The basis of our reporting

Disclosing to best practice

We report our greenhouse gas (“GHG”) inventory using the World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard Revised Edition (the “GHG Protocol”) as our framework for calculations and disclosure. We use carbon conversion factors published by the U.K.’s Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (“BEIS”) for the appropriate reporting years. This includes all activities where we have operational control. Scope 2 market- based emissions have been calculated in accordance with the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance for grid electricity. We have now expanded our reporting to include Scope 3 covering categories: 1 Purchased Goods and Services; 2 Capital Goods; 3 Fuel and Energy not in Scopes 1 and 2; 4 Upstream Transport and Distribution; 5 Waste; 6 Business Travel; and 7 Employee Commuting. Total (100%) Scope 1 (direct) GHG emissions from activities operated by Avison Young or otherwise within AY’s operational control boundary reported GHG emissions include CO₂e.

Data verification

Our verification methods include data reviews by our in-house ESG team, subject matter experts, and second- line functional reviewers; as well as third-party, independent verification. In the future, we intend to explore third-party, independent, and external data verification for our organizational carbon footprint (Scopes 1, 2 and 3).

Reporting standards

Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for the GHG Reporting Protocol corporate standard and the appropriate Government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting. Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported in accordance with The Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018 (SECR) requirements, and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard.

GHG Inventory

We report our greenhouse gas (“GHG”) inventory using the World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard Revised Edition (the “GHG Protocol”) as our framework for calculations and disclosure. We use carbon conversion factors published by the U.K.’s Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (“BEIS”) in June 2023. This includes all activities where we have operational control. Scope 2 location- based emissions have been calculated in accordance with the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance for grid electricity.

Offset

For many organisations and communities carbon credits can play a positive role in fighting climate change, for example, the creation of nature-based solutions can benefit climate, nature and people. In 2023 Avison Young has decided not to invest in offsets but we have instead chosen to channel our energy and focus our resources on reducing the carbon in our operations.

• We do not have direct control of gas at our offices. This is the landlord’s responsibility, and we are provided with heat for heating and hot water. Therefore this is reported under Scope 2 purchased on-site heat.
• There are a small number of refrigerant-containing items that are the responsibility of the company. Carbon emissions from leaks are reported using the F-gas register and maintenance records.
• The company no longer has any pool or company cars, these were handed back in 2020.
• Where gaps are present in the utilities data, these are filled using an estimation or extrapolation. Estimations are made where there is no data and are calculated based on a similar size and type of asset or use of benchmarks available from CIBSE Guide F or the Better Buildings Partnership Real Estate Efficiency Benchmarks (BBP REEB).
• Electricity data is provided via Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) and Landlord readings/calculations.
• Heat and Water data is provided from Landlord readings/calculations.
• Waste data is provided from landlord calculations or where a periodic weight check is made by the inhouse FM team.
• Travel data is provided via the travel booking system and finance mileage claim records.
• Headcount data is provided by Human Resources.
• Where carbon is calculated based on spend, for example purchased goods and services, annual spend is provided by our finance department.
• Employee commuting was calculated based on home postcode, assigned office and a small sample staff survey.
• Where errors or improved data are discovered the company’s carbon footprint is continuously updated for all previous years including the baseline year.
• Errors were located in the North American data for 3 sites in the 2022 data set where data was reported at the building level rather than at the occupied space level. These have been corrected and will show lower than previously reported.