Environment
PayPoint is a low-impact, low- carbon-intensive business that aims to reduce its environmental impact by reducing carbon emissions, waste and considering environmental and sustainability issues.
Climate change
We aim to reduce emissions and maximise the resource efficiencies of our operations. We have moved to a new hybrid way of working, reducing commuting journeys and engaging with our people to encourage sustainability at home as well as in the office. During the year we published guidance to our employees to help them consider how to reduce energy consumption at home.
Our GHG emissions
In this section we report on all required GHG emissions in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2013. The Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting (‘SECR’) regulations came into effect on 1 April 2019 and we follow the guidelines to comply with these new regulations.
We report using a financial-control approach to define our organisational boundary. A range of approaches can be taken to determine the boundaries of an organisation for the purposes of GHG reporting, including financial control, operational control or equity share.
In line with our climate strategy, tonnes CO2e per employee in our own operations (scope 1 and 2) reduced during the year from 0.73 to 0.66 tonnes CO2e per employee. This reflects energy-saving initiatives in our offices and switching energy contracts for our head office to carbon-neutral. Scope 1 emissions increased during the year as business journey emissions transitioned to scope 1 from scope 3, as more business journeys were made in company cars rather than employee owned cars.
However, there was an overall decrease in emissions from business journeys as new company cars are hybrid, and replace journeys that would otherwise have been made in petrol and diesel cars. In addition, we will soon be offering electric company cars which will further reduce overall emissions from business journeys that may have otherwise been made with petrol, diesel and hybrid cars.
Tonnes CO2e per employee across our entire value chain (scope 1, 2 and 3) increased during the year from 9.87 to 14.25 tonnes CO2e per employee which is driven by two primary factors:
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This year there was a full year of Handepay and Merchant Rentals metrics, as opposed to only two months last year following the acquisitions. Handepay and Merchant Rentals have higher CO2e per employee due to the number of card terminals in operation at merchants and the business model of a large proportion of employees being in field sales incurring business journeys.
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An increase in the purchase of manufactured goods including ATM’s, terminals and IT equipment. We recognise emissions on the purchase of manufactured goods, upon receipt of goods, and as we enter into a period of updating our terminal estate, we will see higher emissions in this category in the short term. However our terminals typically have a long lifespan so the increase in emissions over the coming years will be offset when purchases will be significantly lower. Replacement terminals are smaller than legacy terminals resulting in less emissions from manufacturing and they are much more energy efficient, reducing emissions when deployed at retailers and merchants. Additionally, there will be less waste on disposal when they eventually reach their end-of-life.
| GHG emissions | Units | Year ended 31 March 2022 | Year ended 31 March 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope 1 (fuel combustion) | tonnes CO2e | 151 | 60 |
| Scope 2 (purchased electricity) | tonnes CO2e | 293 | 320 |
| Total Scope 1 & 2 | tonnes CO2e | 444 | 380 |
| No. of employees on 31 March 2022 | 670 | 519 | |
| Total Scope 1 & 2 per employee | tonnes CO2e | 0.66 | 0.73 |
| Scope 3 | tonnes CO2e | 9,104 | 4,740 |
| Total scope 1,2 & 3 per employee | tonnes CO2e | 14.25 | 9.87 |
For scope 2, kilowatts per hour (KWh) increased to 1.38 million in the year (FY21: 1.24 million) due to a full year of Handepay and Merchant Rentals metrics.
We signed a new energy contract for Welwyn Garden City in October 2021 which means that all gas and electricity used in the offices is now carbon-neutral, and are committed to implementing this in our Haydock office at contract renewal in 2024. We have made some changes to the cars that we provide for our sales force, offering hybrid options only, and will introduce an electric option this year. We are encouraging the use of electric vehicles throughout the workforce by implementing electric charging points and introducing an electric car leasing scheme. We are also relaunching our cycle-to-work scheme. Our Salesforce platform already optimises the journeys of our field team and we continue to seek options to reduce their CO2 emissions even further.
Being a responsible business means that we need to be mindful of our environmental impact beyond our own operations. We have implemented an ESG questionnaire into our procurement process to ensure that ESG matters are considered in decision-making and to ensure that our existing suppliers are aligned with our ESG policies and commitments.
Our next phase 2 Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme assessment is due in December 2023 (the last assessment was completed in November 2019).
Natural resources
Water
We use water for domestic purposes such as washroom facilities. Our current measures to reduce usage include time-controlled taps and dishwashers and reduced-flush toilets. With the transition to hybrid working, we expect our water consumption will not revert to previous levels and we will be actively working with our people to reduce their water usage at home.
Waste management
We recycle wherever possible, including paper, cans, plastic, cardboard, computer equipment and PayPoint terminals. New recycling bins have been implemented in our offices to make this as simple as possible for our people. Plans are to be resurrected to recycle batteries, glasses, specialised clothing and mobile phones.
Redundant equipment is recycled by ISO 27001 accredited firms which are certified by the Asset Disposal and Information Security Alliance (‘ADISA’). ADISA recycles as much of the equipment as possible. Any parts which are not recyclable are disposed of in line with the Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (‘WEEE’). ATMs which have reached the end of their life are disposed of via Cennox. All surrounding materials are segregated into four key material types: metal; circuitry boards; wires; and WEEE. Cennox operates an internal recycling process for all of these materials with the exception of WEEE waste which is collected by their licensed waste carrier.
Innovation
Our innovative digital solutions support a reduction in our environmental impact. Recent examples include:
- the acquisition of i-movo, the UK’s leading secure digital vouchering system, enables us to offer an alternative to paper vouchers thereby reducing paper usage
- our pioneering Counter Cash Service, a ‘cashback without purchase’ solution, enables cash withdrawals without the need for ATMs. Energy consumption is thereby reduced together with our need for the supply and distribution of ATMs
- our parcels service enables carriers to reduce their journeys by delivering multiple parcels to a single store for collection
Our Green Team of volunteers works with us to identify opportunities and implement sustainability initiatives in our offices. Their input has led to the introduction of new recycling bins that make it easier for our people to recycle items, the relaunch of our cycle-to -work scheme, the introduction of electric charging points, the electric vehicle leasing scheme and the introduction of a new milk supplier, providing milk in glass bottles which are collected and reused.