Our Approach

• Our near-term target: On the 4th of February 2020 we announced that we want to be net zero carbon by 2030 across our value chain (our operations, our supply chain and the use of our products by our customers). By this we mean that by 2030, we’ll at least halve the greenhouse gas emissions created by our business, our suppliers, and by the use of our tech products, and start to neutralise all value chain emissions we haven’t cut yet. From 2030, we will offset this remaining carbon footprint in natural carbon sinks such as forests, mangroves and seagrass. Just transition: Climate action can and should have people at its heart. A ‘just transition’ for workers and communities as the world’s economy responds to climate change was included as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. From the construction and use of the new sustainable buildings we create, to the sourcing of new low -emissions vehicles, we will work to ensure that the impact we have is not only better for the planet, but for people too. 
  
  
• Beyond 2030 we’ll continue to reduce emissions in line with the 1.5 degree trajectory, to achieve absolute net zero by 2050. 
  
  
• Science-based: Our approach and targets are grounded in the science. Our targets have been validated by the Science Based Target initiative. This tells us that by 2030, we need to have halved our greenhouse gas emissions across our entire business, our supply chain and the impact of the use of our products in customer homes, and to reduce them by 95% by 2050.  Science-based targets provide companies with a clear pathway to future-proof growth by specifying how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.  
  
  
• Assessing the risks: We disclose the risks of climate change to our business through our parent company Comcast’s TCFD disclosure. 
  
  
• Governance: Sky Zero is governed by Sky’s Group Executive, underpinned by delivery groups in each area of our business and reporting into Comcast’s Environmental Executive Task Force. 
  
  
• Using our Voice: Only a wave of action by business, governments and individuals will solve the climate crisis. Our ambitious public target allows our business and suppliers to align behind the same goal. But more than that, we hope it can inspire others, creating a ripple that helps catalyse the exponential change the world needs. As a signatory to the UN Global Compact, we are proud to support the Business Ambition for 1.5°C. We’re working with our partners at Business in the Community to galvanise support for a 2030 trajectory and WWF to invest in nature. We are also members of RE100 and EV100, alongside a range of other key stakeholder partnerships.  
  
  
• Reporting: Transparency and collaboration are key on this journey. We have publicly reported our greenhouse gas footprint across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 for many years, and use this to drive progress against targets. We will continue to report annually on our targets and performance, including our net zero commitment, and to publish and share key case studies and lessons from our decarbonisation journey. 
  
  
• Just transition: Climate action can and should have people at its heart. A ‘just transition’ for workers and communities as the world’s economy responds to climate change was included as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. From the construction and use of the new sustainable buildings we create, to the sourcing of new low -emissions vehicles, we will work to ensure that the impact we have is not only better for the planet, but for people too. 

For our Scopes 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, over the next 10 years we will:

• Halve our absolute emissions across the Group
• Continue our commitment to use 100% renewable energy and invest in on-site renewable electricity
• Transition our fleet of c5,000 vehicles to zero emissions

• Continue to increase energy efficiency measures across our new and existing buildings, replace fossil fuels used for heating and energy and ensure that all new and refurbished buildings are certified at least BREEAM Excellent.
  

For our scope 3 we will:

• Halve the greenhouse gas footprint from the use of our products in customer homes by 2030 
• Continue to ensure sustainability and efficiency is at the heart of our product design 
• Work with our 11,000+ suppliers to act and use our voice, influence and partnerships to advocate for change by: 
• Continuing our close collaboration with manufacturing suppliers of our Sky products, such as supporting energy efficiency audits and enabling investment in on-site renewables. 
• Increasing our engagement with suppliers on climate change both directly and through CDP Supply Chain 
• Expanding this approach to our wider supply chains. 

• Reaching our TV audience: We want to use our unique position as a media company to use our content, platforms and partnerships to help transition to a low-carbon society. Our ambition is to find ways to educate, engage and inspire action. We’ve made a great start, for example: launching our Planet Test in entertainment, Sky Zero Footprint Fund for Sky Media, Game Zero was the first net zero football match at elite level. 
  
  
• Protecting and investing in nature. For over 10 years, we have been campaigning to raise awareness of the importance of protecting and restoring the world’s natural carbon sinks and having a positive impact on our climate. Through our work with WWF, Sky Rainforest Rescue avoided 3.7m tonnes of carbon. As an order of magnitude, this represents fifty times our direct operational carbon footprint. 
  
  
• The health of our Oceans is essential to achieving net zero carbon. Healthy oceans absorb approximately 40% of the world’s carbon emissions. Through Sky Ocean Rescue we have used and will continue to use our voice to restore ocean health through the reduction of single-use plastic pollution and the restoration of key habitats including seagrass
  
  
• Remaining a carbon neutral company: we continue to offset our remaining (Scopes 1 and 2, and selected Scope 3) emissions, as we have done every year since 2006, while we continue to reduce our absolute emissions. For more information on our approach, see our Carbon Neutral Policy

Definitions: 

Scope 1 emissions are the direct emissions that are created from our activities including the running of our c5,000 vehicles (engineer vans, shuttle buses and broadcast operations trucks) and the use of diesel generators on site.  

Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions that come from the production of electricity or heat used from the grid that heat or power the buildings we own or occupy.  

Scope 3 emissions are the indirection emissions that come from other activities we are engaged in. This includes our entire supply chain, the full life cycle of our products and the emissions resulting in the use of our products in our customers' homes, as well as our business travel, waste and employee commuting.  

When we calculate our customer greenhouse gas footprint as part of our scope 3, we include all the products we provide to our customers. We don’t include the use of other products, such as TV sets and any broadband and mobile devices not provided by Sky. This is in line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard. We are however mapping the wider digital impact of our industry through a collaboration with Bristol University to enable more informed decision-making to reduce the wider carbon footprint of digital services.

There is a difference between our current carbon neutral company, Productions and Product certifications and our commitment to become net zero carbon by 2030. 

• Today, we are carbon neutral for our operations (Scopes 1 and 2 and selected areas of Scope 3) whereas our commitment to net zero carbon covers the totality of our value chain emissions (all Scopes 1, 2 and 3).
• Today, the majority of third-party certified offsets we purchase help to reduce emissions produced around the globe, and we also supplement these with funding for nature-based projects that will absorb atmospheric carbon in the future. Through our Sky Zero commitment, from 2030 the offsets we purchase will be balancing our remaining emissions, while we continue to reduce our absolute emissions in line with SBTI. For more information on our approach, see our Carbon Neutral Policy