Environmental impact

2021 was a pivotal in our efforts to address climate change and reduce our environmental impact. At the start of 2021, we pledged to become net zero for greenhouse gas emissions (GHG emissions) by no later than 2035, 15 years ahead of the 2050 target under the Paris Agreement. As part of this, we are formally submitting a near-term science-based target to the Science Based Target initiative (“SBTi”) which will be effective from 2022. This is the next step on our journey to net zero, and we will outline our pathway to achieving our ambitious target in our upcoming ESG Report. We successfully increased our score to CDP’s Climate Change questionnaire, moving from a D in 2020 to a B-. We also achieved our first ISO140001:2015 Environmental Management System accreditation, covering a number of our UK offices, stadia, and c.2,500 shops.

In the UK all of our electricity supply contracts for our shops and greyhound stadia have switched over to 100% renewable energy. With the renewable supply we already used in the Republic of Ireland, this amounts to 71% of the Group’s total electricity consumption being actively sourced from renewables, and a reduction of over 4,000 tons of our market-based emissions compared to 2020.

We continue to support climate mitigation beyond our own value chain by partnering with an independent platform to support tree planting and reforestation projects globally. By the end of the first half of 2022 we will have planted one million trees in our Entain forest. By 2032 it is forecast that these trees with sequester 21,000 tonnes of CO2e from the atmosphere and provide employment and training for local people as well as localised environmental and social benefits. We will continue to evolve our approach to offsetting in line with best practice.

We are also working to understand and reduce emissions throughout our value chain. We worked with the Carbon Trust to conduct a screening assessment of our Scope 3 emissions, which we will publicly report for the first time in our 2022 ESG Report. We also achieved Level 1 Certification of the Carbon Trust Supply Chain Standard, an important first step in decarbonising our value chain. With this exercise, we’ve confirmed that Entain’s Scope 3 emissions make up 96% of our total value chain emissions. We’ve also mapped hotspots across our value chain, identifying where carbon emissions are greatest. We’re now planning to engage with those these key suppliers and value chain partners that represent 75% of our value chain emissions. 
See our Carbon Trust Assurance Statement here.

Our colleagues also play an important role in our decarbonisation strategy, and we make sure to bring them along in this journey. Established in 2019, our Green Ambassadors Network has grown globally to 120 colleagues who help us find practical ways to improve environmental efficiency in the workplace. With their support and guidance, we’ve piloted two environmental awareness campaigns in 2021: Make Today Matter, to communicate our Net Zero target across the organisation, and It’s a Turn-Off, to drive positive behaviour change around energy consumption in our operations. As more colleagues return to the workplace this year, we will focus our awareness activities on waste and recycling. We have also set up a Net Zero Action Group, convening senior colleagues across departments to develop and accelerate our decarbonisation strategy with practical measures which can be implemented throughout our global operations.

Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) Statement
Entain is a supporter of the recommendations of the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”), and it is committed to implementing the TCFD recommendations. We also welcome the introduction of the FCA requirements for UK Premium Listed Companies to report in line with the TCFD recommendations.

Read our latest TCFD statement here.

Targets and metrics
In the table below, we outline our greenhouse gas emissions, we also report on our global energy consumption, and the percentage of electricity purchased on renewable energy contracts. These metrics are used to monitor our performance in managing our transition risks, and to monitor our progress against our science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets. Given the significance of this area, the reputational risk of inaccurate reporting, and the need for high-quality ESG data, we commissioned the Carbon Trust to assure our Scope 1, 2 and business travel data. This assurance has taken place for our 2019 and 2020 data, with our 2021 data to be assured in 2022.

1. Estimates for the full 2021 reporting year were still being finalised at the time of reporting, and may be revised in subsequent reporting.
2. Data from previous years has been restated based on minor adjustments that arose as part of Entain’s GHG independent data validation by the Carbon Trust.
3. Emissions are calculated using the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. Consumption data has been converted to GHG emissions using 2021 BEIS emissions factors and 2021 IEA emissions factors for non-UK grid electricity. We have excluded fugitive emissions from refrigerants, as they have been deemed de minimis in previous years. Emissions reported above are calculated using the location-based method, using an operational control boundary.
4. GHG emissions data has been calculated based on primary data covering 100% of UK operations, and 95% of global operations, based on headcount. The GHG data is scaled up to estimate the total global GHG emissions and energy consumption.
5. All water withdrawn is sourced from municipal water supplies. Water data includes our operations in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Gibraltar, India, Ireland, Israel, Philippines, UK, Uruguay. This makes up 88% of Entain’s global headcount. Note that this data is not scaled up to estimate the total global consumption, but reported consistently for the operations where data is available.

Our approach to the environment and the community goes beyond our own business. Our suppliers' corporate responsibility agenda relating to the environment is also assessed before we enter into contractual arrangements.  We believe that by aligning our interests we can make a contribution towards sustaining our environment.

Our Environmental policy statement is available to download here.