We measure the greenhouse gas emissions directly or indirectly caused by the company. We initially measured our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions for 2021 and estimated our 2022 emissions using the UNFCCC’s emissions calculator with a few extra calculations.

We have now developed our own calculator app which only contains information relevant to our business. This app reads emissions factors from a database, uses them in calculations prompted by user input and stores the results in the database. Most calculations are the same as those advised by the UNFCCC, relying on emission factors provided by BEIS and the IOC (for food).

In our measurements and data collection so far, we’ve paid the most time and attention to our largest sources of emissions. This meant asking employees questions about their home energy supply (since we work from home most of the time) and commuting habits. Using our app, we’ll add emissions to our database on a monthly basis, covering home working, office working, commuting, events and flight campaigns. To date, we have calculated our cloud computing emissions separately using Cloud Carbon Footprint, but we look forward to the introduction of the AWS Customer Carbon Footprint Tool in 2022.

As and when we increase our activities in other countries, we’ll consult the most up-to-date version of the UN Harmonized Grid Emission dataset for relevant emissions factors.

Following the Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting, we believe that any credible Net Zero strategy must have emissions reductions at its core. Reducing emissions in absolute terms is going to be much easier said than done, since we are growing in size – not to mention launching satellites* – over the next few years.

Furthermore, our ways of working and the emission factors we use in our calculations are subject to change due to the pandemic. Our emissions for 2021 (when we grew from 4 to 12 full-time employees) set a low benchmark, so we are still figuring out the best approach - perhaps aiming to reduce our emissions per employee or per GBP revenue.

Although we haven’t clearly defined our own targets yet, we have begun by looking at our biggest sources of emissions for 2021, and have started taking action. What we’ve done:

November 2021: Moved to a new office with a renewable electricity and offset gas supply. This has eliminated our Scope 2 emissions.

January 2022: Introduced a renewable energy supply contribution for all staff. £100/year to support them to switch to a tariff supplying renewable electricity and carbon offset gas. This has the potential to eliminate emissions caused by home working.

September 2022: Introduced a cycle-to-work scheme to encourage those who can to choose cycling over other modes of transport

*We’ve estimated the emissions for our part of a satellite launch ride-share to be less than a return flight to the launch site.

To offset the emissions we can’t reduce, SatVu is working with Supercritical.

After discussing different offsets and researching pros and cons, we settled on:

Biochar

Durable (~800 yrs) storage of carbon

Immediate offset start date (already operational)

Direct air capture

Permanent storage

Project under development (projected offset date 2025)

Small physical footprint

Enhanced weathering

Permanent storage

Offset date in 1-3 yrs

Potential co-benefits

Low risk of reversal

Trees

Temporary storage

Immediate start

Cost-effective

Potential co-benefits

Cost-effective

Reversible