Climate Response

The recent Sixth Assessment Report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) leaves no doubt that “human influence is the principal driver of many changes observed across the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere.”

The nearly 4,000-page report, signed off by 195 governments from around the world, is sobering in its conclusion that many of these observable changes to our natural environment, due to past and future emissions, are irreversible. But the report also provides positive actions.

The good news? As a global society we still have an opportunity to respond to this unprecedented, multi-generational challenge if we — and we must — take immediate and sustained actions to harness the political, economic, societal, technological and natural resources necessary to transition to a net zero economy.

At Jacobs, we are leading in this global transformation — and as a purpose-driven company, we have a pivotal role to play. We released our Climate Action Plan on Earth Day 2020 with two main commitments: 1) achieve 100% renewable energy for our operations each year, and 2) achieve net zero carbon across our operations and business travel beginning in 2020, with a plan to be carbon negative by 2030. And, as part of our transparency and accountability around our commitments, we are reporting our progress through Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting.

Along with accomplishing our 2020 targets, we developed science-based, carbon-reduction targets for our direct and indirect emissions, which have been approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative. Jacobs is also playing a leadership role in our industry as we help shape and develop the new standards to accelerate sustainability. We joined the World Economic Forum – Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders and the UN Global Compact’s Chief Financial Officer Taskforce for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Finally, spanning both our internal and external business operations is PlanBeyond℠ 2.0, our refreshed sustainability strategy, which focuses on fully integrating sustainability into everything we do — both in our operations and in the solutions we create for our clients — in alignment with the United Nations SDGs.