Our Climate Action Partners

Social Investment Scotland is committed to developing Earth-friendly practices as a global citizen, employer, investor, investee and sector intermediary.

Our mission is to connect capital with communities, to make a real, measurable, and sustainable impact on people’s lives.

We believe that Scotland should be playing a full role, in a global context, to build an impact economy that is aligned with the objectives of inclusive economic growth.

Through our 10-year strategy 2020 - 2030 ‘Building an Impact Economy’ we seek to minimise harm, maximise positive impacts for people and planet, and contribute solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges. It is impossible to do this without placing care for Earth as a central pillar of our work.

We published our Climate Action Statement in December 2022 [provide URL link] and laid out why we place importance on caring for and protecting our planet; our approach; SIS’s Earth-friendly actions so far, and our aspirations for the future.

In this progress report we summarise the key milestones reached in 2023 and our key priorities for the next 12 months in line with our Earth-friendly approach.

Progress
 
SIS’s environmental activities are led by a cross-team working group that research best practice, listen and learn, develop and deliver annual action plans, and respond to emerging needs on a more ad hoc basis.  

We have made considerable progress in our Climate Action journey. We have progressed internal and external work streams with further actions being considered during the coming year – for further details please see the table on the following pages.

Carbon Emissions 

In 2023 we completed an exercise to understand more about SIS’s Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions. Our total carbon emissions are in a range of 46.6 to 53 tonnes with the significant contributor Scope 3 (all indirect emissions, excluding those through purchased energy, that occur in our value chain). In 2024 we will work to further understand and minimise our carbon emissions.

Potential
 
Areas for further development include staff awareness, confidence and engagement with the Environmental journey using participatory approaches wherever possible and hold regular staff awareness and training sessions; supporting investees to reach their Environmental aims and targets providing enhanced tools to measure their Environmental impact and help source bespoke expert support for any Environmental focuses.

If you have any questions or would like to talk to us about any aspect of our Environmental practice please contact Lindsay Wake, SIS Head of Impact and Communications at lindsay@socialinvestmentscotland.com 

Read the full Climate Action Progress Report for December 2023 here.

Zero Waste Scotland’s goal is to inform policy, and motivate individuals and businesses to embrace the environmental, economic and social benefits of a circular economy. We partnered with Zero Waste Scotland to deliver the Social Enterprise Net Zero Fund and Circular Economy 360 series. 

Find out more about Zero Waste Scotland here.

SIS participates in Change Waste Recycling’s programme. Its unique capture system ensures we are recycling to the highest environmental standards. By viewing waste as a resource and recycling all its materials within the UK it supports the Circular Economy.

Find more about Change Waste Recycling here.

SIS donates all its un-needed IT equipment to the social enterprise The Turing Trust for re-use. The Turing Trust refurbishes IT equipment, installs a range of educational software and provides it to those who need it most. In the last 13 years they have enabled access to computers for over 169,000 students across Africa, Asia and the UK.

Find out more about the Turing Trust here.