Focusrite Group’s Environmental Sustainability plan
Leading the industry and setting standards for peers to emulate.
As an equipment manufacturer with a worldwide reach and a diverse portfolio of products, we are aware that our very existence contributes to factors affecting climate change. Addressing climate change requires rapid and urgent action across all sectors of society, and we appreciate the need to respond quickly to the ecological emergency if we are to play our part in limiting global warming.
As a global leader in the audio industry, environmental sustainability is a major opportunity for us to demonstrate climate leadership and values, define good environmental practice, and benefit from an opportunity to meaningfully engage with our staff, customers, and the wider audio community.
Our Ongoing Commitment
We are serious about building the long-term foundations for progress. Since 2018, our cross-departmental Green Team has been meeting regularly and making improvements to lessen the company’s environmental impact. Starting as a grassroots movement by passionate staff members, the Green Team has grown to include representatives from across the business, including company Directors, who are intent on making a difference.
In 2021 we appointed Andy Land, previously leader of the Green Team to a new Head of Sustainability position. Andy’s remit is to lead Environmental strategy across the Focusrite Group, as we build our timeline towards a low greenhouse gas emissions future and align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
We are joining the growing community of leaders committed to taking bold, strategic action on climate change aligned to the United Nations Paris Agreement, the international framework for “limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”. We are committed to creating and fostering a sustainable ethos — demonstrating and amplifying good practice while inspiring our employees, customers, and partners to action.
Our Environmental Strategy
In 2022, we looked at our approach long term, and the Board have reviewed various proposals. They’ve taken into account the effect they will have on the business as a whole, as well as the message we are receiving from customers before approving three areas of focus that are now captured in our Environmental Strategy. This strategy will evolve over time as we complete interim milestones leading towards delivering Net Zero for the Group.
| Target | Emissions Covered | ||
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Carbon Neutral Operations |
The energy we use is only a small portion of our total footprint, but we have the most control over this. The work we've done over the last few years has already reduced this significantly, so a close target of 2024 is achievable. |
Ensure our internal business operations have no Greenhouse Gas impact by 31st August 2024.
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Focus on Products |
Our indirect product emissions are the majority of our environmental footprint, so we have a responsibility to understand this in as much detail as possible, and put in place initiatives to reduce our impact here. |
Reduce and Neutralise product Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2030.
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Industry Leaders |
Our products are always part of a wider system, interacting with other pieces of technology. As a result we must do what we can do drive forward our entire industry to become more environmentally sustainable. Setting science-based targets will be a significant step for us towards achieving Net Zero status. |
Commit to Science Based Targets for decarbonisation by 2025 at the latest, and then set a Net Zero Target.
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Our environmental strategy covers all aspects of our environmental footprint, aiming to embed us within the circular economy, requiring collaboration with the entirety of our value chain and beyond. As we progress, we aim to lead and educate the broader music technology sector and set the standard for good sustainable practice within our industry.
We recognise this is a rapidly evolving field with new research and technology breakthroughs a regular occurrence. By working with industry-leading consultants, and sharing our progress regularly we will continue to adapt to future environmental changes.
Designing Sustainably
Much of our impact lies with the products we make, so we are embedding sustainable design principles into our design process. As a manufacturer, we have a responsibility to make high-quality products that stand the test of time, and not become redundant after a few years.
To show our commitment to making reliable and long-lasting products, we offer three years warranty across the entire Focusrite, Novation, and Optimal Audio product portfolio, with ADAM Audio and Martin Audio also offering up to five years. Sequential products are intended for very long product lifetimes — in excess of 10 years — and are designed for easy lifetime servicing at an affordable price. This approach to longevity raises the requirement for design and reduces wastage, which is not only a plus for the planet, but a great benefit to our customers.
As up to 90% of a product’s environmental impact is locked in during design, we established a set of operating procedures and best practices for creating sustainable products and are incorporating them into our design process. These are being applied to all new products, maximising sustainability long before production. This is an area of focus we will be continually refining.
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Future Thinking
Our very existence means we have an environmental footprint, so deepening our understanding of this impact is our top priority. There is growing momentum within society demanding action on climate change. Backed up by science, supported by our customers, and increasingly being legislated for by governments around the world, we have a responsibility to respond. This starts by analysing in detail and verifying externally, the scope of our emissions.
In 2019 we conducted our first survey of our head office’s energy consumption, and in 2020 we reported our Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions for the first time (covering our offices, energy consumption and company vehicles); a process we will repeat annually. Over time as our experience grows this will include Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions (logistics, travel, and manufacturing among other items), as well as an assessment of how climate change will affect Focusrite brands, and how we will be tackling some of the local effects.
In 2022 we published our complete Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions for the first time, an essential first step to understanding our baseline and prioritising actions. Our full greenhouse gas emissions table can be seen in our 2022 Annual Report on page 56.
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Category |
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Net Emissions* |
Gross Emissions |
% of Gross CO2e Footprint |
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Emissions |
Scope 1 GHG tCO2e |
-0.57 |
222.84 |
0.07% |
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Scope 2 GHG tCO2e |
-0.38 |
206.43 |
0.06% |
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Scope 3 GHG tCO2e |
332,578 |
332,578 |
99.87% |
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Total GHG tCO2e |
332,577 |
333,008 |
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Intensity Metric |
tCO2e per Product Sold |
0.21 |
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tCO2e per £m Revenue |
1,812.78 |
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*Net Emissions include reductions in Market Based GHG Emissions from purchases of renewable energy, and Carbon Offsets purchased. 160 tCO2e of Carbon Offsets are included in the Net Emissions figure.
Looking beyond greenhouse gas emissions, we view the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as an essential framework to ensure we commit to long term success for the planet and society. Each Sustainability initiative undertaken at Focusrite will be reviewed for which goals we are contributing towards and will form a big part of our reporting framework moving forwards.