Compass Group UK & Ireland, the UK’s largest food and support services provider, has announced a new partnership to enable its colleagues to reduce their personal carbon footprints by an estimated 400kg CO2e each per year.

The decision to partner with the evidence-based UK social enterprise and B-corp, Giki, recognises the importance of helping colleagues, clients, and customers to understand the impact our everyday choices have on climate change and the role large organisations like Compass can play in accelerating societal decarbonisation at scale.

The urgency with which this transition must be achieved was reaffirmed last month, in the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), where climate justice was underlined as a growing concern in need of increased awareness, as those that have contributed least to climate change are being disproportionately affected. The IPCC report* states that “10% of the highest-emitting households contribute 40-45% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 50% of the lowest-emitting households (including small islands communities) contribute less than 15% of overall greenhouse gases.”

As a diverse business that serves millions of people across every sector of society, every day, Compass recognises the impact its workforce can have as individuals and sees its partnership with Giki as an opportunity to democratise climate action, by providing all its colleagues with free access to Giki’s platform and challenge-based programme.

Its simplicity is a major benefit. Once people have answered some simple questions about their lifestyle, their carbon footprint is calculated and the platform then provides up to 150 practical “steps” that users can take to reduce their carbon footprint.

Steps are gamified either by theme or by recommendation and can be selected to suit individual and family lifestyles, increasing the chances of sustained adoption.

Mobilising action will be incentivised through challenges scheduled throughout the year, targeting steps specifically designed to drive awareness and empower behavioural change in the key areas of focus, such as dietary change, plastics and water usage; as shared in Compass’ first in depth climate impact report, released in February.

To mark Stop Food Waste Day a specific Waste Less Challenge has also been created providing steps to reduce food waste.

The platform has already been successfully trialled within two of Compass’ six sectors, which has seen a small group (under 50 people) already achieving savings of 5,500kg CO2e - equating to carbon emitted from 11 short haul return flights; 221,368 litres of water - equating to 3700 showers; and 4016m2 land (i.e. avoiding usage change) - the equivalent of 20 tennis courts**.

Platform access is now being rolled out across the business. Data will be collected and shared on dashboards built for each sector and specific business function, so that measurable progress can be celebrated on leaderboards - internally with colleagues and externally in partnership with clients who are also using Giki across the public and private sector.

Commenting on the new partnership Carolyn Ball, Director for Delivery of Net Zero, Compass Group UK & Ireland said:

“Empowering people with knowledge so they know how to make a difference every day, has never been more important. Everyone’s choices matter, and it’s in this spirit that we want to come together as a community - not just as a corporate. Working with Giki gives us the opportunity to do this in an inclusive and measurable way, demystifying climate action so everyone feels empowered to act.”

Commenting on the new partnership Jo Hand, Giki co-founder, said:

“Building sustainable behaviours at home and at work is key to people taking climate action and helping us all move towards net zero. As many people face a cost of living crisis, carbon cutting steps, including energy savings and waste reduction, frequently help with cost savings too. We are really looking forward to working with Compass and their employees, because while one step is progress a large community taking action drives real change.”

Chris Chidley, Chief Growth and Innovation Officer, Compass Group UK & Ireland, added:

“The opportunity to strengthen our client partnerships through meaningful climate action, is a privilege. To have a simple, science-based tool capable of supporting our people in their practical understanding of this responsibility, at such a critical time, is something to celebrate. Thank you to the Giki team and all involved.”