JTC Employees Help Select Reforestation Projects to Support Net-Zero Drive

JTC has chosen to support three global reforestation schemes in South America, Africa and Asia this year as part of the firm’s commitment to becoming a Carbon Neutral+ business.

Operated by carbon offset specialist organisation Carbon Footprint, the projects are located in Brazil, Indonesia and the Congo, and were selected following a poll of JTC’s global office network held to coincide with Earth Day (22 April). The poll highlighted that employees overwhelmingly wanted JTC to support reforestation and deforestation reduction projects as part of its responsibility to making a positive impact on the planet.

In addition, JTC has also become a sponsor of the Freedom Flight Prize, an innovation-driven initiative aimed at helping to develop zero-carbon aviation, also run by Carbon Footprint. As a sponsor JTC donates yearly to the prize fund, which broke £1 million in 2022, with the aim of making it possible to run zero carbon emission flights from London to New York.

JTC pledged to become a Carbon Neutral+ organization in 2020, meaning that every year it would calculate its carbon emissions and purchase offsets that help remove more than its estimated emissions from the environment. The commitment forms part of a wider strategic focus on sustainability across the business, with a goal of becoming a net-zero carbon emissions organisation by 2030.

To build on employee engagement around its net-zero ambitions, JTC will also be rolling out a number of new initiatives over the coming months, including producing regular environmentally-focused educational content providing employees with guidance around how to reduce their own carbon footprint at home and at work, and holding a Group-wide Alternative Transport Week in May.

Wendy Holley, JTC’s Chief Sustainability Officer, commented:

“We have worked collaboratively with Carbon Footprint since 2020, in support of our pledge to become a Carbon Neutral+ organisation and I’m very happy that we have identified these projects aimed at reforestation and reducing deforestation in key areas of environmental importance across Africa, South America and Asia. With air travel being a major contributor to corporate carbon emissions, I’m also delighted that JTC is supporting the Freedom Flight Prize.

“Nevertheless, as a global business we recognise that we can and should continue to do more to bring about positive environmental change. It will take collective efforts to achieve our goals and, in line with our Shared Ownership culture, it was important that we understood the views of our 1500 global employees and how they felt we could make JTC and our world a more sustainable place.”

More about JTC’s sustainability objectives and net-zero ambitions can be found in its Annual Report.