Net Zero & Environmental Sustainability Policy.

Policy Owner: Group COO / Operations Director (or appointed Sustainability Lead)
Approved by: Board of Directors (Scout AI Group HoldCo)
Review cycle: Annual (or sooner if material business change)
Version: 1.0

1. Purpose

Scout AI Group ("the Group") is committed to operating responsibly and reducing our environmental impact while delivering high-quality services to clients. This policy sets out how we will:

• Measure and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our operations and value chain.
• Prevent pollution, minimise waste, and use resources efficiently.
• Embed environmental good practice into decision-making, delivery, and procurement.
• Meet applicable legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements (including public sector net zero expectations where relevant).

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All Group entities, employees, directors, contractors and subcontractors, including those working remotely, at client sites, or in shared/co-working spaces.
• All operational activities: service delivery, training/academy activity, procurement, travel, facilities, IT, and events.
• Supply chain and partners where we have influence through purchasing, contracts or relationship management.

3. Policy Statement & Principles

Scout AI Group will:

• Commit to Net Zero: reduce absolute emissions and work toward a Net Zero position in line with the UK's 2050 net zero ambition, prioritising real reductions before offsets.
• Comply with law and client requirements: meet applicable environmental legislation and contractual obligations.
• Continually improve: set measurable objectives, track performance, and improve year-on-year.
• Use resources efficiently: reduce energy, water, materials, and waste.
• Avoid pollution: prevent environmental harm through responsible practices, including safe waste handling and procurement.
• Engage our people and partners: train staff, involve suppliers, and support clients with sustainable choices (especially where digital and AI can reduce waste and travel).

4. Governance & Responsibilities

Board Oversight

• Approves this policy and annual objectives.
• Receives quarterly performance reporting and risks.

Sustainability Lead (appointed role)

• Maintains the Group carbon footprint and improvement plan.
• Coordinates data collection (energy, travel, procurement) and reporting.
• Supports bids/contract requirements (e.g., net zero plans, reporting, and due diligence).

Entity Leads / Department Heads

• Embed actions into day-to-day operations (procurement, travel approvals, IT, events).
• Ensure staff comply with procedures and record relevant data.

All Staff / Contractors

• Follow this policy, complete mandatory training, and support reduction actions (travel choices, energy saving, waste separation).

5. Our Net Zero Approach

We follow a standard hierarchy:

• Measure emissions (Scopes 1, 2, and relevant Scope 3 categories).
• Reduce absolute emissions through targeted interventions.
• Substitute with lower-carbon alternatives (renewable electricity, low-carbon travel, efficient IT).
• Offset (last resort) only for residual emissions that cannot yet be eliminated, using credible, high-quality schemes with clear additionality and verification.

Emissions boundary (baseline and annual inventory):

• Scope 1: Direct fuel use (e.g., company vehicles if any; on-site gas heating if applicable).
• Scope 2: Purchased electricity used in offices/co-working spaces (where metered/allocable).
• Scope 3 (priority categories): business travel (rail, car mileage, flights); employee commuting (where material and measurable); purchased goods and services (including professional services and key suppliers); capital goods (IT equipment); waste generated in operations; upstream/downstream leased assets (where applicable); cloud/hosting and data centre services (where measurable via supplier reporting).

6. Targets & Objectives

Scout AI Group will publish and maintain measurable objectives. As a minimum, we will:

Near-term (0–12 months)

• Establish a Group emissions baseline (by entity and consolidated).
• Implement a travel and meetings standard (remote-first, rail-first).
• Create a sustainable procurement standard for key categories (IT, events, subcontractors).
• Introduce a quarterly environmental dashboard to the Board.

Medium-term (1–3 years)

• Reduce Scope 2 electricity emissions through renewable tariffs where we control supply or through green energy arrangements in shared spaces.
• Reduce business travel emissions year-on-year (rail vs car/air).
• Improve IT energy efficiency and extend device life cycles.

Long-term (to 2050 or earlier)

• Achieve Net Zero across Scopes 1–3, subject to a maintained transition plan and credible reduction trajectory.

Note: Specific percentage reduction targets will be set after baseline completion and data quality assessment, and will be reviewed annually.

