VMware on Climate Week, Our Journey to Net Zero and Releasing Our 2020 Global Impact Report
By Nicola Acutt, Vice President, Sustainability Strategy
Our commitment to building a resilient and sustainable future extends across everything we do. Having just participated in the first-ever fully virtual Climate Week, I’m more inspired than ever that our society will achieve a resilient, just, net-zero future.
Our Journey to Net Zero
Over the last five years, we’ve accelerated our focus on carbon. We achieved carbon neutrality two years ahead of our goal and we’re powering 100 percent of our operations with renewable energy, but this is just the beginning of our journey. For us, pushing the limits of positive change means taking responsibility for our entire carbon footprint and developing an impactful strategy that includes achieving absolute reductions and managing residual emissions with carbon avoidance and carbon removal projects to address our unmitigated emissions. Our current commitments to carbon neutrality and RE100 are foundational as we drive toward net zero, and we’re starting with an ambitious goal: science based targets, which were approved by SBTi earlier this year. Our science based targets are:
- reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions 50 percent by 2030;
- reducing employee commute and fuel and energy related emissions 50 percent by 2030; and
- engaging 75 percent of our suppliers to set their own science-based targets by 2024.
In 2019, we achieved a 46 percent decrease in our emissions intensity per dollar of revenue over the prior year—alongside 20 percent revenue growth. This is an 80 percent decrease from our base year, surpassing our 10 percent reduction goal.
Additionally, we:
- sourced 100 percent of electricity in our global facilities from renewable sources, one year ahead of goal;
- achieved CarbonNeutral® Company certification for second consecutive year;
- engaged our suppliers representing over 75 percent of our spend to set their own reduction targets;
- achieved a 46 percent decrease in our emissions intensity over the prior year—alongside 20 percent revenue growth; and
- installed water-meters throughout 61 percent of our portfolio in India to continue driving water conservation projects.
Our 2020 Global Impact Report: Responsible Business, Resilient Future
From the global pandemic, continued systemic inequities, geopolitical uncertainty and cybersecurity, to the march of climate change with extreme weather events impacting our own employees and immediate communities, these tumultuous events have shown how deeply interconnected we are as humans. The cover image of our 2020 report, released today, reflects the churn and energy of a watershed—a turning point of a particular moment in time that changes the direction of a situation. Just like 2020.
In 2015, we articulated a vision of global impact across three pillars—our People, our Products and the Planet. At the time, our intent was to build on our long-standing commitment to create a better future by putting back more than we take. We achieved nearly all the goals we established five years ago. In this report, we share progress on our impact and a summary of our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance for FY20, and, for the first time, align our disclosures to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the United Nations Global Compact.
With each innovation our business has brought to market, we have seen how even a single step forward can create a ripple effect that transforms an entire industry. That’s why we choose to be a force for good—with each action, and across all our collective decisions. We invite you to read our 2020 Global Impact Report and learn more about our journey to help create a better world.
Our Vision for 2030
Looking ahead, we envision a future that is equitable, inclusive and just; where the dignity, health and well-being of all people come first; where technology solves complex problems and engenders trust for all who depend on it. In this future, businesses and governments will meet the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal through sustainable innovation, collaboration and policy, creating greater prosperity and opportunity for all.
At VMware, we are building a secure, resilient and sustainable digital foundation for a future in which our technology will make a positive impact on all our stakeholders: employees, customers, shareholders, citizens, communities and our planet.
Because sustainability must be deeply embedded in the business to enable real and lasting value, we are operationalizing ownership for sustainability across the company. Our cross-functional 2030 goals are owned by our business units, which have the expertise to achieve results. Over the next decade, our strategy will focus on three VMware business outcomes: Trust, Equity and Sustainability.
- The trust of all our stakeholders, inspired by our commitment to resilience, ethics, data privacy and intrinsic security
- Equitable access for all to the opportunities of the digital future
- Sustainable digital infrastructure, achieved through radical efficiency and renewable energy, supporting the transition to net-zero emissions
In the coming months, we will introduce a set of material goals that we’re committing to achieve in the next decade focused on outcomes of Equity, Trust and Sustainability. We look forward to fulfilling our promise to be a force for good in the coming decade.
Media Contact:
Kristin Atkins
Director, Global Impact Communications
+1 650 815 6934
