Synergy Global Housing (Synergy) has announced it has received its first emissions report from sustainability software company, GreenFeet. In line with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) protocol, the report will act as a baseline emissions measurement as Synergy aims to reduce its carbon footprint to be carbon neutral by 2030.
“For our sustainability program, it’s critical that we understand where we sit as a company first and foremost,” said Debra Christopher, President of Synergy. “With this first emission report, we now have a baseline to understand our current state of emissions and what we can do to act upon it, make better educated choices and further our efforts toward being a sustainable housing company.”
Synergy provided GreenFeet with data from 2019 through 2021 to form this baseline. After careful assessment of the three years of data, GreenFeet selected 2021 as the baseline year for the report, noting it provided a true representation of the company’s business globally. Major areas measured were fossil fuels, electricity, vehicles and business travel, as well as real estate related emissions.
Some key findings of the report include that Synergy’s overall emissions equal around 5000 tons of CO2e, with over 90% of Synergy’s emissions originating from real estate properties.
An organisation-wide “per unit” intensity metric has been created which will enable Synergy to track the year-over-year progress made toward the company’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. Synergy will track and measure emissions on a quarterly basis via the GreenFeet platform.
“We are committed to producing an annual emission report every year with the goal of making noticeable changes in behaviour and impact,” said Charlotte Winter, General Manager, Synergy EMEA and member of the Global Business Travel Association’s (GBTA) Sustainability Committee. “From our choice of more energy efficient properties to the education of our guests on environmentally friendly strategies such as reusing towels or turning off the air conditioning when no one is home, we know we can do better.”
Each step in Synergy’s comprehensive sustainability plan is benchmarked against the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals in a broader effort to align to the Business Travel Association’s (BTA) recent three-step environmental, social and governance (ESG) campaign. Synergy’s ultimate objective is to do its part to help fulfil the goals outlined by the 2016 Paris Agreement to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C (compared to pre-industrial levels).
“We’re extremely pleased to be working with Synergy to help them measure their carbon emissions as they strive to be carbon neutral by 2030,” said Lisa McKelvey, Co-founder of GreenFeet. “This baseline report is the first step in a meaningful sustainability program which includes measuring, setting and evaluating goals, reducing emissions, offsetting and reporting.”
