ATOS announced that it is raising its decarbonisation ambition to reach ‘net zero’ by 2028. With this move, Atos is committing to reducing the global carbon emissions under its control and influence by 50% by 2025 and to offset all its residual emissions by 2028.
Atos’ new trajectory is 22 years ahead of the 2050 target set by the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 2°C by 2050 above pre-industrial levels, and 7 years ahead of the target previously set by the Group.
With this ambition, Atos also commits to reaching the SBTi target by 2025. The SBTi target on greenhouse gas emission reduction aims to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Atos’ target is 5 years ahead of both the most stringent SBTi pathway and of the target previously set by the Group.
The decision to raise its ambition was motivated by the success of Atos’ decarbonisation plans, which have already materialised into a reduction of the Group’s global carbon emissions by 15% in 2020 (from 3.3 to 2.8 M Tons CO2), of which an estimated 10% is a structural improvement in addition to the Covid-19 effect. It also reflects Atos’ commitment to further accelerate its customers’ digital decarbonisation.
‘It is time to accelerate the fight against climate change. By raising our own decarbonisation ambition, we will better support our clients on their journey by tapping into the power of digital technologies and their identified potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 20 per cent in other sectors. Our worldwide industry leadership in decarbonisation will directly benefit all our customers’, said Elie Girard, Atos CEO.
Atos has already strongly executed its decarbonisation plans over the last year, resulting from a strategy that encompasses all business activities and business units, and years of continuous investment in skills, competencies, and research. The Group’s decarbonisation efforts are focused on four main areas: real estate, data centres, supply chain and products & solutions.
To ensure that its commitment to decarbonisation is reflected at all levels across the company and to raise employee awareness on digital sustainability, Atos introduced in 2020 an internal carbon pricing mechanism, which applies to all of Atos’ operations, as well as the ‘Atos Green’ app, which provides Atos employees with resources to ensure the lowest possible environmental impact.
In parallel, Atos plans to establish a reinforced offsetting program, focusing mainly on carbon sequestration, for all its residual emissions.
For its customers, Atos is developing distinctive decarbonisation offering to support its clients in rapidly implementing comprehensive decarbonisation strategies. Capitalizing on the acquisition of EcoAct in 2020 and the development of a dedicated portfolio, Atos now offers CO2 reduction commitments through DLAs (Decarbonisation Level Agreements) in all large contracts. These commitments, which are measurable and auditable by third parties, bind Atos to indemnify clients if the year-over-year carbon reduction contractually agreed commitments are not met.
Source: Atos
