Brightly is going Climate Positive
At Brightly, our goal was to become carbon neutral, but the new Toitū Climate Positive certification has changed the game. So, we’ve moved our goalposts and jumped into the certification process.
To certify, businesses must make a commitment to measure and reduce their emissions in line with climate science, offsetting their emissions by 125%. They must also make a significant contribution to community efforts to decarbonise (reduce then eliminate carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions), support a fair society, or adapt to climate change.
Why do we want to be Climate Positive?
For Brightly, aiming for Climate Positive is a no-brainer. We believe the climate crisis is the biggest challenge facing the world today, and we want to support a sustainable, regenerative future. We were already tracking our emissions and working hard to reduce them – this certification gives us the framework and support we need to formally measure, reduce and offset them.
We've always taken a holistic view of our work. That's why we want to go beyond carbon neutral, because we believe the full scope of the climate crisis requires action beyond neutrality.
The Toitū Climate Positive certification is backed by science and internationally recognised. For Brightly to become a Toitū Climate Positive–certified organisation we must set and achieve science-based targets for reducing our emissions. We’ll have a clearly defined pathway that aligns with the Paris Agreement goals.
What are we tracking?
We are measuring everything that we buy. The Toitū certification requires us to measure our scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions (emissions categories). We’re tracking our cloud use, power, waste, transport, freight, accommodation and flights. It's challenging, but even harder is collecting and measuring data from our supply chain (scope 3). Tracking the end-to-end life cycle of products, like the laptops we sell, is another piece of the puzzle.
As we work towards achieving certification, we'll develop processes to streamline this data collection for the future. We’re also going to be encouraging our suppliers and clients to track their carbon use and adopt sustainable practices.
How are we reducing our carbon footprint?
In addition to our e-waste recycling efforts, we’re reducing the environmental impact of our team's travel and transport. Remote working is encouraged, we have e-bikes available for staff and company-funded AT HOP travel cards to encourage the use of public transport.
We're also very lucky to be based in GridAKL, a building with a 5–Green Star rating, designed for energy efficiency.
Part 2 of our Climate Positive certification blog series is live. We share details of the auditing process and our biggest opportunity to reduce emissions. And you can find out more about the Toitū Climate Positive certification programme on their website. We’re excited to be taking Brightly even closer to carbon neutral and beyond to climate positive!