AXCO
Since the “Single Market Act”, the Commission and the European Parliament have been acknowledging the importance of business divulging information on sustainability such as social and environmental factors, with a view to identify sustainability risks and increasing investor and consumer trust. A range of ESG-related regulatory measures have since been introduced or announced that affected the way companies operate within the European Union. Keeping up with these can pose challenges for companies that must be compliant with the necessary regulations.
The Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD)[1] together with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)[2] as well as with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)[3], the Taxonomy Regulation[4], the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR)[5] and the Investment Firms Regulation (IFR)[6] have been showing the growing importance of ESG disclosure obligations in the EU relevant for the institutions and as the key pillars to support the European Green Deal. With a swiftly changing regulatory environment, seeking professional guidance on remaining compliant is essential and that’s why Axco is ready to assist its clients helping them to understand the risk disclosures requirements and the necessary mitigating actions, specially having in mind the new climate change transitional risks and the need to act in the transition to a carbon neutral economy.[7]
In order to take concrete steps in the direction of mitigating climate change, Axco is used to report its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in accordance with the International Greenhouse Gas Protocol[8] and the data used to assess the impact of Axco’s activities is collected in an environmental inventory and updated annually to reflect changes in staff numbers, office space, internal activities as well as best practices and standards. Maintaining and assessing this information is crucial to identify and plan the relevant measures in line with Axco’s environmental, social and governance priorities and to be able to reduce our company’s climate impact. The company’s carbon management plan[1] has defined a 3-pillar methodology and sets out emissions reduction initiatives under its responsibility, bearing in mind the way we work, the way we do business and the way we travel. This is reflected in terms of energy consumption, as Axco’s office has LED lighting and optimized heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems with real-time adjustments to meet fluctuating demand. At the same time, the company has a zero-paper and zero-plastic environment with ceramic cups, electronic invoices and no printers in the building. There are no plastic bottles, and the coffee capsules are recycled as well. For the same reasons, IT equipment and devices are reused whenever possible. Axco’s consultants have a hybrid way of working, and they can work remotely anytime they want, being also encouraged to use sustainable means of transportation in their daily commute to the clients. Axco’s consultants must also consider alternatives to travel, including teleconferencing and videoconferencing whenever compatible with the business interests and when travel is needed, taking a train or a bus instead of a short flight is mandatory and can lower your emissions by 84%.
In line with the EU most recent targets and policies to reduce carbon emissions, Axco has an instituted partnership with a French company responsible to plant a tree for every new project which made possible to plant 180 trees at this moment/since the beginning of the Group to find other compensation options and the priority for the next year will be to only choose green accommodations[2] for Axco’s consultants hotel stays as a new way to reduce emissions intensity.
Article written by Mafalda Silva Carvalho
Axco’s Sustainability & Compliance Specialist
AXCO’s carbon foot print assessment :
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[1] As well as tarbon Footprint Report.
[2] A green hotel is a hotel that focusses on sustainability in its business practices. It differentiates itself from other hotels with its strong focus of reducing carbon emission, water usage, waste reduction and electricity usage, in order to try to reduce their impact on the environment as much as possible.
[1] Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22nd October 2014 amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups.
[2] Directive 2022/2464/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14th December 2022 amending Regulation (EU) n. º 537/2014, Directive 2004/109/EC, Directive 2006/43/EC and Directive 2013/34/EU, as regards corporate sustainability reporting.
[3] Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27th November 2019 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector.
[4] Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18th June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088.
[5] Regulation (EU) n. º 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26th June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms and amending Regulation (EU) n. º 648/2012.
[6] Regulation (EU) 2019/2033 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27th November 2019 on the prudential requirements of investment firms and amending Regulation (EU) n. º 1093/2010, (EU) 575/2013, (EU) n. º 600/2014 and (EU) n. º 806/2014.
[7] For which is also important to consider the ISO 14067:2018 with the guidelines for quantification of the greenhouse gases and the carbon footprint of products and the European Climate Law – Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30th June 2021, establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) n. º 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999.
[8] A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. The International GHG Protocol was developed through a partnership between the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and it is the most widely recognized international standard in the accounting, reporting and quantifying of GHG emissions.
