o9 Issues Its Annual ESG Impact Report, Showcasing Significant Progress Across Key Initiatives

o9 announced the availability of its most recent ESG Impact Report. The report highlights o9’s sustainability and social responsibility activities, metrics, and results during the 2023 calendar year, building on the foundation established in previous years and reflecting significant progress across key areas.

Some of the report’s noteworthy sustainability and social responsibility initiatives include:

• Strengthened Decarbonization Strategy: o9 continued to advance its decarbonization efforts, focusing on achieving net-zero emissions by 2040. In 2023, the company revised its baseline carbon footprint data to ensure accuracy and transparency, and we noticed an 11.41% increase in renewable energy use.
• Enhanced Supplier Decarbonization Efforts: o9 began engaging its suppliers and aligning to ensure 90% of our suppliers by emissions covering purchased goods and services have set science-based targets by 2028. o9 is also focused on reducing absolute scope 3 GHG emissions by 90% by 2040.
• Increased Renewable Energy Usage: In FY’23, 30.98% of o9’s energy consumption came from renewable electricity. This is up from previous years and demonstrates the company’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.
• Received an EcoVadis Gold Medal in June 2023, which puts o9 in the top five percent of organizations reviewed by EcoVadis across four categories: environment, labor and human rights, business ethics, and procurement practices. o9 has obtained several sustainability-related certifications and continued to work on its extensive CSR program, which all contributed to the company’s Gold Medal score.
• Designed a Program Linking Executive Pay to ESG Performance: This includes key topics like climate and diversity. A pilot program was implemented in 2023, and o9 plans to expand the scope of this practice over the next few years.
• Continued Social Impact Initiatives: Through o9’s WePledge 1% program, o9’ers are empowered to contribute their time, talent, and resources to causes they are passionate about. In 2023, o9 employees donated $63,271 to nonprofit organizations and received a $27,481 corporate match.

o9 began measuring the results of its ESG initiatives in 2021. Its inaugural report, which was released in 2022, set a baseline that the organization uses to develop yearly key performance indicators (KPIs) and measure the progress of its organization-wide sustainability and social responsibility initiatives. o9’s 2024 ESG Impact Report was prepared using well-recognized sustainability frameworks (GRI, SASB, SDGs, ESRS, or GHG Protocol). In order to ensure continual improvement across ESG KPIs, o9 once again enlisted a third party to conduct a limited assurance on key ESG indicators. In this year’s report, o9 extended the scope of verification by including the entire carbon footprint of o9 for both 2022 and 2023. This helps ensure accuracy and transparency in reporting to our stakeholders on our material ESG topics.

Chakri Gottemukkala, Co-founder and CEO of o9, said, “Over the past year, we have further strengthened our decarbonization strategy at different levels to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. Setting and validating our science-based targets underscores o9’s unwavering commitment to a sustainable future. These targets drive our operational excellence and amplify our role in fostering environmental responsibility across the industry. We are committed to transparently communicating these targets while monitoring and reporting on our progress.”

Igor Rikalo, o9’s President and COO, added, “Sustainability is a core part of our business strategy. This means taking a holistic approach, from reducing our carbon footprint and minimizing waste to promoting social and economic justice. We are transparent about our sustainability goals and progress and engage with our clients and stakeholders to build support for our efforts. By developing sustainable products and services, we will tap into growing demand from environmentally conscious businesses.”