L.E.K. is dedicated to environmental sustainability and strives to be a leader when it comes to environmental policy, from the reduction of greenhouse gases to waste, pollution and more. We were the first major consulting firm to achieve carbon-neutral status in 2008, and we continue to be a leader today.
In 2021, we pledged to have net-zero impact on the environment by 2030 through a combination of carbon reduction initiatives and purchasing carbon-removal credits. In 2022, we committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and set near and long-term emission targets matching the trajectory required to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Our SBTi targets were approved in August 2023. Our environmental strategy outlines our response to the challenges posed by climate change and the risks that it presents to businesses, society, and the global economy. This includes our decarbonization plan, risk management actions, and embedding environmental sustainability across the organization.
Our business model of working primarily in our offices instead of at client sites already means that we produce fewer carbon emissions than our competitors, on both an absolute and a per-person basis. To reach our goal, we will discourage our employees from taking flights if travel can be done within the same time frame and cost by train, encourage increased use of videoconferencing and hybrid work arrangements whenever appropriate, and make carbon emissions a criterion in the selection of L.E.K. events and venues. In 2022, we reached a key milestone: powering our offices globally with 100% renewable electricity. This was achieved through moving to renewable electricity contracts for our offices where possible and purchasing Energy Attribute Certificates (such as RECs) where we were unable to procure directly. We plan to continue to source 100% renewable electricity across our operations in the future.
As we transition to a lower-carbon business model, L.E.K. will continue to purchase high-quality carbon credits to complement our decarbonization initiatives, increasing the proportion of removal credits over time. We carefully assess the projects we support, both for their emissions reductions and their alignment with UN SDGs, as we work toward meeting our target of net-zero impact on the environment by 2030. In 2022, we officially received certification as a CarbonNeutral® company through our partnership with Climate Impact Partners. L.E.K. purchases of high-quality carbon offsets were instrumental in achieving Carbon Neutral certification. L.E.K. also partners with Tree-Nation, which will see a tree planted for every existing L.E.K. employee around the globe and for each new person who joins the firm in the future.
We have an active network of GoingGreener Committees in each office, which offer employees a way to participate in the firm’s sustainability efforts. These local committees play a critical role in our efforts and organize a variety of initiatives and events to both make L.E.K. a better environmental steward and ensure we give back to local environmental organizations. Our Sustainability Steering Committee and our internal Sustainability team will continue to drive, monitor and refine the firm’s sustainability efforts going forward. For questions about L.E.K.’s internal sustainability initiatives, contact sustainabilityinternal@lek.com.
At L.E.K., we are committed to reducing our own footprint; we are also committed to helping our clients improve their sustainability strategies. To that end, in the spring of 2021, we launched the L.E.K. Sustainability Centre of Excellence. By drawing together our collective experience and perspective, the Centre acts as both an internal and external resource for the firm and our clients, respectively, providing leadership, best practices and support. Its members conduct research on key issues related to sustainable practices to further L.E.K.’s capabilities so that we can best assist clients with addressing their sustainability challenges.
To read more about L.E.K.’s environmental commitments and initiatives, please see our CDP submission.