For more than a decade, Version 1 has been serving Northern Ireland, expanding its team to more than 550 people and working with public sector clients, such as the Department of Finance and the Education Authority, and private sector clients, including Almac and firmus energy. Local clients contribute nearly 20% to the company’s revenue.

What Version 1 did

Version 1’s commitment to environmental sustainability is deeply integrated into its core operations.It is driven by senior leadership’s alignment with global sustainability standards such as the United Nations Global Compact, the Science Based Targets initiative and the Carbon Disclosure Project. The company’s net-zero strategy, a key component of its ‘Focus and Execute’ business growth theme, aims for net-zero carbon emissions by 2025 in operations and by 2035 across its value chain.

To achieve this, Version 1 embarked on a series of ambitious initiatives. The company targeted a 100% transition to renewable energy by 2025, alongside the complete adoption of LED lighting and smart sensors to enhance energy efficiency. Waste management strategies are equally rigorous, aiming for zero single-use plastics and a paperless environment by 2025, and ensuring all office waste is diverted from landfills by 2030. Furthermore, Version 1 is committed to repairing, repurposing, recycling or otherwise diverting 100% of its e-waste from landfills by 2030.

Education and mobilisation of employees are pivotal in Version 1’s strategy. The organisation set goals to reduce employees’ work-related carbon emissions by 50% by 2025 and to support the workforce’s transition to 100% renewable energy by 2030. Efforts to decrease commuting emissions by 50% and business travel emissions by 30% by 2025 were also put in place.

Innovation is a cornerstone of Version 1’s sustainability efforts, with the Office of the CTO implementing cutting-edge solutions to embed sustainability best practices in customer projects. Collaboration with stakeholders, including suppliers and partners, is crucial in amplifying the impact of these initiatives. The company aims to have 80% of its key suppliers set emission reduction targets by 2025, fostering a culture of sustainability across the supply chain.

Key Impacts and Outcomes

• An 87% reduction in scope 1 emissions, 32% reduction in scope 2 emissions and 23% per capita reduction in scope 3 emissions
• 83% reduction in total waste, 92% of waste removed from landfill, 90% paperless operations, 81% global e-waste diverted from landfill and a 70% reduction in water usage
• 60% per capita reduction in commuting emissions, 23% per capita reduction in air travel and 15,200 trees planted
• ESG reporting tool in beta production
• More than 500 employees certified as ‘Green Software Practitioners’
• Introduction of Carbon Level Agreements in contracts
• R&D into cloud hosting carbon emissions, published sustainability thought leadership articles and conducted sustainability hackathons and workshops
• More than 70 employees participated in World Ocean Day clean-ups
• Best organisation in the Ready Set Cycle Programme and recognised as a UK Gold Cycle Friendly Employer award.

What the Judges said

“Version 1 clearly articulates the ambition to be world-class; and sets the climate-action standard in the IT industry and beyond. The panel was blown away by the passion clearly demonstrated in the company’s presentation and submission. Its achievements to date are commendable and admirable.”