Carbon Reduction Plan

At User Vision we have many strategies within the company helping us mitigate the impact of our operations on the natural environment and make our operations as sustainable as possible.

We understand that our operations can affect all environments. We are committed to working towards greater sustainability and reduced environmental impact. Sustainability is a core part of our philosophy and values. We aim to achieve a low-carbon footprint and be net zero by 2050 which aligns with the UK government net zero target.

We are focused on changing the way we work to be for the better of the planet. We apply sustainable practices into projects we carry out for our clients. We have initiated a variety of strategies across our company to help us reduce our negative impact.

As an MRS Company partner, we are dedicated to their Climate pledge(this will open in a new window); to work collaboratively and take meaningful steps to reducing our carbon emissions. The pledge focuses on four key areas: Tracking, Reduction, Transparency and Collaboration.

Finally, we deliver presentations to help raise awareness about the impact of Digital Waste – the environmental impact of digital operations such as the excess sharing of data, storage of digital files and even poor website design. All of these activities require server capacity and therefore electricity and this problem is growing rapidly as the world relies on digital. We will continue to raise awareness and offer solutions with our clients and partners with a focus on the role that User Experience can play in increasing sustainability.

Our baseline, recent and target emissions

Baseline emissions are a record of the annual greenhouse gases that have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. They are the reference point against which emissions reduction can be measured.

• Baseline year emissions 2023: 28.4 tCO2e
• Recent emissions (April 2025): 22.32 tCO2e a 21.4% decrease.
• Target emissions 15.5 tCO2e by 2030. This is a further reduction of 30%.

Emission in 2024

The following is our emissions estimate for 2024 measured in tCO2e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent). This is a standard unit used to measure the global warming potential of different greenhouse gases, expressed in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide that would produce the same warming effect.

Scope 1. Direct emissions - heating of buildings : 7.56 tCO2e

Scope 2. Indirect emissions - purchased electricity : 1.47 tCO2e

Scope 3. Value chain emissions 13.29 tCO2e based on:

• 3.1 Purchased Goods and Services : 2.64 tCO2e
• 3.2 Capital Goods : 0.91 tCO2e
• 3.3 Fuel- and Energy-Related Activities 1.73 tCO2e
• 3.4 Business Travel 2.31 tCO2e
• 3.5 Employee Commuting & Homeworking 7.56 tCO2e

Our Approach to Sustainability

At User Vision, we take a multi-faceted approach to sustainability based on Practice, Offset and Contribute as outlined below.

Practice

We have implemented several areas of investment and procedure with the aim of reducing, reusing and recycling. We have invested across our business, in both time and money, to ensure our ability to reduce, reuse and recycle wherever possible.

Reduce

We have undertaken to reduce our use of materials such as plastics and paper, reduce our energy by installing a more energy-efficient heating and LED lighting. We reduce our travel when visiting clients or undertaking project work. Most staff are only in the office for 2/3 days per week which reduces pollution caused by commuting and minimises energy usage as heating is timed for office days only.

Reuse

Much of our IT is purchased refurbished, rather than new, and electronic waste is recycled to reduce technology that ends up in land-fill and reducing the resources for building new devices. Laptops are redistributed when staff leave.

Recycle

We have multiple recycling stations around the office encouraging the appropriate disposal of materials. We work with Changeworks to implement company-wide recycling of paper, cardboard, plastic and metals.

Offset

As a Scottish company operating globally, there are some areas where it is not possible to eliminate carbon use. In these situations, we seek to offset wherever possible.

Where it is not possible to avoid travel, we contribute to Transform Scotland, Scotland’s alliance for sustainable transport, with the aim of fighting climate change and making walking, cycling and public transport the easiest and most affordable options for everyone in Scotland.

Contribute

As a team living and working in Scotland, we recognise the importance of contributing to sustainability efforts outside of our own organisation.

We recognise that there are many aspects of driving sustainability that we cannot impact directly. So, while we focus our energy on improving the lives of people using digital products and services, we also choose to contribute to a select number of charitable organisations that are dedicating their time and energy to improving the environment of our country, improving all our lives.

Our Completed and Future Carbon Reduction Initiatives

Several environmental management measures and projects have been completed or implemented since the 2023 baseline. The carbon emission reduction achieved by these schemes equate to 6.08 tCO2e, a 21.4% reduction against the 2023 baseline. In the future we hope to implement further measures such as those below.

Working toward greener web hosting

Our current web hosting service supports several sustainability activities, and we intend to further optimise this aspect in the next revision and re-platforming of our website

Our current web hosting company, Akamai, has a comprehensive sustainability policy(this will open in a new window) and ambitious improvement plans (this will open in a new window)including:

• Working to reach net-zero emissions across Akamai Connected Cloud.
• Power Akamai’s global operations with 100% renewable energy.
• Transparent reporting of emissions performance

As an important part of our strategy User Vision will seek to host our website on a service provider approved by the Green Web Foundation(this will open in a new window), an independent non-profit that tracks how much of the internet runs on green energy. They provide a Green Hosting Directory (this will open in a new window)and User Vision will seek to host our site on a Green Web Foundation certified provider.

Our Office Energy Usage

We seek to minimise the climate impact of our necessary office gas and electricity supplies

In 2021 we replaced our office heating boiler for a new model which greatly reduced the energy usage. Our current utilities providers have strong foundations in sustainability:

User Vision’s gas provider is Pozitive Energy (PE), a carbon-neutral gas supplier which incorporates renewable sources into its energy mix and invests in certified carbon offset projects.

Our electricity supplier, EDF Energy is a leader in renewable energy generation and sustainability initiatives to assist the UK's transition to a low-carbon energy future. EDF Renewables develops and operates renewable energy assets such as several wind farms in Scotland and battery storage technologies to address the intermittency of renewables.

Other Future Carbon Reduction Initiatives

We will continue to seek opportunities to reduce our Carbon initiatives

We will aim to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30% by 2030 through energy efficiency and renewable energy adoption. Our current emissions are:

• Scope 1. (Heating of buildings) 7.56 tCO2e
• Scope 2. (Electricity) 1.47 tCO2e

We will seek to improve these through:

1. Improved insulation at windows
2. Reviewing / reducing boiler usage to essential days when staff are in
3. Consulting with the heating and electricity providers to identify further means of savings.

Declaration and Signoff

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 06/21 and associated guidance and reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans. 

Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the GHG Reporting Protocol corporate standard and uses the appropriate Government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting.

Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported beyond the minimum compliance requirements of Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR), and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard.

This Carbon Reduction Plan, for the year ending on 31st December 2024, has been reviewed and signed off by the board of directors.

Signed on behalf of the Supplier:

Christopher Rourke , CEO, User Vision.  April 15, 2025