Moving towards net-zero

Transtrend is committed to contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement. We aim to reduce the carbon footprint of our operation, moving closer towards net-zero carbon emission in our workplaces in the coming years. To achieve this, we follow a three-step approach:

Some measures to reduce the environmental footprint of Transtrend have already been in place for many years, like motion sensor lights in our office. Many employees come to the office by public transport, bicycle or on foot. Obsolete computers are donated to schools or other civic organizations. We use reusable modular wall systems, cupboards and furniture in the office layout where possible. Paper and cardboard are collected separately from the other trash. And although we are admittedly not a paperless office, initiatives proposed by employees have helped to significantly reduce our paper consumption over the years.

In the last few years, we have completed our switch to LED lights, increased our focus on the economic use of energy by our server rooms, and increased the use of video conferencing as an alternative to business travel. Also, we encourage our employees to travel by train instead of by air for shorter distances. The servers from our backup location were relocated to an external data center, which has increased our power efficiency.

Green electricity powers both our Rotterdam offices and our backup location. Energy allocated by our lessor for shared building facilities is qualified as ‘grey’, based on common practice in the Netherlands to qualify European wind energy as such. Energy used by our external data center is qualified as ‘green’ on the basis of their certificate of conformity with the standards of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact. We intend to replace our company cars by electric cars in the coming period.

We offset our indirect carbon emission through air travel since 2018. As of 2021, we also offset the carbon footprint for various other sources related to our operations: the use of company cars, the use of electricity, water, paper and heating, and the waste generated in our offices. In 2021, we furthermore included the estimated carbon footprint of electricity used by our employees during their work-from-home days. In 2022, we added the carbon footprint for commuting and use of energy allocated to us for shared building facilities. It is our ambition to further refine the measuring of our carbon footprint and reporting thereon in the coming years.

We offset our carbon emission through participating in certified carbon offset projects. We will continue to monitor the debate on the effectiveness of carbon offsetting initiatives to enhance our offsetting program where possible.

Further reduction of our carbon footprint remains on the agenda of a dedicated working group ‘Sustainable Transtrend’, as new ideas or possibilities may develop, or existing ideas may become worthwhile to implement. The working group works closely with our ESG committee, consisting of one of our two Managing Directors and five employees from different teams who prioritize, coordinate and monitor all ESG projects and initiatives — including footprint reduction related ones — across the firm, under the final responsibility of Transtrend’s Managing Board.

In addition to our efforts to reduce our carbon emission and offset any residual emission, we also want to be transparent about our sustainability record. That is why we have drawn up a Sustainability Report in which we measure and explain our carbon footprint, among other things. You can download this report below and read more about our sustainability initiatives.