7. Operational Controls & Commitments

7.1 Energy & Buildings (including remote working)

• Prefer energy-efficient premises and co-working providers with credible sustainability credentials.
• Apply good practice: LED lighting, sensible heating/cooling setpoints, shutdown of equipment, and efficient meeting room use.
• Promote remote working practices that reduce travel while encouraging energy awareness at home (guidance issued annually).

7.2 Travel & Meetings

• Remote-first: use video conferencing as default where service delivery permits.
• Rail-first: choose rail over domestic flights wherever feasible.
• Car travel: encourage car sharing and public transport; prioritise low-emission vehicles where hire is necessary.
• Flights: require senior approval and justification for flights; use economy class as default where travel is unavoidable.
• Record all business travel in expense systems with mode of transport and distance (or route) for footprinting.

7.3 Digital & IT Sustainability (AI and cloud)

As an AI-led group, we will reduce digital emissions by design:

• Prefer cloud providers and services with strong renewable energy commitments and transparent reporting.
• Optimise workloads: right-size compute, schedule non-urgent processing, and reduce unnecessary training/inference runs.
• Use data retention and lifecycle management to reduce storage emissions and cost.
• Extend device life through repair/upgrade where secure and practical; recycle via certified WEEE channels.

7.4 Procurement & Supply Chain

• Include environmental considerations in procurement decisions alongside cost, quality, and security.
• For key suppliers and subcontractors, request (where proportionate): an environmental policy or equivalent; evidence of emissions reporting; commitment to comply with applicable environmental law.
• Prefer suppliers that demonstrate credible carbon reduction plans and responsible labour/environmental practices.

7.5 Waste, Recycling & Materials

• Apply the waste hierarchy: prevent; reduce; reuse; recycle; recover; dispose.
• Minimise printing; default to digital documents and e-signatures.
• Ensure appropriate recycling provision in offices and event venues.
• Dispose of e-waste through certified WEEE recycling partners.

7.6 Water

• Reduce water use where we control facilities (efficient fixtures, leak reporting).
• Encourage venue selection that demonstrates water efficiency for events.

7.7 Pollution Prevention & Chemicals

• Use low-impact cleaning and office consumables where practicable.
• Ensure safe storage/handling of any hazardous materials (rare in our operations) and compliant disposal routes.

7.8 Events & Training Delivery (AI Academy and Group events)

• Select venues accessible by public transport and with sustainability credentials.
• Reduce single-use plastics; provide refill stations and reusable materials where possible.
• Use digital joining instructions, QR codes, and paperless materials by default.
• Capture attendee travel modes where feasible for event footprint estimation.

8. Legal & Contractual Compliance

The Group will maintain awareness of and comply with relevant environmental law and requirements applicable to our activities, and respond to client/public sector sustainability requirements in bids and delivery (e.g., carbon reduction expectations, reporting, and sustainable procurement standards where required).

9. Measurement, Data Quality & Reporting

• Maintain a central carbon and sustainability register covering energy, travel, procurement, waste and events.
• Use recognised methodologies where possible (e.g., GHG Protocol principles and UK Government conversion factors for travel/energy calculations).
• Produce quarterly internal dashboards (progress vs objectives, key metrics, risks) and an annual sustainability statement suitable for client due diligence where appropriate.

10. Training, Awareness & Culture

• Mandatory induction content for staff and long-term contractors covering travel policy, waste/recycling, procurement basics, and digital sustainability.
• Annual refresher communications and "what changed this year" updates.
• Encourage staff suggestions via an improvement channel (e.g., Teams form), reviewed quarterly.

11. Non-Compliance

Failure to follow this policy may result in corrective action, which could include: retraining, process changes, supplier escalation, or disciplinary measures (where appropriate and proportionate).

12. Continuous Improvement

We will review this policy annually and update it based on performance results and lessons learned; changes to the Group structure or services; new legal/client requirements; and advances in low-carbon digital/AI practices.

Appendix A — Practical Commitments (Quick Reference)

Default rules across the Group:

• Remote-first; rail-first; flights require justification and senior approval.
• Paperless-first; e-signatures by default.
• Buy less, buy better, keep longer (IT and equipment).
• Select sustainable venues and suppliers where practical.
• