Scotland has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by more than half since 1990, but not every part of the economy has moved at the same pace. Emissions from electricity supply have fallen by 93.4%, compared with just 13% for transport.
Scotland now faces the challenge of reducing emissions from building heating, travel and business operations. The Scottish Government's latest Climate Change Plan sets out more than 150 actions to tackle these and other sources of emissions, covering transport, business, buildings, energy, waste, agriculture and land use1.
At Grant McGregor, we have committed to reaching net zero by 2040, five years ahead of the national target.
To get there, we need to understand where our emissions come from, which ones we can reduce ourselves and where progress depends on the organisations and infrastructure around us.
Our net zero target is part of our commitment to corporate sustainability, including how we support our people, work with suppliers and contribute to our local communities.
The plan includes measures to encourage electric vehicle uptake, reduce emissions from industry, introduce cleaner ways to heat buildings, expand woodland and restore peatland.
It also places importance on making the transition fairly, recognising that businesses, households and communities will not all have the same choices or resources available to them.
So, what does this mean for a business like ours?
We don't control Scotland's electricity grid, public transport network or the way commercial buildings are heated. We can, however, take a closer look at how we travel, purchase and use technology, choose suppliers and run our day-to-day operations.
Our 2040 commitment gives that work a deadline. We'll keep reviewing the impact of our vehicles, business travel, equipment, office arrangements and the technology and services we provide.
It also means being honest about what we can change and what is beyond our control.
We began by looking at the emissions associated with our vehicles, office energy use, business travel, equipment, cloud services, deliveries and waste.
Some of the calculation could be based on information held by the business. We had records for company vehicle mileage, flights, rail journeys, accommodation, courier services and purchased equipment.
We work from a shared office building, so we don't choose the energy supplier or manage the heating system. We don't receive separate gas or electricity readings for the space we occupy, and we don't have individual waste collection figures.
Where direct information was unavailable, our initial assessment used recognised averages for an office of our size.
The estimates still gave us a useful starting point. They showed where some of the more significant sources were likely to be and where better information would improve future assessments.
Our estimated carbon footprint for 2025 was 17.315 tCO2e. Direct emissions, including company vehicles and estimated office gas heating, accounted for the largest share.
Our company vehicles are one area where we can make changes directly. We replaced our diesel company car with an electric vehicle in November 2025, and we plan to replace our diesel van in 2026 or 2027.
Replacing a working vehicle isn't always the most responsible decision. We need to consider its condition, expected working life and the alternatives available. Any replacement must also suit the journeys we make and the equipment we carry.
We can take the same approach to business travel. Meeting customers face to face and attending industry events are an important part of how we build relationships, but the figures give us a few things to consider when planning journeys.
There are other changes we can make in our day-to-day operations. We have digitised our paper archives, reducing our reliance on paper and physical storage. Our plans also include using power-management settings, switching off equipment when it isn't needed and considering energy use when purchasing technology.
We can also decide how equipment that is no longer needed is handled.
For an IT company like ours, disposal is not only an environmental consideration. Laptops, servers and other devices may contain sensitive business information, so they need to be processed securely and responsibly.
Taken together, these decisions can help us reduce the areas of our footprint that we can control.
Laptops, servers, firewalls and network switches all need to be manufactured and transported before they reach us or our customers. Couriers move equipment between manufacturers, suppliers, our office and customer locations.
Cloud services rely on physical servers, data centres and energy infrastructure operated by technology providers.
We can't control those operations, but we can decide who we work with and what we expect from them.
Our sustainability plans include reviewing suppliers' environmental policies and considering their approach as part of purchasing decisions. We are also looking at energy-efficient equipment, data storage and server efficiency.
We wouldn't choose a product based on one environmental claim alone. Security, performance, reliability, support and cost still matter, but we can consider environmental impact as part of the overall decision.
The technology we recommend is another area where we can have an influence. By planning for the customer's longer-term needs, we can avoid unnecessary cost and energy use, replace equipment at the right time and ensure it is recycled securely and responsibly.
Some areas depend on the organisations and infrastructure around us. We can choose rail, but we can't control the service. We can consider a courier's environmental commitments, but not its vehicles or delivery routes. We can choose and configure cloud services carefully, but the data centres and the energy powering them are managed by the provider.
Scotland's Climate Change Plan reflects how closely connected these areas are, with action required across energy, transport, buildings, business and waste.
Understanding these limits helps us focus on the changes we can make, while working with suppliers, providers and our landlord in the areas we can influence.
Devices need to be manufactured, transported and powered. Cloud services run on servers, network equipment and data centres that all use energy.
Our assessment included the laptops, desktops, servers and networking equipment that pass through our care. Moving a service to the cloud doesn't automatically make it more sustainable, so we want to better understand the environmental impact of the cloud services we use and recommend.
Microsoft Azure provides tools for tracking the emissions associated with its cloud services. We'll take a closer look at what businesses can learn from that data in our next sustainability article.
Our first assessment has given us a clearer picture of our carbon footprint. We'll calculate it each year and keep reviewing our travel, vehicles, suppliers and technology.
What we learn will inform what we do next. Some plans may change as the information improves or better options become available. We expect that to be part of the process.
Between now and 2040, we'll keep learning, making improvements and building on the changes that make a difference.
The journey below highlights some of the areas we'll focus on as we work towards our 2040 target.
Talk to our team about choosing, managing and replacing IT equipment with your longer-term needs in mind.
If you'd like to know more about our carbon footprint calculations, we'd be happy to share what we've learned.
Call us: 0131 603 7910
Message us: https://www.grantmcgregor.co.uk/contact-us
Sources
1Scottish Government, Scotland's Climate Change Plan: 2026-2040, published 24 March 2026.