Carbon reduction policy
Last updated 16/08/2024
Commitment to achieving Net Zero
Kortext is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions at the latest by 2030*
Reducing our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions brings significant benefits for us, our customers, suppliers and the wider community that we work and all live in.
Our existing Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) covers Kortext baseline year information 2022, setting clear targets for reducing GHG emissions over key timeframes and planned actions to achieve Carbon Net Zero by 2030 at the latest. *Please note however that we are investing in carbon credits to achieve this by 2025 – but despite these will continue to drive our own emission downy by 2030 at the latest.
Whilst reading our CRP it is important that alongside this some key aspects of the Kortext business that are also understood. These are:
- Kortext is a fast-growing Ed-tech business – we have grown in size three times in the last 4 years.
- As an Ed-Tech business Kortext does any produce any Scope 1 emissions.
- All energy supplied to our offices are as of 2023 from renewable sources and are certificated as such – we therefore now have no Scope 2 emissions.
- As a digital education technology company that provides access to digital textbooks and learning materials to millions of users, by far our greatest source of GHG emissions is from server utilization. However, what is important to note is our reduction in carbon intensity. This is the measure of the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced per unit of output or activity via our servers – and we are happy to report that this has dropped by 38% when comparing 2022 vs 2023.
Server Utilisation
As mentioned above, as a digital business our biggest environmental impact is server utilisation. In recognising this we have therefore chosen to partner with Microsoft due to their commitment to environmental sustainability and carbon reducing operating practices. The list below are the commitments that Microsoft have shared with us as part of our relationship with them:
- Use 100% renewable energy by 2025
- Be water-positive by 2030 – Replenishing more water than they consume by 2030
- Have zero-waste certification by 2030
- Have net zero deforestation from new construction
- More detail on the programmes that Microsoft have enabled can be viewed from the link below:
Kortext Baseline Emissions Footprint
Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases that have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction this plan.
Baseline Year: 2022
Baseline year emissions:
EMISSIONS TOTAL (tCO2e)
Scope 1 0 (we do not product any scope 1 emissions)
Scope 2 0.937
Scope 3 130.28
Total Emissions 131.22
Current Emissions Reporting
Reporting Year: 2023
EMISSIONS TOTAL (tCO2e)
Scope 1 0 (we do not product any scope 1 emissions)
Scope 2 0 (all building energy is supplied from renewable suppliers)
Scope 3 92.68
Total Emissions 92.68
Emissions reduction targets
In order to continue our progress to achieving Net Zero, we have adopted the following carbon reduction targets.
Achieve nil SCOPE 2 emissions for energy supply to our buildings by 2023
Reduction in carbon intensity of 10% year on year improvement from 2022 for our server utilization
Report on our target of 100% renewable energy by 2025 for our server consumption
Reduction in marketing material related CO2 emissions by 50% by 2026
Plant 100 trees by 2025 to offset carbon emissions and provide benefit to future generations
Any and all CO2 emissions from air travel to be offset by end of 2024
Invest in carbon credits to offset all carbon emissions by end of 2025
We project that by 2025 our carbon emissions would have decreased by 57% to 55.6 tCO2e and we will invest in carbon credits to offset all of these emissions by end of 2025
Completed Carbon Reduction Initiatives:
The following environmental management measures and projects have been completed or implemented since the 2022 baseline. The carbon emission reduction achieved by these schemes and the measures will be in effect when performing the contract.
Renewable Energy Supply Project: All energy supply to our 3 office buildings has been successfully transitioned to renewable sources. This shift marks a significant milestone in our commitment to sustainability and reducing our environmental impact and has moved us to nil SCOPE 2 emissions. This has saved 14.9 tCO2e per year.
Fast Boil Machine: At Kortext we have moved away from using kettles in the office and have installed a fast boil dispenser instead. Whilst our energy is from a renewable source we have calculated that this saves the equivalent energy of 1.5 tCO2e per year.
Bottled Water Removal: We have removed our dependency on bottled water through our investment in mains fed water filters. This has removed the carbon
emissions related to the production, distribution and supply of bottled water to us of 16 tCO2e per year.
Carbon Reduction Projects
Flight Offsetting: Kortext is an international business and whilst air travel has been reduced following a review of our travel policy some air travel is unavoidable. Consequently, carbon offsetting will be in effect for all air travel for end of 2024 which will save an estimated 20 tCO2e per year.
Tree Planting: Whilst the impact so far is negligible due to the age of the saplings Kortext has already planted 33 oak trees that will benefit the environment and generations for years to come. We are targeting 100 by 2025.
Server Utilization: All servers will be supplied by renewable energy by 2025. This will save an estimated 39 tCO2e per year
Marketing Materials: We have targeted ourselves to reduce carbon emissions relating to the purchase and supply of marketing materials by 50% by 2026. This will be achieved through use of recycled materials and digital alternatives and is already in action.
Investment in carbon credits: To take our emissions to zero by 2025 we estimate that we will need to invest in carbon credits to offset approximately 30 tCO2e and will be doing this with employee involvement.