Question

How should asset-light or professional-services companies present environmental evidence?

The Environment theme for asset-light companies typically activates fewer material criteria: water, biodiversity and product-use impacts may not be material for a consultancy or professional-services firm. The criteria most likely to remain active: energy consumption and GHG emissions (Scope 1 and 2), waste management, and services & advocacy.

Be precise about your environmental materiality: document which topics are material and which are not, and why. For active criteria, provide the data you do have — even if limited to office energy bills and an estimated emissions figure — and demonstrate that you are actively tracking and managing it. A lightweight but honest environmental management approach, documented with real data, scores better than a comprehensive-looking policy with no supporting figures.