Carbon Reduction Plan

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been produced in response to PPN 06/21 and covers all HRGO operations.

Commitment to achieving Net Zero

HRGO is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050 and this will cover Scope 1, 2 and those Scope 3 categories that are applicable to our business (waste, business travel and employee commuting).

Baseline Emissions Footprint

The baseline emissions are based on information in the reporting year of 2021 and produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. 

Baseline Year: 2021

Additional Details relating to the Baseline Emissions calculations.

HRGO has selected the baseline year of 2021 as this links to the company’s financial year.
All information provided from Scopes 1, 2 and 3 have been collected from recorded business data.  There is no record of F-Gas / Emergency Generators / Fire Extinguishers as no refills or generators were required in the business during the reporting year.  This will be recorded in the next report if these have been reported.

• Company vehicles – Car mileage used in the GHG inventory was estimated from financial records. Going forward, it will be implemented an effective way of reporting on this aspect and information on the actual miles travelled will be available in the next report.
• Gas and electricity purchased – Emissions related to Gas and Electricity were quantified with consumptions of gas and electricity. Defra Conversion Factors (2021) for gas and electricity for Electric Vehicles were used. The GHG emissions from electricity purchased was recalculated in order to include updated suppliers´ emissions factors for the electricity tariff contracted. Some HRGO offices use electricity from 100% renewable sources.
• Business Travel (Cars) – Car mileage used in the GHG inventory was estimated from financial records. Going forward, it will be implemented an effective way of reporting on this aspect and of collecting this data.
• Business Travel (Air) – Greenhouse emissions from Air Travel were quantified based on the distance travelled (returned) and DEFRA Emissions factors for 2021.
• Waste – GHG emissions from waste were recalculated adopting a better methodology for estimating the quantity of waste produced, based on the average of days worked in the office per employee. However, we will improve the collection of waste data with a survey to capture the quantity of waste produced in the different waste streams which will be conducted and included in future statements.
• Employee Commuting – Employee commuting GHG emissions for 2021 were recalculated based on an employee survey conducted in 2022 to 12 offices. This survey captured data for car commuting (diesel, petrol and hybrid cars). This data allowed estimating the GHG emissions for all 29 Offices based on the average miles travelled for each type of car (diesel, petrol and hybrid). Going forward we will be conducting an employee survey to the remaining offices to capture typical commuting types, car, bus, rail, other.

Scope 3 does not include upstream and downstream transportation of goods as HRGO services do not involve transportation of goods to clients or from suppliers. Therefore, these two categories are not applicable to HRGO activities.
The recalculation of GHG emissions in 2021 due to the use of an improved methodology to estimate GHG emissions from waste and employee commuting explains the lower HRGO GHG emissions in 2021 from the previous report.

  Baseline/ Current year emissions: 2021

Current Emissions Reporting (2024)

All information provided from Scopes 1, 2 and 3 have been collected from recorded business data.  There are no records for F-Gas / Emergency Generators / Fire Extinguishers as no refills or generators were required in the business during the reporting year.  This will be recorded in the next report if these have been reported.
Seven out of the twenty-seven sites were vacated or relocated during 2024 and activity data from those sites was still included in the GHG emissions quantification. However, there were no substantial changes (significance > 5%) in the baseline emissions resulting from divestiture. For this reason, 2021 baseline GHG emissions were not recalculated.

• Company vehicles – Car mileage used in the GHG inventory was based on actual mileage recorded throughout the year. DEFRA Emissions factors for 2024 were used.
• Gas and electricity purchased – Emissions related to Gas, Oil and Electricity were quantified with consumptions of gas, oil and electricity. Defra Conversion Factors (2024) for gas and oil, as well as electricity for Electric Vehicles were used. The GHG emissions from electricity purchased was calculated with the suppliers´ emissions factors for the electricity tariff contracted (market based). Some HRGO offices use electricity from 100% renewable sources.
• Business Travel (Cars) – Car mileage was used in the GHG inventory, as well as 2024 DEFRA Emissions factors.
• Business Travel (Air) – Greenhouse emissions from Air Travel were quantified based on number of passengers, the distance travelled (returned) and DEFRA Emissions factors for 2024.
• Waste – GHG emissions from waste were estimated with the quantity of waste produced, based on the average of days worked in the office per employee. However, we will improve the collection of waste data with a survey to capture the quantity of waste produced in the different waste streams which will be conducted and included in future statements. DEFRA emissions factors for 2024 were used.

