Moody’s to Use 100% Renewable Energy for its Global Operations, Commits to Offsetting Past Emissions

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Moody’s Corporation has established new environmental sustainability commitments and progress milestones, including plans for expanding its carbon neutrality and procuring 100% renewable electricity, as well as target goals for reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Moody’s new environmental sustainability milestones and targets are as follows:

Carbon neutrality 

Moody’s states that it achieved carbon neutrality for the first time in 2019 and is committed to remaining carbon neutral on an annual basis by mitigating emissions, as set by its science-based targets, and purchasing verified carbon offsets for residual emissions from its operations, employee commuting, and business travel. In addition, Moody’s will retroactively offset its GHG emissions from September 2000, when Moody’s became a public company, to December 2018. This will be completed by 2040 through the purchase of verified carbon offsets.

Moody’s intends to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, consistent with its commitment to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Business Ambition for 1.5°C.

Renewable energy

In 2019, Moody’s renewable energy comprised 11% of its total global electricity usage, which included 100% renewable electricity in its London, Frankfurt, and Edinburgh offices. Beginning in 2020, Moody’s will be procuring 100% renewable electricity for its global operations by increasing its contracts with utility suppliers whose electricity originates from a renewable source where possible and purchasing unbundled renewable energy certificates.

Science-based targets

Moody’s targets for reducing its GHG emissions focus on three key commitments: 1) reduce absolute scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions 50% by 2030 from a 2019 base year, 2) reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from fuel and energy related activities, business travel, and employee commuting 15% by 2025 from a 2019 base year, and 3) 60% of its suppliers by spend covering purchased goods and services and capital goods to have science based targets by 2025.

Moody’s targets were validated this month by the Science Based Targets initiative, a collaboration between CDP, UNGC, World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), that is seeking to reduce corporate GHG emissions.