ICAS Net Zero Strategy Case Study

Our client

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) is a global professional body for chartered accountants. ICAS has a rich heritage, having been formed in 1854 as the world’s first professional body for accountants. Their position within the profession makes them a key influencer and driver of change, which is reflected in their ambition to tackle climate change in a meaningful way. 

ICAS (Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland)

The project

ICAS has long understood the importance of sustainability, having reported their annual carbon emissions through the Carbon Disclosure Project since 2011. However, ICAS recognised showing climate leadership now requires developing a Net Zero Strategy to understand and tackle carbon emissions at all levels of the organisation. 

Project Delivery

We began the project with a Net Zero briefing to ensure all members of ICAS’ Net Zero project team were up to speed with key concepts. We then worked together to define a new carbon baseline, helping them to identify and quantify sources of Scope 3 carbon emissions which had not previously been reported on, such as Purchased Goods and Services.

During this process, we worked with sub-teams across the organisation to help them better understand current data availability and plan for future improvements to increase efficiency and accuracy of annual carbon reporting via Ecometrica. ICAS understands that improving data quality helps to drive efficiencies and better sustainability action and that to make improvements requires collaboration across multiple teams. 

Once a more complete carbon baseline was established, an interactive group workshop was run to identify and prioritise carbon reduction actions. The carbon impact of these actions was quantified and modelled into a near-term Net Zero Roadmap to 2030 in line with Science Based Targets (SBTs). Scenario analysis was included within the Net Zero Roadmap to help reflect the uncertainty related to office emissions, as ICAS begins to plan for future working requirements which align with Net Zero and with changes to working habits resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Outcomes

A carbon baseline for the year to December 31 2021 was calculated. As a result of the Net Zero Strategy project, ICAS understands the importance of engaging with Tier 1 suppliers as a priority to better quantify and reduce carbon emissions in their supply chain. ICAS are now looking to the future to implement carbon reduction actions, improve data collection and continue expanding their carbon boundary as they progress towards their goal of reaching Net Zero. 

Beyond Green has been fantastic in guiding us through our journey towards Net Zero, from the early Briefing and Scoping Sessions, through our Data Collection Sessions to establish our Carbon Inventory, to quantifying our Carbon Baseline. They provided the right mixture of guidance and technical expertise, where those were required and steered us through the process of developing our Net Zero Roadmap. Paul Adderley and Neil Hutson have been such a great help and support throughout this project and we will be seeking their continuing support as we move forward on our journey towards Net Zero.

Craig Anderson, ICAS Facilities Manager, November 2022

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