Investment management firm Fidelity International announced today a significant acceleration in its emissions reduction goals, aiming to reach net zero in its own operations by 2030, ten years ahead of its original target. The company also announced a series of environmentalEnvironmental criteria consider how a company performs as a steward of nature., diversity, and supply chain sustainability commitments.
Fidelity’s accelerated targets encompass the firm’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions. The company stated that it will focus on better understanding its Scope 3 emissions this year, and has committed to a 50% reduction in air travel carbon emissions by 2024.
Paras Anand, Chief Investment Officer, Asia Pacific and sponsor of Fidelity’s Corporate Sustainability Committee, said:
“When we first set out net zero target in 2020, our goal was to deliver real and measurable emission reductions rather than simply offsetting the carbon we use, and we believed we could achieve this by 2040. We’ve worked hard in the last year to improve the data on our carbon emissions in all the locations we operate in globally, and that has given us the confidence that we can be more ambitious in our target. We believe that this sort of continuous improvement is vital to ensure that we are placing our impact on the environment as key consideration in our overall business strategy.”
The new net zero goal was announced with the release of Fidelity’s Corporate Sustainability Report. The report also included a series of 2024 targets for the company, including reductions in energy consumption and waste, increases in recycling rates, improved monitoring of high-risk suppliers, and increases in employee volunteering hours and charities supported.
Fidelity also unveiled diversity commitments, pledging to reach 35% of global senior management roles to be held by women, along with 45% of its global workforce.
Anne Richards, Chief Executive Officer at Fidelity International, said:
“The last 18 months of the pandemic has seen us pivot our entire business to allow for working from home across all our 27 locations globally while still delivering on our strategic priorities. What we have learned is that we can be more ambitious and do far more than we ever imagined was possible, even during a pandemic. Our aim is to apply that same thinking to the climate challenge and sustainability issues more broadly and I am delighted that we have been able to bring forward our net zero ambition and progress in a range of other areas from supply chain management to diversity and inclusion.”
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