Sustainability is one of the key strategic priorities in our new business strategy, Kinetic.
K2 are taking steps to drive strategic and innovative action on sustainability management, both within our business and with our partners, and have set out some early commitments for our five year Kinetic journey and beyond.
As part of our commitment to identify where and how K2 can make a material difference, and deliver actions on this, we have become a United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) participant and have pledged to set goals in line with the UNGC’s ten principles. We have also committed to support the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a core focus on 5 of the goals where K2 can have a particularly meaningful impact in 2022:
- Gender equality (5)
- Decent work and economic growth (8)
- Responsible consumption and production (12)
- Life on land (15)
- Partnerships for the goals (17)
The importance of effectively measuring change – engaging EcoVadis
To ensure transparency and accountability, we will report annually on our progress in ESG and sustainability via our yearly UNGC communication on progress report (COP). To provide meaningful and measurable annual reporting, whilst evaluating the progress and impact of our actions in order to learn and improve, we need to set a baseline using a globally recognised methodology.
We have partnered with EcoVadis, a global sustainability ratings company, to make an ongoing assessment of our sustainability credentials and progress.
EcoVadis work with over 90,000 businesses, across more than 200 industry categories, in 160 plus countries, to monitor and improve the sustainability performance of their organisations and trading partners across the following areas:
- Environment
- Labour and human rights
- Ethics
- Sustainable procurement
Through evidence-based, expert validated ratings and actionable, universal scorecards, EcoVadis provide benchmarks, insights, and a guided improvement journey for environmental, social and ethical practices.
EcoVadis will assess via their carbon calculator tool the K2 group scope 1 and 2 emissions which will assist in the aim of K2 delivering Net Zero scope 1 and 2 emissions by the end of 2023.
Our partnership with EcoVadis will also enable us to share our performance with stakeholders and monitor the performance of our Global Accredited Partner Programme (GAPP) network.
Our partner network is a powerful lever for reducing the sustainability impact of our business; and something we rely heavily on, as a global organisation, focused on moving people around the world.
Sustainability Discovery Survey – headline findings
To ensure we had a baseline of data to work from, and were able to make early assessments of engagement levels of the actions and aspirations on sustainability amongst our partners, we took time to engage with our Global Accredited Partner Programme network by conducting a sustainability discovery survey.
In our Sustainability Discovery Survey 2021, 87% of our service partners told us that action to increase sustainability is also important to their company, with 69% of partners also interested in common standards and assessment of their activities.
The survey looked at what sustainability actions were already being taken by our service partners, across their offices, within destination services, temporary accommodation, HHG and through technology, whilst also taking a forward look at future plans, pipeline initiatives, and aspirations.
It was promising to see so many actions already underway. When asked to advise what sustainability actions they were planning to implement before the end of 2022, 67% of respondents cited use of new technology to reduce paper/printing use or to enable virtual services, 84% said they planned to increase recycling and 68% said they were also looking to reduce plastic use, which is a key goal for K2.
The discovery survey and follow up initiatives were led by the commercial team and supported by marketing, technical and operational colleagues who all interacted seamlessly to deliver this successful program
Driving beneficial change for the future through collaboration
Through collaboration with EcoVadis, our GAPP network, clients and the wider global mobility industry, we want to drive resilience, sustainable growth and positive impact worldwide.
We believe collaboration and the sharing of knowledge between ourselves, and the wider industry will enable proactive actions to be taken, whilst allowing us to follow a common path and find solutions that add value to all of our businesses.
We accept that our partners and clients may face a number of different challenges that will mean that their journeys will progress at different speeds, but what is important, is that we follow a common path.
The ultimate aim is to increase sustainability, reduce carbon emissions and plastics whilst developing green service options within the global mobility industry.
Through measurement and a robust methodology, we can demonstrate progress, as we work towards an ambitious 40% carbon footprint reduction within the K2 GAPP network by the end of 2026.
Through opening up dialogue, encouraging the sharing of information and learnings, we want to identify and develop best practices and common standards, set up working groups of thought leaders to share best practice and knowledge, whilst ensuring that all the action we take is aligned with client goals.
We have invited our partners to sign up to take part in our industry wide assessment and accreditation scheme through EcoVadis and hope that they will join us on a journey, supported all the way. Encouragingly, we have seen significant early uptake of partners seeing the value that can be achieved for all, with 40 quickly jumping on board.
To find out more and take the first steps to getting your sustainability rating, visit the EcoVadis supplier portal.
