“We’re excited to have formalised Ashleigh’s position as our ESG Officer, the move highlights our commitment to driving sustainable growth, mitigating risks and creating long term value for all stakeholders. Everyone at NetWatch is passionate about doing the right thing in this space, and appointing Ashleigh into this role is a positive step towards doing more” – David Purcell, Chief Operating Officer
One year on from setting our environmental targets with the Science Based Targets initiative, we have updated and refreshed our company Sustainability page to reflect our ongoing progress and activities. Alongside the SBTi targets we have committed to, you can also find the four Sustainable Development Goals we have chosen, which align with our company strategy and objectives.
These four goals are: Affordable and Clean Energy; Good Health and Wellbeing; Responsible Consumption and Production; and Climate Action. These are at the heart of what we do at NetWatch, and our employee E&S Handbook offers insight for staff based around these areas to help them consider their environmental footprint both on and off site.
Our main office is a leased asset, so we work closely with Alpha Tower to meet our sustainability goals. Energy is central to what we do here at NetWatch, with many of our processes happening online and ensuring that the energy we use is renewable and sustainable is important to us. So, we were pleased that as of July 2024, Alpha Tower reported a 3% decrease in total electricity consumption on the previous year, and a 33% drop in total gas consumption. Likewise, Alpha Tower reported a site-wide 50% recycling rate, and we’re looking forward to collectively hitting the goal of a 65% recycling rate.
Regarding our goal for Good Health and Wellbeing, last year NetWatch signed up to an employee benefits platform called Pirkx. After a year of use, this is still popular within the team with many taking advantage of the out-of-hours GP appointments, shopping discounts, free lottery and health and wellbeing advice. We strive to create and maintain a safe, fair and productive environment, and encourage regular staff feedback not just through monthly individual and team meetings, but also through surveys and staff focus groups.
As we progress towards our 2030 and 2050 SBTi target years, NetWatch will continue to work to decarbonize our operations, contributing to the UK’s overall net zero target. We will continue to monitor our scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and work to reduce these through operational changes and co-operation from staff.
Our next goal on the ESG front is to get certified in ISO 14001:2015. We’re committed to regulatory compliance, but also to continuous improvement in our policy, strategy and practice. To better communicate our progress on our goals, we’ll be publishing more regular updates on our Sustainability page on our website and our blog as well as an annual ESG Report. The best way to keep informed is by signing up to receive regular updates from the NetWatch Global team.
You can read more about the companies sustainability efforts HERE.
