Introduction

Digital technology holds great potential as a catalyst for sustainable business transformation. While tech itself can be made more sustainable, we must really use its potential to become sustainable. The bridging of digital prowess and sustainable practice should be at the forefront of strategic thinking for any business. Likewise, we believe we can make a strong impact when consulting our client’s digital transformation and in the digital products we build at the core of their business.

Looking inward, it starts with having a sustainable and healthy workplace, fostering a culture where everyone partakes. We intend to use the resources we have to push for positive change. And change is needed all together.

Our digital agency is committed to a new sustainable course. Towards greater harmony and balance in our relationship with the planet we want to keep. For us and future generations. This report shows how we’re making that happen.

Human activity affects the Earth’s climate and ecosystems more than ever. This risks the stability of the entire planet. Developed by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the concept of planetary boundaries identifies nine critical Earth system processes and their associated boundaries, which we should not exceed to maintain a stable and hospitable planet. The boundaries are:

• Climate change: Keeping the global temperature increase at 1.5 degrees Celsius.

• Biodiversity loss: The extinction of species critical to Earth’s ecosystems.

• Ocean acidification: Limiting the decrease in ocean pH due to increased carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption, preventing harm to marine life.

• Stratospheric ozone depletion: Depletion of the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

• Land-system change: Limiting the conversion of natural habitats into agricultural or urban areas, preserving biodiversity and ecosystems.

• Freshwater change: Sustainable use of freshwater resources, ensuring that consumption does not exceed the planet's capacity for renewal.

• Atmospheric Aerosol Loading: Controlling the concentration of airborne particles and pollutants that affect air quality and climate.

• Novel entities: Minimizing human-made chemical pollutants and materials that do not exist naturally in the environment like microplastics in the ocean and our food. 

• Biogeochemical flows: Limiting chemicals like nitrogen and phosphorus that cause widespread environmental degradation.

New research shows that six of nine boundaries are being crossed as of 2023. Crossing these boundaries could trigger irreversible, catastrophic changes, often referred to as “tipping points” that jeopardize the permanent well-being of both natural ecosystems and humanity’s future. While climate change is arguably the most critical boundary, they are all interconnected.

Changes in one can influence and exacerbate challenges related to others, creating complex feedback loops within the Earth system. It is therefore extremely important that we consider our efforts and solutions in relation to all the boundaries so we don’t cause damage in one area while trying to cause good in another.

Climate change is one of the most urgent planetary boundaries due to its far-reaching and potentially catastrophic impacts on ecosystems, societies, and economies. Climate change is accelerating. For the last 10,000 years, temperatures have only fluctuated by +/- 1 degree Celsius. With current emissions we are heading for an increase of 4°C or even 6°C and with it comes all kinds of doomsday scenarios. The Paris Agreement has set the goal of limiting temperature increase to below 1.5°C, but how do we do that? The answer is simple: We have to lower our emissions exponentially and reach true net zero emissions. 

In Adapt we approach the task by adopting the principles of Carbon Law and Double Carbon law. The central principle of Carbon Law is to halve your carbon emissions every decade. This is something we should expect from companies in developing countries. We live in a highly industrialized part of the world. We, therefore, aim to halve our emissions in only five years instead of ten - referred to as Double Carbon Law. We aim to repeat this process of halving our emissions every five years going forward. As you will see in this report, most of our emissions come from purchased goods and services. That is something we will work on going forward. But it also means that we will focus heavily on helping our clients bring down emissions through optimizing existing solutions and developing new responsible digital products in the future.

When you think of sustainability, you likely see the 17 SDGs in all their colorful square-ness. Much has been said about the SDGs. We can all agree that an improvement in all 17 areas would be beneficial to humankind. Where they however often come up short is when companies cherry-pick their favorite goals to justify what they are already doing. The truth is that not all of the 17 goals are equally important. The Stockholm Resilience Centre has suggested that we instead arrange the SDGs as a “wedding cake” with three levels. At the bottom of the cake is the biosphere. It is directly related to environmental protection and sustainability of the planet. The second tier represents the societal layer. It focuses on addressing social issues and improving the well-being of individuals and communities. The third economic layer addresses economic issues to create a more equitable world.