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FM provider ISS has pledged to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions within scope 1 and 2 by 2030 and full-scope net zero emissions by 2040, including across its supply chain.
It also vows to offer full-scope reporting of its environmental footprint. The company wishes to be recognised as “among the best environmental leaders and a catalyst of real change in its industry”.
ISS is already pursuing sustainability efforts within the entire ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) scope across the 30 countries it operates in, and aims to accelerate its climate and environmental aims to encompass all activity across the business. It plans to initiate more global activities within food sustainability, water and waste reductions and energy management over the next few years – both within ISS’s organisation and in cooperation with clients and suppliers.
Jacob Aarup-Andersen, group CEO at ISS World Services A/S, said: “We are strongly committed to carrying out our operations and delivering our services in a sustainable way. This is why we are now being even more ambitious and proactive in our sustainability efforts – with a defined set of bold global targets as our guiding star in the coming years. In alignment with our commitment to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) we are right now in the process of establishing our specific science-based targets within all three scopes based on our full scope baseline of 2019. This will enable us to develop reduction strategies, working in partnerships with our 40,000 customers and our 80,000 suppliers worldwide.”
He said the company would boost its food sustainability programme. “As a major player within food solutions for the global workplace, we have an obligation to drive food sustainability. We will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the food we serve globally by 25% by 2030, from our 2019 baseline. In addition, we will halve the amount of food waste by 2027… We are already rolling out concepts using artificial intelligence, other smart solutions and data to manage and reduce food waste and emissions. These efforts will be intensified going forward.”
Plans also include electrification (among other sustainable approaches) of its global fleet of 20,000 vehicles, increasing the renewable energy share in ISS’s own buildings, and reducing water in cleaning services.
“During the coming months, and while we are defining our specific science-based targets, we will move forward at full speed with new concrete initiatives. This also goes for the two other areas within the full ESG scope, not least the social part. With ISS’s 120-year legacy as a people company, social sustainability has always been in our DNA, and we have great initiatives in the pipeline, for instance within diversity and inclusion,” concluded Aarup-Andersen.
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