Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time.
We are taking steps to advance our climate action by publishing our Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) report on an annual basis and updating our Decarbonization Plan with validated near- and long-term science-based targets and a comprehensive road map to achieve them.
Our climate targets and progress
We continue to work toward the ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2040, a decade earlier than our previous commitment to the U.N. Global Compact Business Ambition for 1.5 °C. We have taken significant steps toward this goal — notably, we established a long-term, SBTi-validated net-zero target of 90% reduction of Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions1 and progressed on our near-term net-zero targets to reduce GHG emissions. We also procure 100% renewable electricity since 2020 and offset the remainder of our emissions from our operations, business travel and employee commuting since 2000, when we became a public company.
Progress against our near-term net zero targets
50%
Reduction in absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 20301
Exceeding target
15%
Reduction in Scope 3 GHG emissions from fuel and energy-related activities, business travel and employee commuting by 20251,2,3
Exceeding target
60%
Of our suppliers by spend covering purchased goods and services and capital goods to have science-based targets by 2025
Target in progress
Renewable electricity in 20224
Carbon emissions offset from operations, employee commuting and business travel
1 From a 2019 base year. 2 Emissions from fuel and energy-related activities increased due to an increase in emissions factor used in the calculation; emissions from business travel and employee commuting increased due to a post-pandemic resumption of business-related travel and more employees returning to work in the office. 3 2019, 2020 and 2021 purchased goods and services (Scope 3, Category 1), capital goods (Scope 3, Category 2) and fuel and energy-related activities (Scope 3, Category 3) GHG emissions were restated as a result of a change in methodology and access to improved data. 4 Renewable electricity percentage is reported based on originally verified electricity consumption values because it is not possible to buy renewable electricity retroactively due to M&A activity; therefore, the 2020 restated verification opinion shows a decrease in percentage renewable electricity.
Our carbon offset projects are selected based on the geographies where we operate and alignment with SDGs and co-benefits; projects are also listed on reputable registries that guarantee third-party verifications. In 2022, our global project engagements included solar, forestation and borehole-related initiatives.
Solar projects India
Forestation Canada and Brazil
Forestation United States
Boreholes Uganda
GHG emissions (mtCO2e)
1 2019 – 2021 GHG emissions were retroactively recalculated due to improved access to vendor spend data and Moody’s application of enhanced methodologies for emissions related to Purchased Goods and Services (Scope 3, Category 1), Capital Goods (Scope 3, Category 2) and Fuel and Energy-Related Activities (Scope 3, Category 3). 2 Scope 2 location-based emissions were as follows: 2022 – 7,696 mtCO2e, 2021 – 6,878 mtCO2e, 2020 – 8,767 mtCO2e and 2019 – 14,035 mtCO2e. 3 Emissions include all offices under financial control. Square footage includes Moody’s managed offices and excludes shared-space offices due to data limitations. The impact is expected to be not material, with emissions in shared-space offices accounting for approximately 0.7% of total GHG inventory in 2022. 4 Business travel and employee commuting emissions were restated to include well-to-wheel emissions to ensure alignment to the SBTi Target Validation Protocol and Transport Guidance. 5 Other includes fuel and energy-related activities (2022 – 200 mtCO2e, 2021 – 230 mtCO2e, 2020 – 590 mtCO2e and 2019 – 3,100 mtCO2e) and waste generated in operations (2022 – 81 mtCO2e, 2021 – 72 mtCO2e, 2020 – 68 mtCO2e and 2019 – 460 mtCO2e). 6 Other includes fuel and energy-related activities (0.14%) and waste generated in operations (0.06%).
Environmental Sustainability Policy
The updated Environmental Sustainability Policy, reviewed and approved by our Board of Directors, reflects our latest efforts to enhance our environmental performance and reach net-zero by 2040. In addition to introducing our waste targets, the policy outlines ways in which we endeavor to empower our employees to be catalysts of environmental and social change, support environmental projects through the Moody’s Foundation and provide market participants with products and solutions that help mitigate ESG-related risk, including climate.
By 2025, we aim to:
Maintain office paper usage below 50% of 2019 levels through initiatives such as reduction of individual printers and digitization of daily business activities
Implement centralized waste collection and recycling in offices with more than 50 full-time employees
Phase out single-use plastics and other single-use items from our global operations, where possible
Phase out coffee machines with capsules or sachets and/or implement recycling of this packaging, where possible
Waste from office operations1
Reduction of office paper from 2019 levels2
Energy intensity ratio
kWh/sq ft
1 Actual waste represented 11% of reported volume in 2022. The reported figure represents an extrapolation to cover the full property portfolio. 2 Represents our offices in the U.S. and the U.K. and excludes shared-space offices due to data limitations. The data accounts for approximately 37% of global operations. 2020 and 2021 metrics were restated as a result of improved access to purchased paper data in the U.K. Efforts are in place to increase data coverage globally
Partnering for climate impact
We progress climate action through several partnerships with leading organizations and campaigns, including as signatories of the UN Global Compact’s Coalition for the SDGs and as participants of the SBTi’s Financial Net-Zero Expert Advisory Group.
CDP (formerly known as Carbon Disclosure Project) In 2022, we received an ‘A’ score from CDP on climate action for the third consecutive year and were featured in CDP’s 2022 Stories of Change for our efforts to reach net-zero by 2040. The score recognizes us as one of a small number of high-performing companies out of nearly 15,000 that are leading actions to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy.
Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) As part of GFANZ, we are a founding member of the Net Zero Financial Services Provider Alliance, a global group of 27 financial service providers committed to supporting the goal of global net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050 or sooner. We are committed to aligning our relevant products and services to this goal, in addition to reducing our own operational emissions. As part of the GFANZ workstream, we contribute to recommendations and guidance for financial institutions' transition planning and the implementation of net-zero commitments. We were featured in a case study for the GFANZ draft report Measuring Portfolio Alignment, which provides guidance on measuring how investment, lending and underwriting activities align with the goals of the Paris Agreement and critical 2050 global net-zero objectives. We were also featured in the GFANZ report Recommendations and Guidance on Financial Institutions Net-zero Transition Plans, which provides financial institutions with potential strategies for meeting net-zero commitments.
Climate Data Steering Committee. The Climate Data Steering Committee was created by the French President Emmanuel Macron and UN Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions Michael R. Bloomberg. We collaborated with our peers on the committee to publish recommendations on the design of a new open-data utility that would make climate transition-related data readily available in a single place for the first time.
Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). We are a member of TNFD, a new industry-led initiative working to significantly shift global financial flows from nature-negative to nature-positive outcomes. We contribute our expertise to help define how nature-related risks should be measured, which also allows us to inform our customers about their exposure to these risks and how to manage them. In addition, our 2022 TCFD Report includes a position statement on Moody’s impacts on the natural environment.
