As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability, Differentology signed the Market Research Society (MRS) Climate Pledge in 2022—promising to take meaningful, measurable steps toward achieving net zero in the shortest feasible timeframe.

By 2024 we’d become one of only 24% of MRS-registered businesses who actively measure and report their baseline greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Our latest annual carbon footprint is 1.4 metric tonnes of CO₂ per employee—far below the industry maximum of ~40 metric tonnes per employee (source: MRS Net Zero Pledge Tracker, 2023).

1 metric tonne of CO₂ ≈ a return flight from Paris to New York. 40 metric tonnes ≈ the emissions from 18 gas boilers running for a year.

Our reporting includes detailed breakdowns across:

• Scope 1: Direct emissions from assets owned or controlled by the business (e.g. company vehicles).
• Scope 2: Indirect emissions from imported electricity, heat, or steam.
• Scope 3: Indirect emissions throughout the value chain (e.g. supplier impact, business travel, data processing).

As a research consultancy (as opposed to a manufacturer of physical goods), our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are relatively low. However, our Scope 3 emissions (from travel, digital services, and data collection) remain a key area of focus.

• Our electricity tariff is Zero Carbon for Business (100% sourced from low carbon providers).
• We have intelligent lighting with low-energy light bulbs, to aid energy management.
• We have a green sedum roof, which reduces energy consumption.
• Our biomass boiler provides a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.
• All our office waste is sorted into four waste streams: glass recycling, food waste, dry mixed recycling, and general waste.
• We select cleaning materials based on their carbon and water footprints.
• We rely on natural ventilation (rather than air conditioning—a major contributor to climate change).
• To help manage water use, flow regulators have been added to taps and showers, and low-capacity toilet cisterns have been fitted.
• We use Parcelforce as our main postal delivery service, because of its commitment to using hybrid and electric vans and stop-start technology.
• We operate a staff car-share scheme and a bike to work scheme, to help reduce the carbon footprint associated with commuting.
• We have a company travel policy aimed at minimising air and road travel and promoting video conferencing and rail travel.

To ensure we fulfil the MRS Pledge we’ve baked sustainability into our culture, even factoring it into our internal appraisal system. The Pledge is now one of our corporate objectives with our entire team on board to fulfil it—additional targets are set at an individual level right down to those booking business travel or ordering coffee supplies.