Fidelity International is accelerating its commitment to reduce company-wide operational carbon emissions to net zero to 2030, 10 years ahead of its previous goal of 2040.
Fidelity's path to net zero will prioritise the avoidance and reduction of emissions through operational improvements in the energy efficiency of its offices, responsible business travel and the use of renewable energy.
Paras Anand, chief investment officer, Asia Pacific and sponsor of Fidelity's Corporate Sustainability Committee, said: "When we first set our 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 goal was set out as part of Fidelity's Corporate Sustainability Report published this Monday (2 August) and adds to other net-zero initiatives previously announced, such as joining the Net Zero Asset Manager initiative.
In addition to its net-zero target, Fidelity has committed to a range of other sustainability goals for 2024 focusing on the environment, workplace, supply chain and communities. These include a 25% reduction in energy consumption, 25% waste reduction and 80% increase to recycling rate in comparison to 2019 levels, ESG monitoring for 90% of its high-risk suppliers, and 95% of tenders to include at least one diverse supplier and having 35% of global senior management roles to be held by women and 45% of global workforce to be women.
Anne Richards (pictured), chief executive officer at Fidelity International, added: "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."
