Earth Day 2024: A reminder of our collective responsibility

Today is Earth Day! It’s always an exciting time at Conduent because it means our annual Corporate Social Responsibility report is almost ready to share, full of all the awesome stories from our associates around the world and ways they contributed to protecting our planet throughout the year. This year’s Earth Day theme is “Planet vs. Plastics.” And we have tons of examples of how we’ve made an impact, such as our team in the Philippines providing reusable, metal utensils to over 5,000 associates for the second year in a row – eliminating plastic from their lunch and break areas.

But before we get into more examples, I am very proud of our team’s ongoing efforts to reduce waste and better manage resources. We serve millions of people each day on behalf of our clients and we know that comes with significant responsibility towards sustainability. Here are just a few highlights we’re excited to share in our upcoming CSR report. 

Committed to reducing our environmental footprint:      

• Responsibly recycled or disposed of 6,838 pieces of e-waste in 2023 
• Reduced our real estate footprint by over 61% since 2017  
• Recycled more than 107M pounds of paper since 2017 

Last year, we also reported that we were on pace to reduce our Scope 2 emissions by 40% by 2030. We are thrilled to announce that we have reached that initial goal, well in advance of 2030, and are now looking to setting new goals across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 through the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi).

SBTi is a new commitment from Conduent in 2023. For this initiative, we will be developing near-term GHG reduction targets and actions plans.  In the meantime, we’ve advanced our GHG reporting with expanded disclosures this year, particularly in Scope 3 emissions, providing us with a more thorough picture of our carbon footprint throughout our entire value chain.

You may also notice that our e-waste recycling figure (6,838) is much lower than 2022 (43,264). This is because the Data Center Optimization Program (DCOP), as part of our IT function, has done such a tremendous job in its consolidation efforts since 2021 (moving from 27 data centers down to just two highly efficient centers), that there are inherently fewer items needing to be recycled.

Beyond these achievements, our solutions also contribute to environmental conservation for our clients, particularly in transportation. For instance, as part of our Sustainable Cities initiative, Conduent Transportation is working in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council in the UK on its Zero Emissions Zone (ZEZ) pilot program to reduce emissions by shaping driver behavior without major impacts to the lives of its citizens. Our technology, which relies on an advanced image capture system and data analytics, helps government officials encourage drivers to make smart decisions about when and what they drive. By using driver number plate data, combined with vehicle CO2 (g/km) data, fuel type and the emissions standards, we’ve been able to help reduce harmful vehicle emissions by 24% in Oxfordshire’s Zero Emissions Zone.

I also want to extend my gratitude to our team members for their remarkable contributions in their local communities and workplaces, globally. In 2023, our associates volunteered 15,406 hour, up from 10,153 in 2022. Their hard word impacted over 113 organizations. Efforts included global participation in our annual International Coastal Cleanup Day. A particular highlight this year was associates cleaning up plastic and other waste for 3,000 families living along the coast of Cebu.  In India, associates organized an e-waste program where a tree is planted for every piece of equipment recycled.

Once again, I commend the Conduent team for upholding our environmental, social, and governance standards, showcasing our steadfast commitment to sustainable business practices every day. Earth Day serves as a powerful reminder of our collective responsibility to care for the Earth and we can make a positive impact, together. You can learn more about our sustainability initiatives on our corporate social responsibility page.