Employees Can Illuminate Scope 3 Emissions Data With New Wave Of Carbon Engagement Solutions

Employees Can Illuminate Scope 3 Emissions Data With New Wave Of Carbon Engagement Solutions

WeSpire, an employee engagement and experience software provider, has launched a new solution that takes an employee-centric approach to helping corporates report on their scope 3 carbon emissions. Founded in 2010, WeSpire is headquartered in Boston, with under 50 employees. The new Employee Carbon Management Solution is housed in the WeSpire employee engagement platform; a suite of SaaS solutions.

The solution is timely considering the increasing importance for firms to determine their scope 3 emissions, in line with ambitious net zero targets, SBTi parity and reporting frameworks. What separates the solution offered by WeSpire from more typical carbon data collection and reporting platforms is the focus on collecting data directly from employees. A problem that has emerged since firms were forced to scramble to hybrid-working is the transfer of emissions from scope 1 to scope 3- from businesses to employees- and the inability to source that data. As an increasing proportion of firms’ emissions are now tied up in scope 3, the first step in addressing the scale of these emissions should include a new employee-centric data collection process.

WeSpire’s solution measures employee-related emissions data using a carbon calculator and provides feedback to implement reduction plans. The scope 3 emissions data is recorded, providing greater visibility of the extent of emissions, as well as the level of employee impact- something of value when communicating internally and externally on environmental and social engagement across a firm. WeSpire’s partnership with South Pole also offers their customers’ employees the choice to purchase high quality offsets for unavoidable emissions- reducing the employers’ scope 3 emissions in the process. Data from WeSpire’s solution can be integrated into other vendor software to be used in more comprehensive reporting frameworks or as one aspect of a firms’ emissions.

Fundamentally, the added benefit of the WeSpire Employee Carbon Management Solution is that it sits within WeSpire’s suite of employee engagement solutions as part of the sustainability module. WeSpire isn’t alone in the Employee Carbon Engagement solution space, however. Pawprint offers similar gamification to engage employees in carbon reduction targets and lists abrdn and Royal London as customers, whilst Giki (Get Informed, Know your impact), has an impressive customer-base including Deloitte and Natwest Group and offers a carbon calculator with 130 personalised actions. With multiple solutions and providers emerging, the ground is fertile for carbon software that seeks to engage employees, thereby enhancing a corporation’s own social engagement and in time, its social performance. In the Verdantix Global Corporate Survey, 39% of corporates stated that boosting social performance is a high priority over the next 2 years. Firms actively trying to engage their employees in sustainability issues can benefit from solutions like employee carbon engagement platforms; they offer interactive educational content, while simultaneously providing a vital service in collecting scope 3 emissions data.