IHS Corporate Sustainability | Environment
the Planet
Caring for the Planet
Environmental sustainability at IHS is an ongoing process where we work to understand and address our environmental impact and identify areas for improvement. Below you can look at our environmental footprint and the environmental initiatives happening at IHS. 2011 is our baseline year with respect to environmental metrics. We use our own product, the IHS Corporate Responsibility Solution, to capture and manage our environmental metrics.
Our Energy Consumption
- 36,400 Metrics Tons GHG Total
For our baseline year 2011, we estimate our total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, CO2e) to be at 36,400 metric tons. Our estimate is based on energy consumption due to electricity usage, air travel and power consumption from external data centers. Ninety-five percent of our GHG footprint comes from our offices and air travel with 5% contributed by external data centers.
IHS consists mainly of leased office spaces and manufacturing or transportation are not part of our business operations. We report our emissions in office spaces where we have operational control (i.e., where we control turning the lights on and off).
We used FY2010 external data center since that infrastructure remained essentially the same in 2011. We based energy consumption on the power usage of these external servers, assuming the servers are running at peak capacity for 24 hours/day. We used FY2010 travel data because 2011 data was not available due to a change in our global travel agency.
FY2011 Waste Profile
- 1,820,000 lbs. Landfill
- 390,000 lbs. Recycled
- 42,000 lbs. E-Waste
For our baseline year 2011, we estimate 2.2 million pounds of waste (1.8 million pounds of landfill waste; 400,000 pounds of recycled waste; 40,000 pounds of E-waste).
Landfill waste is defined as regular trash that ends up at a landfill. Recycling waste may include paper, plastic, metal, glass, or compost (depending on the office location). E-waste is defined as computer, cell phone, and other IT equipment.
With respect to recycling, 74% of our offices reported some form of single-stream or single-bin recycling and we are currently investigating how we can incorporate recycling at all our offices.
FY2011 Office Paper Usage
- 495,000 lbs. Paper
- FSC or SFI Certified Paper
- 30% Post-consumer
- Double-sided Printing
We estimate that IHS offices and print shops use about half a million pounds of paper. In 2011, about 60% of the paper IHS offices used was made of post-consumer material.
Additionally, about 40% of our offices reported using recycled or certified paper and our Englewood print shop (the largest paper consumer at IHS) exclusively uses paper that is either FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) certified.
As part of our Global Printer Initiative and to reduce paper consumption, we have implemented double-sided printing as the default printer setting on our new Xerox printers.
Global Printer Initiative
- Xerox Partnership
- Printer Consolidation
- Environmental Benefits
At IHS we work diligently to seek out suppliers and partners that have stated environmental policies that aim to reduce or eliminate hazardous materials. We have partnered with Xerox in an enterprise-wide strategy to employ all methods and means for the reduction of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and the elimination of hazardous materials. We have recently completed a refresh of all Xerox devices in our main in-house print facility in Englewood, as well as the replacement of stand-alone devices at other locations around the globe. All of these new Xerox devices feature lower VOCs and non-toxic dry ink technology.
Since 2011, IHS has replaced 600 printing devices with 90 Xerox ColorQubes.
Partnerships and Recognition
- Maplecroft CII Benchmark Index
- Ecodesk
- IHS Calgary office receives LEED-CI Gold Certification
Maplecroft CII Benchmark
IHS was named to the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Benchmark Index, part of the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes (CIIs), which evaluate corporate performance in climate-related innovation and carbon management. The Maplecroft CIIs provide investors and stakeholders with insight into the activities of leading U.S. companies and address the compelling case for climate-related innovation and carbon management as leading indicators of future financial performance.
Ecodesk
IHS is a participant in the Ecodesk Innovator program, designed to accelerate greening of the IHS Supply chain, through use of the Ecodesk sustainability database, sustainable supply chain analytics and enhanced supplier engagement.
IHS Calgary office receives LEED-CI Gold Certification
In 2010, IHS received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification for Commercial Interiors at their Calgary office space.
LEED Canada for Commercial Interiors is the green benchmark for the tenant improvement market. It is the recognized system for certifying high-performance green interiors that are healthy, productive places to work; are less costly to operate and maintain; and have a reduced environmental footprint. IHS also worked with the building owners to make several building-level changes to meet this LEED standard.
