum status. This put ALD in the top 1% of business within our sector for environmental issues. These ratings reflect the focus that ALD UK has had on environmental matters over a sustained period. This was further recognised by our parent company, who ran an internal Global Environmental Award across all 40 countries in 2021. ALD UK’s submission, which focused on its own company car policy transformation and the methodology used to achieve this, was awarded first place. This success came with a significant financial prize, which will be invested in further environmental improvements – we’ll explain more about our plans further on.
So ALD UK has had great internal and external recognition for its work to date, but what has this practically achieved in reducing our carbon emissions? Below are just some of the headline decisions we’ve made that demonstrate how we’re dedicated to making a positive, long-term, impact.
*Average commute distance of 14.64KM taken from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/906847/nts-2019-factsheets.pdf
*Average CO₂ data of 138g taken from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/veh02-licensed-cars
To ensure that ALD understands its environmental impacts, key areas are measured to understand the resources that we are using – be that kilowatt hours, litres or kilos. A detailed report that covers our wider Corporate Social Responsibility, including our environmental impact, can be found here: ALD CSR 2020 Report
Having already made changes across our business to significantly reduce our carbon emissions, we are determined to go further as we look to a zero-emission future. In Q2 2022, we’re appointing an Energy Consultant to review our current supply arrangements and assess our future needs. Our ability to draw more power from the network is currently limited, so becoming more energy self-sufficient is a key priority. This is likely to include solar power and, potentially, battery storage capabilities. This will enable the rollout of either additional charge points, or rapid chargers to replace our existing units. This work is funded by winning our parent company’s Global Environmental Award for our environmental efforts to date.
To ensure that our focus and planning remains aligned to achieving Net Zero by 2050, ALD SA has joined the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). The SBTi is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature with the aim of ensuring global temperatures do not increase by more than 1.5%. Our aim is to work with SBTi and our own consultants to build upon the work we have already done. This will help us create an overall action plan (with UK-specific actions) that are measured and auditable so that we meet our net zero business pledge. We want to ensure both our direct emissions – what we generate as a business – as well as our indirect emissions – what our suppliers and customers emit when using our goods and services – achieve net zero. This extensive piece of work will start in Q3 2022, with us submitting our plans to the SBTi in 2024 for their review and sign-off.
ALD UK has already made significant steps in reducing its carbon emissions and has a clear understanding of how it is going to work in the future to transparently reduce these further. We will continue to support our customers as they decarbonize their own journeys. This will entail working with like-minded partners and suppliers and by ensuring we offer access to the tools, knowledge and services that will make the transition to net zero as seamless as possible.