Originally published in Northern Trust 2023 Sustainability Report
Northern Trust is actively reducing our operational carbon footprint.
We have set a target to reduce GHG emissions across Scope 127, 228 and partial Scope 329 by 50 percent by 2030 (using a 2019 baseline), and to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions from operations by 205030.
This includes all Scope 1 emissions from sources controlled by Northern Trust and all Scope 2 emissions. For Scope 3 emissions, the reporting is currently limited to our business operations for purchased goods and services, fuel and energy, waste generated from operations, business travel and employee commuting. To reduce carbon emissions in line with our plan to commit to the Science Based Targets Initiative’s31 Sectoral Decarbonization Approach32, we complete a range of energy efficiency projects33 each year to reduce our energy consumption.
In 2023, we completed four LED lighting projects, of which three are in EMEA and one is in the U.S., which have saved approximately 60 tons of carbon. As a result, we have lowered energy consumption per full-time employee (FTE) by 27 percent and have estimated to have reduced our absolute emissions by 3.4 percent versus our 2019 baseline34.
In addition, we will continue to support the development of carbon removal technologies by partnering with organizations such as Climate Vault. These help leverage the value of the carbon allowances to fund an equivalent or greater amount of carbon removals from new carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies through a bi-annual grant process35.
We are in the process of implementing Environmental and Energy Management Systems36 (EMS) in key locations to help drive continual improvement in operational performance. Each property has set an annual energy reduction target to achieve through low- or no-cost operational initiatives.
Despite an increased return to the office across the Corporation, business travel remains below pre-pandemic levels. We have also seen a reduction of emissions from working from home in 2023, compared to the pandemic years.37 Additionally, we are removing single-use plastics from our offices, completing audits across our global portfolio and systematically eliminating plastics. We are reducing waste from our operations and increasing recycling rates across the business.
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27 Scope 1 represents direct GHG emissions that occur from sources that are owned or controlled by the Corporation.
28 Scope 2 accounts for GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by the Corporation.
29 Scope 3 generally includes certain indirect GHG emissions (not included in Scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the Corporation, including both upstream and downstream emissions. Upstream emissions are indirect GHG emissions related to purchased or acquired goods and services while downstream emissions are indirect GHG emissions related to sold goods and services.
30 For more information please refer to our most recent GHG statement.
31 The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a corporate climate action organization that supports companies at an international level to actively contribute toward tackling the climate crisis.
32 The Sectoral Decarbonization Approach (SDA) used by the SBTi involves setting sector-specific emission reduction targets aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change.
33 Some examples of our energy efficiency projects include light-emitting diode (LED) lighting schemes, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) control upgrades, electric vehicles (EV) charging stations, lighting monitor control and pipework insulation.
34 The estimated GHG absolute emissions reduction percentage presented in this report should be considered preliminary. Final data with respect to 2023 GHG absolute emissions can be found in Northern Trust’s 2023 GHG statement when such statement is published on Northern Trust’s corporate website.
35 Given the ambiguity related to the term, as well as to the risk of making carbon neutrality claims, we will no longer refer to these endeavors as "carbon neutrality."
36 An energy management system can monitor and optimize energy usage, costs and environmental impact. It can provide valuable data and insights that can inform the decision-making process in particular when taking Net Zero targets into consideration.
37 For more information on our GHG emissions, please refer to our most recent GHG statement: https://cdn.northerntrust.com/pws/nt/documents/ about-us/ghg-statement.pdf