Our approach to operational emissions
Find out about our approach to managing our operational emissions and how we address residual emissions as part of our pathway to net zero.
Our operational impacts and commitments
Our operational climate impacts result from the everyday running of our business premises and from the activities of our colleagues in the workplace. While our direct footprint is small compared with our value chain and investments, it is important to mitigate the impact within our direct control. We also recognise that our colleagues play a role in our operational net zero pathway and so we activate our approach through events and colleague initiative across our office locations.
We follow a hierarchical approach to managing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, prioritising reduction, improving efficiency and compensating for residual emissions.
In 2025, we met our interim operational emissions target, achieving a 79% reduction against our 2018 baseline, compared with our target of 50%. Having met this target, our current operational emissions targets are:
85% reduction in combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030
Net zero operational emissions by 2040
Operational emissions progress
A more transparent approach
We have a long-standing commitment to taking action in relation to the emissions that remain after our reduction efforts, known as residual emissions. Our approach to these residual emissions is designed to complement, not replace, ongoing emissions reduction efforts.
As part of our pathway to net zero, we compensate annually for these.
Previously, we purchased carbon credits through external brokers. In 2023, we paused that approach while we reviewed how we could achieve greater transparency, traceability and confidence in the environmental outcomes being supported.
Our revised approach is based on three principles, reflecting our sustainability strategy:
Demonstrable additional benefits
Supporting projects that deliver genuine and incremental environmental benefits
Safeguarding people
Projects should avoid adverse impacts on individuals and communities
Protecting and restoring nature
Support should contribute to healthier, more resilient ecosystems
Our commitment in action
Supporting peatland restoration in northern Scotland
These principles led us to support peatland restoration through the Flow Country Partnership, giving us a direct connection to a restoration project and greater visibility of the environmental activity taking place on the ground.
We have entered into an agreement to purchase 6,447 validated Pending Issuance Units (PIUs), linked to restoration at Armadale Farm on the north coast of Scotland. These correspond to the residual Scope 1 and 2 operational emissions for 2023 to 2025. PIUs are units which represent expected future carbon benefits, and are not the same as carbon credits because they are not verified offsets today. Instead, subject to ongoing monitoring and then successful verification under the UK Peatland Code, they are expected to convert into verified Peatland Carbon Units - a type of carbon credit. If they convert successfully, we would then have the option to retire the verified units against our residual operational emissions.
About the project
Armadale Farm is a 2,290 ha traditional hill farm on the north coast of Scotland which has been grazed by sheep since 1791. The farm contained damaged peatland, including up to 210km of hill drains which were eroding, with restoration work carried out by a local contractor.
The project was delivered through collaboration between the landowner and the Flow Country Partnership who planned, designed, developed and managed the works and will be responsible for the ongoing monitoring, maintenance and delivery of the resulting carbon units through the IUCN UK Peatland Code.
Impact of Flow Country Partnership
The wider project has restored over 690 ha of peatland and is anticipated to save in excess of 135,500 tonnes of carbon over its 85-year lifetime.
Joyce, the landowner, says that peatland restoration is already benefitting her farm by reducing the number of sheep getting trapped in drains.
It has also helped provide a future source of income from the carbon credits the project has generated.
FAQs
You can find more detail on the peatland restoration project and how this supports our approach to carbon offsetting below.
The Flow Country is an area of deep peat, and part of the most intact and extensive blanket bog system in the world, stretching across Caithness and Sutherland in the far north of Scotland. It was the first peatland to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2024, recognising its global significance. The Flow Country Partnership is a Scottish charity, working to restore peatland in the Flow Country enabled by philanthropic donations, partners and investors. They have a strong focus on social impacts and are community led, and so their work is well aligned with our wider sustainability strategy.
Peatlands are one of the UK's most important carbon stores. When a peatland is healthy, it can lock carbon away over long periods of time. When they become degraded, drained or damaged, they can do the opposite and release significant amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Restoration helps stop those emissions, improve long term carbon sequestration and deliver wider biodiversity and ecosystem benefits.
Scotland contains a significant proportion of the UK’s peatlands, while around 80% of UK peatlands are degraded or damaged. Degraded peatlands can become sources of greenhouse gas emissions rather than carbon sinks, making their restoration important for climate mitigation as well as biodiversity. Peatland protection and restoration is a clear Scottish Government policy objective and forms part of Scotland’s response to climate change.
Aberdeen has an operational net zero commitment of 2040, and an interim target to reduce operational Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 85% by 2030, against a 2018 baseline.
Pending issuance Units (PIUs) are a form of peatland carbon units with expected future carbon benefits which, once successfully independently verified, can convert to peatland carbon units (PCUs).
The 6,447 PIUs correspond to Aberdeen’s residual Scope 1 and 2 operational emissions for 2023 to 2025. They represent expected future carbon benefits and are not verified offsets today. Subject to successful monitoring and verification under the UK Peatland Code, they are expected to convert into verified Peatland Carbon Units. Aberdeen would then have the option to retire those verified units against its residual operational emissions. Purchasing PIUs does not qualify as offsetting, and we do not claim carbon neutrality. We cannot claim to be offsetting or retire carbon units without the successful conversion of PIUs into PCUs.
It's important to stress that we see this as a compensation mechanism for a small volume of residual operational emissions that remain after reduction efforts, rather than as a substitute for decarbonisation. Consistent with our Climate Transition Plan and our wider climate commitments, our priority remains reducing emissions in the first instance. Compensation is intended only for residual emissions that we are not yet able to eliminate.
In 2024 and 2025, the landowner restored peatland on Armadale Farm using a combination of Peatland ACTION funding and support from the Flow Country Partnership. The work was delivered in two phases (Aug-Dec 2024 and Aug-Nov 2025) by a local contractor and involved installing peat dams, zippering, reprofiling drains and gullies, creating surface bunds and reprofiling large hags.
While climate considerations are an important part of the project, peatland restoration can also deliver a range of wider environmental, social and economic benefits.
Restoration helps improve the condition of an important natural habitat, supports biodiversity and contributes to the long-term resilience of the landscape. The work has also involved local contractors, helping support skills and economic activity within the region.
The project also demonstrates how public and private funding can work together to support large-scale restoration of important natural assets.
Armadale Farm is a 2,290 ha traditional hill farm in North Sutherland, which has been grazed by sheep since 1791. In the last few years the landowner has moved to a more nature-based approach to an upland farming system and the farm now supports a mixed cattle and sheep business which is supplemented by income from two holiday cottages.
More about our approach to sustainability
Sustainability at Aberdeen
Learn more about our sustainability ambitions, our strategy and our progress towards our targets.
Charitable giving
Our charitable giving strategy is governed through the Aberdeen Group Charitable Trust. Learn more about the trust and how to apply for funding.