Sky hits its 100% renewable electricity target and publishes method behind Scope 3 emissions reporting

Friday 30 July 2021

Sky, Europe’s leading media and entertainment company, has today announced it has met its target to source 100% renewable electricity across its entire business, as it continues towards its ambition to be net zero carbon by 2030.

Sky’s offices, retail stores and journalism hubs across the world are now powered by renewable electricity* which has in turn contributed to a 22.7% reduction in emissions across Scopes 1 & 2 from the 2018 baseline.

Sky has also published the reporting methodology for its Scope 3 emissions which are responsible for 98% of its total value chain emissions and includes the use of Sky products in customers’ homes and the emissions of its supply chain. By sharing its approach in full, Sky hopes to enable and inform others on the journey to net carbon zero, because transparent reporting is critical in the Race to Zero and staying on a 1.5° pathway.

As recognised in the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Corporate Value Chain Standard, Scope 3 calculations commonly rely on estimated approaches. Sky is working with suppliers and industry peers to replace estimates with primary data with the goal of using more accurate tracking and reporting to accelerate progress to net zero.

Fiona Ball, Sky Group Director Bigger Picture, said: “Transparently sharing data on our net zero transition is central to Sky’s approach. We know that business can accelerate the journey to a zero-carbon future by sharing knowledge, learnings and data as freely and widely as possible. We have published our Scope 3 reporting methodology to enable others to go on the journey with us, because net zero won’t be achieved by individuals but through collective action.”

Sam Kimmins, Head of RE100, said:Congratulations to Sky on achieving their RE100 goal of 100% renewable electricity! As one of the pioneering early members of RE100, it’s great to see Sky realising their bold ambition. We are looking forward to continuing to accelerate change towards zero carbon grids together with Sky and their growing group of RE100 peers.”

Sky has met its RE100 commitment to source 100% renewable electricity by 2020, through on-site generation, buying renewable electricity tariffs that are backed-up by traceable certificates, and where it can’t control the tariff, Energy Attribute Certificates. Sky has also set the ambitious target of generating at least 20% of its own electricity on all new buildings and large refurbishments.

*In line with RE100 reporting standards, where existing contracts cannot be changed or influenced, Sky has purchased traceable renewable energy certificates aligned to the location it generates and retired them from the market in the same year as the energy is used.


Notes to editors

For further information please contact:

Sian.Parry@sky.uk

About Sky:

Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of Comcast Corporation. Across six countries, we connect our 23 million customers to the best entertainment, sports, news, arts and to our own award-winning original content.

Our technology, including the market leading Sky Q, connects people to everything they love – with entertainment from Sky TV, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer and apps like Spotify, YouTube, BBC Sounds, Highbrow, Fiit, and more, in one place, easy. Our streaming service, NOW TV, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.

Building on the success of Sky Originals like Chernobyl, Bulletproof and Brassic, we are doubling our investment in original content by 2024 through Sky Studios. Sky News provides impartial and trustworthy journalism for free, while Sky Arts, the UK’s only dedicated free-to-air arts channel, makes the arts accessible for everyone. Our new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, is expected to create over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in the UK over the first five years alone.

We believe that we can be a force for good in the communities in which we operate. We’re committed to being Europe’s first net zero carbon entertainment company by 2030 and we’re proud to be a Principal Partner and Media Partner of COP26. We take pride in our approach to diversity and inclusion: we’ve been recognised by The Times and Stonewall for our commitment to diversity and we’ve set ambitious 2025 targets to continue to increase diversity and representation. We’re also committed to investing £30million across our markets over the next three years to improve our approach to diversity and inclusion, and to tackle racial injustice.