Environment

Energy is a key driver of carbon emissions across the Group and we are committed to reducing our energy consumption across our operations. 

We recognise the importance of investing in efficient offices and renewable energy. In FY22, the group took several measures to reduce energy use and emissions. 

These included (not an exhaustive list): 

• Utilizing renewable energy at six of our offices
• Replacing lighting with energy efficient LED in may of our offices 
• Trialling solar panels in our India office 
• Setting timers relative to weather and opening hours of our offices

Waste management is not a significant issue for RWS as being a service-based company our waste is naturally low. However, we do consider waste to be an important issue and have set company targets to reduce general waste and increase recycling across the Group. 

In FY22, the Group developed and implemented a new Group-wide Waste Policy, it also installed recycling facilities in its reopened facilities as well as working with suppliers to ensure accurate reporting and using their services to recycle.

Most of our offices use water from municipal supply and are in developed countries with a high capability for water adaptation and mitigation. 

Measures are being introduced to reduce water usage including low flow pumps and communicating with employees about responsible water usage.

RWS seeks to purchase the most energy efficient IT hardware and work with global suppliers who are committed to reducing their global footprint. 

We purchase our end use computers from a supply base which utilise carbon fibre and tree-based bio plastics. Our supply base has been an Energy Star partner for over a decade, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to energy efficiency in its products. Energy Star certified laptops use 25-40% less energy than conventional monitors by using the most efficient components and better managing energy use when idle. We also operate a buy-back scheme with our supply base to further enhance reuse and certified Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling as part of our disposal policy. 

We encourage our colleagues globally to switch off laptops and monitors when not in use and have configurations in place for inactivity to reduce energy consumption. Our strategy incorporates consolidation to reduce overall footprint of hardware and software across our IT estate.

The Covid-19 pandemic reduced the amount of travel in the year and carbon emissions have therefore reduced accordingly.  

The Group has taken the opportunity to utilise software to hold virtual meetings and these will continue to be promoted as a way to curtail the number of flights in the future.

As part of its commitment to helping reduce carbon emissions, we have contributed to the initiatives below.

• Solar Water Heating Program, India   
• Coastal Rainforest Protection REDD++. Colombia
• Wind Energy Project Satara, India 

A team of 26 colleagues from our office in Brno, Czech Republic, planted 100 trees in a new tree alley being developed as part of a walking/bike route Šaratice (about 20km from our office). The fruit trees were 1.5m high and included a mix of Apple, Plum and Cherry trees.