Autodesk was rewarded for its 'IMPACT' strategy which was unveiled in 2021. "The business illustrated multiple levers to drive progress across important environmental, social, and governance issues: how they manage their own business operations, the solutions provided to their customers, and collective efforts to accelerate industry transformation," according to Dr Benson Tang, executive director of CTC - Corporate Travel Community, the network of corporate travel buyers and other personnel who manage their organisation's travel portfolios.
The company was recognised for the importance in places in improving its operations to demonstrate a commitment to sustainability and help enable a low-carbon, inclusive future. A Carbon Fund underpins Autodesk's work to deliver on their net-zero and renewable energy commitments, and they recently doubled their internal price on carbon to align with market pricing.
It was also noted that Autodesk also continues to drive progress toward the three-year diversity and belonging strategic goals. To support the efforts, they have strengthened their governance and accountability across the expanding range of ESG issues.
Notably, Autodesk is seeking to reduce business travel-related Green House Gas (GHG) emissions by promoting virtual/hybrid meetings, educating employees and partners, implementing a green rating system for hotels, and incorporating sustainability expectations into our standard meeting contracts.
To help advance sustainable air travel, during 2021 Autodesk joined the United Airlines Eco-Skies Alliance, which supports the increased use of sustainable aviation fuel through member contributions. Employees have visibility into estimated GHG emissions for each flight segment purchased through their online booking system, enabling more informed decisions about air travel.
Autodesk is also working to decarbonise its fleet using hybrid and electric leased vehicles, and they are on target to convert at least 80% of their leased vehicles to hybrid or electric by the end of 2023.
These activities have meant emissions from business travel were 95% lower than in fiscal year 2020 (the year before the pandemic), albeit the performance has been exaggerated by COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Autodesk University and One Team Conference (its annual channel partner and sales summit) are both carbon neutral, including the events, attendee travel, and GHG emissions related to virtual participation. This has been achieved by enhancing efficiency, providing virtual attendance options, reducing waste, and purchasing carbon offsets. In fiscal year 2022, all conferences were held virtually due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
According to Autodesk FY 2022 Impact Report its sustainability actions (plus the wider market environment) has meant the carbon footprint of its business travel has reduced from 96,300 metric tonnes in FY2020 to 17,800 metric tonnes in FY2021 and to 4,030 in FY2022.