156 How we’re taking steps to reduce the company’s carbon footprint Protecting our planet is everyone’s responsibility. After all, as the popular slogan says, “There is no Planet B.” And our environment is in serious trouble — climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our times and all of us must play a role in fighting it. As a corporation, we have a larger impact — both positive and negative — than individuals, and being a good steward of the Earth is a responsibility that Scality takes seriously. It’s core to our Scality for good ethos. With our partners at Reforest’Action, an organization founded in 2010 to raise awareness about the need to protect the world’s forests, we recently finished planting over 14,000 trees in the U.S. and France. This initiative launched in 2020 amid a period of devastating California wildfires — and marked a step in our efforts to tackle climate change. Reforest’Action focuses on multi-species planting projects, adapted to the local ecosystem. While the U.S. portion of the project was originally slated for California, we shifted based on need and instead planted 10,000 trees in Washington state. Employees from Reforest’Action and Scality worked with forestry experts and agricultural technicians to plant trees, then followed up with local communities to ensure their growth with the best possible conditions. The benefits of trees by the numbers Among the many wonderful qualities of trees is their efficacy at removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere — not to mention the biodiversity they foster and the positive impact they have on living conditions worldwide. In fact, according to data from Reforest’Action: 1 tree equals 150 kilograms (about 330 pounds) of stored CO21 tree can provide at least three animal homes1 tree provides the equivalent of four months’ worth of the amount of oxygen an adult human requires daily Even one tree can make a difference. The impact of 18.5 million trees — the number planted by Reforest’Action since 2010 — is huge. We’re proud to be partnering with this visionary organization as they continue to preserve, restore and create forests around the world in response to the climate emergency and the erosion of biodiversity. Reducing our carbon footprint Planting trees is just one small step in the global fight against climate change. Earlier this year, we joined more than 300 other companies in signing the Climate Act to commit to measuring and reducing our carbon footprint. We also committed to carrying out a carbon emissions assessment and following up with concrete action to reduce emissions. Initial results found that Scality produces 37% fewer emissions than similar companies (in size and industry). We’re also actively engaging our employees in our efforts. A recent workshop with Climate Fresk provided an opportunity for Scality employees to learn more about climate change and what can be done on a macro- and micro-scale to combat it. We’re using some of the ideas that came out of this workshop — and working from our carbon assessment – to develop further efforts with our partners and employees to reduce our emissions. Through Reforest’Action, we’ve also purchased 600 carbon credits — or 50% of one year of emissions compensated. These carbon credits are attached to certified projects in the Amazon, aimed at preserving rainforests and biodiversity as well as maintaining a sustainable local economy. Obviously, combating climate change isn’t going to happen overnight. The climate emergency demands urgent and continual action from all of us. As a company, we strongly believe in doing our part — we hope you’ll join us in this important undertaking.
