How Bloomberg is finding climate solutions across the company

By Philip Gray, Regional Head of Sustainable Workplace Ops, EMEA

As we see an increasing number of climate related disasters, microplastics found in the cells of organisms in the remotest of locations, and biodiversity declining at a rate quicker than ever before, it is becoming increasingly difficult to argue that human activity is not – at least in part – to blame.

These climate events are building pressure on economies as a result of increased damage to property and infrastructure, reduced productive capacity and mass migration. Supply chains will be weakened and destabilized as pressure on natural resources mounts, pushing up inflation as the cost of food and energy climb. And these effects will, of course, hit the most vulnerable first, including low-income households, communities of color, those experiencing homelessness, and immigrant populations.

Policymakers are working hard to find solutions through increased climate-related regulation, taxation and incentivization, but changes may take many years to bear fruit — like decarbonizing energy generation, for example. The World Economic Forum estimates that 11% of GDP could be wiped off the global economy by 2050 if global temperature rise is not limited to less than 2°C.

Governments, cities, businesses — including Bloomberg — and communities around the world are setting their own commitments and developing pathways to emissions reductions ahead of the looming 2050 “point of no return.” Achieving the reductions required within this window is not looking optimistic, with the IPCC’s recent Synthesis Report estimating that we could exceed the estimated carbon limits as early as 2030 if we don’t act immediately.

Setting ambitious targets

To establish ‘how much’ and ‘how quickly’, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) was formed in 2015 from a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to define and promote best practices in emissions reductions and net-zero targets in line with climate science.

SBTi standards quickly became the global standard for emissions reduction targets, providing sector-specific clarity by grounding target setting in climate science and implementing a robust validation process. Those with approved targets have committed to emissions reduction targets with the aim of limiting warming to less than 2°C against pre-industrial levels by 2050, hopefully preventing the catastrophic change predicted if global temperatures surpass it.

Recognizing the importance of the initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies has been a core funder of the SBTi since 2021. Our near-term targets were validated in 2021 as a quantifiable stepping stone on our journey to net-zero. In February 2023, the SBTi approved our long-term science-based target and science-based net-zero target, setting a pathway to verifiable net zero carbon emissions reductions across our entire value chain. With the long-term and net-zero targets now in place, we find ourselves as one of only 10% of companies that have had both their near-term and net-zero targets approved. Now the real work starts.

Making progress

Our near-term science-based targets aim for an 80% reduction in our energy and fuel related emissions (scope 1 and 2) and a 30% reduction in our operational supply-chain related emissions (scope 3) by 2030, from a 2018 baseline.

As reported in our 2022 Impact Report, we’ve reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 38% and scope 3 emissions by 36%. By achieving our RE100 pledge to obtain 100 percent of our electricity from renewable sources by 2025, we will comfortably satisfy our Scope 1 and 2 emissions 80% reduction target.

Michael Barry, Workplace Operations, who is responsible for sustainable operations and our renewable energy sourcing, shares that “In 2022 we sourced nearly 70% of our electricity from certified renewable energy sources, with 55% of that coming from projects we have funded directly. We are close to agreeing terms with a new renewable energy project in North America that will lift the proportion of global electricity sourced directly from projects from 55% to approximately 85%.”

Energy consumption, business travel and publishing operations represent 95% of total operational emissions so these are where efforts are focused.

Worldwide COVID-related restrictions limited Bloomberg’s business travel for a couple of years, but as borders reopened in 2022 we saw an increase in travel and the associated emissions. During the hiatus our Global Travel team developed and integrated sustainability insights into our online booking tool to help employees find the lowest impact air routes, hotel and car rental options, and we are tracking the impact of these efforts. Additionally, we currently purchase and retire carbon credits to offset the impact associated with our business travel.

“We know that getting in front of clients and colleagues face-to-face is important to our business, as is operating our business sustainably. Our goal is to have the right data and tools available  to help us to make more informed sustainable choices when we travel, and to partner with travel vendors who are leading on sustainability,” says Rafael Rosario, Global Head of Travel.

We are on the right track with our publishing operations as strategic business decisions and efficiency efforts have mitigated the environmental impact of our publishing activities. In 2022, we saw a 17% reduction versus 2021 in our publishing-related emissions due to a reduction in our total printed magazines, which reduced paper consumption and logistics associated with magazine publishing. Additional efficiencies and operational streamlining are underway for 2023, which will further reduce emissions.

As our energy supplies continue to decarbonize through continued direct and indirect investment, the proportional impact of environmental aspects like waste will grow. Our Net-Zero Science Based Target requires us to reduce emissions by 90%, which means we’ve got to reach well above the low-hanging fruit.

Personal action

Governments, cities and businesses have a fundamental role to play in tackling climate change through aggressive regulation and policy change, but we also have an individual responsibility to support change through our decisions on politics, the goods and services we consume, and the frequency and ways we travel, for example. Some of these changes are still difficult and won’t or can’t be achieved without a fundamental system change to improve accessibility and affordability – an environmental revolution. This needs to be underpinned by a programme of education to build the demand, forcing the ‘top-down’ to meet the ‘bottom-up’.

For more information on our environmental and social impact, view our latest Impact Report.