Tractebel commits to carbon-neutrality by 2022

The need to reverse the catastrophic effects of climate change grows more critical with each passing day. To help address this urgent issue and to celebrate Zero Emissions Day on September 21, Tractebel has pledged to neutralize its carbon footprint by 2022.

At the core of our purpose of engineering a carbon-neutral future, we will not only continue partnering with our clients to decarbonize the world’s energy matrix through our game-changing engineering solutions, but also to reduce our own carbon emissions as a company.

To achieve this ambitious target by next year, we have put in place a carbon management plan that is grounded in climate science with a set of actions designed to significantly reduce emissions. The plan is built around the following six pillars:

Offices powered by renewable energy
Where possible, we will procure 100% of electricity in our global offices from renewable sources.

Lower-carbon business travel
We will continue to replace non-essential business travel by digital communication and adopt a low-carbon mindset for essential travel by, whenever possible, opting for train over plane, flying economy over business class, choosing non-stop over layover flights, etc.

Low-carbon commuting
We will extend home working in all countries where we are present, thus dramatically reducing emissions from daily commuting. In addition, we will review existing mobility policies to encourage our people to opt for low-carbon transportation modes for commuting during working-from-office days.

Energy-efficient offices
The extension of home working will also enable the optimization of our office spaces, leading to reduced energy consumption. We will also perform a thorough analysis of our existing installations to ensure maximum energy savings.

Green company fleet
We will only purchase or lease company vehicles with the lowest possible carbon emissions. We will also take measures to achieve a fleet comprised mainly of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Low-carbon digital efforts
We will further reduce our digital carbon footprint by reviewing how we produce and store data. We will also raise awareness company-wide about the impact of digital habits on carbon emissions.

By implementing these actions we aim to reduce our emissions by at least 20%, measuring from a pre-COVID-19, 2019 baseline. In addition, we will compensate for residual emissions by purchasing high-quality, certified carbon offsets from projects that contribute to the protection of biodiversity, promote social benefits, and ultimately support the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Finally, we will back our people in their own decarbonization journey by increasing our efforts to inspire them to reduce their personal carbon footprint.

“Our commitment to achieve carbon-neutrality by next year is a natural move for a company like Tractebel. We understand the urgency of climate change and are firmly committed to helping our clients create a positive impact towards a sustainable world, where people, planet and profit collectively thrive.” Philippe Van Troeye, Tractebel’s Chief Executive Officer

Find out more about Tractebel’s road map towards carbon-neutrality.