The climate crisis demands immediate action, in order to prevent every bit of warming we can. Organizations are big emitters, because they consume, spend, and grow — a lot. All of those economic activities are strongly coupled with emissions. We do our emission assessments because that information is key to taking informed action. Our previous assessments in 2019, 2020, and 2021 already influenced our equipment policy and event policy.

Last year, we established Liberate Science’s baseline environmental impact, estimating around 6 000 kilos of carbon dioxide equivalent (or 6 mtCO2e) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the years 2019 and 2020. For 2021, we calculated 3.29 mtCO2e – a welcome reduction (-48% overall, -30% compared to 2020). In part, this reduction is because of a smaller team and that we didn’t need (or want) to update any of our devices or office furniture.

At Liberate Science, we are committed to being part of a global movement for change – and it was time we made it official. We are pledging 1% of our sales to the planet and are excited to join a growing global network of businesses, non-profits and individuals working together for a healthy planet. The climate crisis is raging on and there is no time or space for corporate actors to deflect their responsibilities.

This is a joint publication by Cathleen Berger (Climatiq), Chris Hartgerink (Liberate Science), Indré Blauzdžiūnaitė (Trafi), Vineeta Greenwood (Wholegrain Digital). Cross-published in Branch Magazine. We all know that climate action is urgent. We also know that the private sector is responsible for the lion’s share of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The science is clear: humanity is living beyond the regenerative capabilities of our planetary boundaries. It is easy to forget when building a business, that we are also contributing to the excess. For us to create a sustainable science, we need to create a culture of sustainability thinking across economic, social, and ecological domains.