Gibraltar-based online lotto betting operator, Lottoland, has reported a significant reduction in its carbon emissions for 2022 after being the first in its industry to achieve carbon neutral status.
The operator, which was also first to sign The Climate Pledge in 2019, has been working with Tunley Engineering, a global climate reduction consultancy, in order to take the necessary steps in measuring, reporting, and offsetting its carbon footprint.
Nigel Birrell, Group CEO at Lottoland said: “At Lottoland we are committed to being socially and environmentally responsible not just for our customers but for our employees too.
“Although historically a lot of businesses have been paying lip service to climate change initiatives, I think we’ve all realised that something has to change and we have a responsibility to make that change. If companies like Lottoland can make strides in carbon reduction, hopefully we’ll see more and more enterprises doing the same.”
Through its work with Tunley over the past three years, Lottoland has invested in many tree-related offsets, such as planting new trees or protecting existing forests.
Early this year, Tunley Engineering provided a Carbon Assessment that allowed Lottoland to fully comprehend and visualise their carbon footprint in annual tonnes of Carbon Equivalence.
In its first year of carbon emissions reporting (2019), Lottoland identified emissions of 140.19 tonnes CO2e per annum.
However, over the past three years Lottoland has been committed to offsetting its carbon usage by various means and has reduced its emissions to 133.12 tCO2e for the year in 2022.
Tunley Engineering also report that the business has evidenced purchase of carbon offsets totalling 278,982 tonnes of CO2e in 2022, including over 250,000 tonnes by planting nearly three million trees for the Eden Reforestation Project, and 22,000 tonnes for various myclimate carbon offset projects worldwide.*
Following this year’s report, Lottoland is currently implementing a road map that will help the business achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
Changes include utilising communication technology over business travel, incentivising staff to use e-bikes and car share during their commute, and introducing occupancy sensors for its premises so that air conditioning is only being used during key times of the day.
Nigel added that the good news will not let Lottoland become complacent. They will continue to look into how the company could transition to carbon negative in the years to come:
“Now, with a greater understanding of the Carbon cost attached to energy use, business travel, and water use, we can make informed decisions in how to continue to make tangible reductions to our carbon footprint which by extension makes us a greener and more ethical company.
“We are proud to be taking a leadership position in climate change and we’re committed to a greener future, hopefully achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 or sooner!”