• Employee Commuting – Employee commuting GHG emissions were calculated based on an employee survey conducted in 2024. This survey captured data for car commuting (diesel and petrol cars). DEFRA emissions factors for 2024 were used. Going forward we will be conducting an employee survey to the remaining offices to capture typical commuting types, car, bus, rail, other.

Scope 3 does not include upstream and downstream transportation of goods as HRGO services do not involve transportation of goods to clients or from suppliers. Therefore, these two categories are not applicable to HRGO activities.

Emissions reduction targets

There was a GHG emissions reduction of circa 66% from 2024 to the baseline year 2021. This reduction surpasses the target of 5% GHG emission reduction from baseline set for 2027.
The GHG emissions reduction in 2024 was due to the decrease in gas and oil
consumption, decrease in mobile combustion emissions from company owned/leased cars, reduction of GHG emissions from business travel flights and rented cars, reduction of waste production and GHG emissions from employee commuting.

In order to continue progress to achieving Net Zero, HRGO continues to explore opportunities to reduce emissions.  We have set a number of carbon reduction targets such as:

Scope 1 and 2 Emissions

• Increase in 25% the usage of electric company cars in the next 5 years;
• 10% reduction on gas/ oil/ electric GHG emissions within the offices in the next 5 years;

Scope 3 emissions

• 5% reduction of GHG emissions from employee commuting in the next 5 years;
• 5% reduction of GHG emissions from waste production in the next 5 years;
• 2% reduction of GHG emissions from air travelling in the next 5 years;
•  Increase in 10% the usage of electric cars in business travel in the next 5 years.

In the next 5 years and with these measures implemented we project that carbon emissions will decrease to a total of 72.79 tCO2e by 2030. This is a reduction of circa 7.7% of GHG emissions over the next 5 years.

Carbon Reduction Projects

The following environmental management measures and projects are currently ongoing and their impact on the reduction of Greenhouse emissions is expected to be evaluated in the next carbon footprint assessment.

Environmental Measures:

1. Use of electric vehicles – Electric Vehicles (EV) remain the company car preference for the business where viable. Remote meetings are encouraged to reduce the need for long journeys that can, depending on regularity, impact the viability of EVs. As infrastructure improves over the coming years in line with government targets, the business continues to anticipate increasing its usage of EVs. HR GO has some electric company cars and is increasing the usage of electric cars by 25% in the next 5 years. This measure is extended to rented cars used for business travel.
2. Use of electricity from renewable sources: As fixed rate electricity agreements are renewed the company continues to favour those produced from 100% renewable sources.
3. Electricity consumption reduction – HRGO has not yet launched a formal campaign to encourage electricity consumption reduction. However, for example, the business now favours modern, serviced accommodation that offer a reduction in consumption through measures such as LED lighting and automatic sensors.
4. Natural Gas Consumption reduction- The business relocated a number of sites during 2024, favouring modern accommodation built to newer regulations that offer better energy efficiency.
5. Car travelling – Remote meetings are encouraged throughout the business, reducing journey requirements. The opportunity to car share is also promoted throughout the business.
6. Waste reduction – Paperless environments are promoted across the business and actively challenged. The number of printers and associated 'prints' across the group have reduced as a result. Recycling of waste is encouraged by the business. 

Declaration and Sign Off

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 06/21 and associated guidance and reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans. Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the GHG Reporting Protocol corporate standard[1] and uses the appropriate Government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting[2].
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported in accordance with SECR requirements, and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard[3]. This Carbon Reduction Plan has been reviewed and signed off by the board of directors (or equivalent management body).

Signed on behalf of the Supplier:

John Parkinson
Sydney Parkinson
Date: 22nd April 2025

[1]https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard
[2]https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-conversion-factors-for-company-reporting
[3]https://ghgprotocol.org/standards/scope-3-standard