Our business was founded to boost inclusivity, care about sustainability and have a positive social impact on society; check out this article about why Tandem was founded. Part of that mission means we care about the emissions we are saving and we keep a close eye on the wages enabled through the use of Tandem’s services.
There's a buzz around being carbon neutral right now but there is also a big problem with how companies are attempting to go get there, very few are actually reduce their carbon emissions at all. Instead they opting to pay a third party for a 'band-aid' solution that looks good on reports in the form of carbon credits.
The real solution, of course, is to reduce the number of carbon emissions produced in the first place. Something that Tandem is working hard to achieve with our users. You see, the average car journey has 1.16 passengers, but the average tandem vehicle has 20, which means over 17 fewer cars on the road for each trip (and less congestion). As transport is the most significant source of UK carbon emissions (*Department for Transport (2021) Transport and environment statistics), it's easy to see how this can make a difference.
Scope 3 categorises emissions being produced from activities not owned or controlled by the company but impacting its value chain. For example, staff travelling to work. A solution like Tandem can have a massive effect on a company's environmental impact. By choosing to reduce the amount of CO2 produced rather than offset it, companies can take a direct approach to combat climate change.
For the first quarter of this year, Tandem saved 396 Metric Tonnes of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere. To offset that amount of carbon emissions would require approximately 2,376 trees. Not that we have anything against trees! We think it would be more beneficial to reduce the problem in the first instance rather than covering it up.
Now, not many companies can operate without producing some carbon emissions, and that is where offsetting is useful. But in areas where a company can, we believe, a company should.
