About/Sustainability
The sustainability case, made on measurement.
We lead with the commercial case, which makes Interact more than a sustainability consultancy. Sustainability still runs all the way through the work: reducing the energy and material waste of the data centres our customers run, and staying transparent about our own emissions. Six independent credentials sit behind it.
B Corp
Certified 99.3
EcoVadis
Bronze, 82%
UN SDGs
Four stars
EU Code of Conduct
Signatory
Six credentials. Six external bodies.
Each of the following is granted by an independent third party, on the strength of evidence we have submitted or are publicly held to. None are self-awarded.
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01 · B Corp
B Corp Certified: 99.3
Verified by B Lab against the standard for social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability. Achieved 99.3 against the 80-point certification threshold at the most recent re-assessment, with a target of 110+ at the next re-certification cycle.
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02 · United Nations
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 4 stars
Recognised at the four-star level for publicly demonstrating plans, commitments, actions and progress against the UN SDGs. Committed to three Goals and six specific targets; see the detail below.
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03 · Yorkshire & Humber
Yorkshire & Humber Climate Action Pledge
Signatory. Categorised as an Achiever for holding an active plan that addresses at least one of climate or nature. The pledge is hosted by the Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission, which tracks signatories against their stated actions.
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04 · European Commission
EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres
Signatory to the European Commission's voluntary initiative for data centre operators to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective way, without compromising the mission-critical workloads the buildings exist to run.
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05 · UK Government
Government Digital Sustainability Alliance
Selected as a member of the GDSA, a collaborative group of digital and data suppliers working with the UK Government to drive ICT sustainability across public-sector supply chains.
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06 · EcoVadis
EcoVadis Bronze, 82%
Awarded the Bronze medal with a score of 82%, assessed by EcoVadis for the implementation of sustainability measures across the environmental, social, ethics and sustainable-procurement dimensions.
UN SDGs · commitments in detail
Three Goals. Six targets.
We have committed to three of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with six specific targets we report against over a rolling five-year horizon. The three were chosen because they match where our work most directly applies: the carbon and materials footprint of IT hardware, gender balance in technology leadership, and climate education and awareness.
Goal 12
Responsible consumption and production
The closest fit. The original research underneath Interact was driven by the intersection of circular economy practice and reduced energy use in IT estates. Materials conservation and the carbon argument sit together at the core of the work.
Targets we report against
- 12.2 · Sustainable management and use of natural resources
- 12.6 · Encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices and reporting
Goal 5
Gender equality
The Interact team has, since inception, been either gender-balanced or skewed toward female representation. It is reported here because it is simply a fact of the company. The benefit, in our experience, is a broader range of perspectives applied to the work.
Targets we report against
- 5.5 · Ensure women's full participation in leadership and decision-making
- 5.B · Promote empowerment of women through technology
Goal 13
Climate action
Mostly framed at governments and institutions. The reason we are still pledged against it is that the education, training and consultation work around scope 2 and scope 3 carbon reduction is where our function most directly contributes to the awareness-raising the target asks for.
Target we report against
- 13.3 · Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
Progress to date
Latest reported progress. A refreshed Global Goals report is in production.
Goal 12 · Responsible consumption
- Sustainable practices and reporting (12.6): 174 organisations trained via CEDaCI and industry channels. Target: 500 by 2028.
- Environmental charity commitments: 14 environmental charity partnerships established. Target of 10 by 2028 exceeded.
Goal 5 · Gender equality
- Female leadership (5.5): Above 50% female representation in senior leadership, maintained since 2023. Target of 50% already exceeded.
- Women through technology (5.B): 2 female sportspeople sponsored to date. Target: 10 by 2028.
Goal 13 · Climate action
- Climate awareness-raising (13.3): 3,145 organisations reached through over 100 industry events, talks and seminars. Target met.
- Carbon savings (additional goal): 159,457 tonnes of Scope 2 and Scope 3 savings delivered for organisations through circularity and efficiency. Target: 250,000 tonnes by 2028.
Progress against these targets is reviewed and reported annually. A refreshed report is in production; in the meantime, download the 2023 Interact Global Goals Update (PDF, 2.4 MB).
Rated four stars by Support the Goals for active advocacy and public reporting against the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
We operate upstream of the report.
Most sustainability reporting in IT is downstream of a decision that has already been made. The hardware is bought, the rack is filled, the contract is signed. Then the reporting function counts what happened. That work is necessary. It does not, by itself, reduce anything.
Our measurement layer tells the procurement function what to buy. The right buy uses less hardware, draws less power, asks less of the cooling system around it. The sustainability outcome lands because the decision underneath was a better one, target or no target.
Across hundreds of projects, the typical pattern is a 40 to 70% reduction in cost and energy against a like-for-like refresh.
How we handle the hard parts.
01. Water
Water enters our simulation as a dial. Cooling water is one of the more honest constraints on a modern hardware decision, especially in hyperscale-adjacent environments. Our chair of the IEEE working group on water in IT means the methodology is the methodology: measured directly and documented.
02. Net zero, in context
Net zero targets matter, and we report against them when a client needs us to. The conversation we lead with is the procurement decision in front of you, and whether it can be made on measured evidence. The carbon outcome follows from that, and in our experience it always has.
03. What we won't claim
We won't claim a carbon number we can't measure. We won't sell the same reduction twice. We won't help a client reframe an avoided cost as an avoided emission unless the avoided emission is real. The dataset has nothing to gain from inflated numbers and a lot to lose.
Take it further
Want the sustainability case made on measurement?
Tell us about the refresh in front of you. We will model the cost, power and footprint outcomes alongside it, and put the audit trail in your hands.