Turning ambition into action

What do you want to be famous for?

That’s the question Chris asked when he addressed some of Capgemini’s top business leaders in the UK. As Head of Environmental Sustainability in the region, he was also on a recruitment drive. His aim was to bring together a network of enthusiastic and influential colleagues that could turn carbon ‘net zero’ ambitions into action. 
 
“I wanted to fire them up,” he says. “I wanted them to become advocates, to become believers and to take this torch forward.” 
 
The job is hugely significant: To lead, develop, and implement Capgemini’s global emissions strategy across the UK business. But when all our futures are at stake, it’s also a mission that needs to be completed. Here, he explains his strategy for making change happen. 

Capgemini has a strong track record in this regard; we delivered on our science-based target of a 30% reduction in carbon emissions per employee in January 2020 – a decade ahead of schedule.

To go further, in the UK, we identified that to make this dream a reality we would need to engage, inspire and listen to senior business leaders right across the company, because they will be responsible for actually embedding the required changes.

“We then engaged this group with a concrete plan,” says Chris. “We had to be clear about the scale of the challenge: the targets are ambitious for a reason, and achieving them will stretch our capabilities. By crystallizing the problem, we forged a sense of shared endeavor – a collective passion for making the business changes needed to minimize the impacts of global climate change.”

“We then engaged this group with a concrete plan,” says Chris. “We had to be clear about the scale of the challenge: the targets are ambitious for a reason, and achieving them will stretch our To focus efforts in the UK, these were translated to annual milestones. For example, hit a 40% absolute emissions reduction in 2021 against 2019; and, to ensure we transition to an electric vehicle fleet by 2030, have a milestone for what that means when ordering new vehicles this year. “In the UK, we’ve created a roadmap to drive these changes,” says Chris. “For example, by engaging our colleagues on alternative delivery models to reduce travel-related carbon emissions in the post lockdown new normal.”

This involves producing data for each business sector on carbon emissions for their accounts. It allows business leaders to see how they’re delivering for their clients in a low-carbon way. We’ve also created a carbon calculator, developed in house, that allows us to calculate the carbon impacts of client services across a broad range of sectors and projects, quantifying the carbon savings for our client.

“This, with our ability to quantify the carbon costs of our project delivery teams, will create an authentic estimate of the overall impact,” says Chris.

“Meeting these targets involves everyone,” says Chris. “We’re trying to change how Capgemini does business. This is far more challenging than executing a one-off project or initiative. And it’s much more meaningful – for us and the planet.

“If we can encourage people to reimagine business value beyond just revenue, they will approach situations differently, and set expectations differently. This is how we change our culture in the long term, how we meet our climate targets and, ultimately, create a better future for everyone.”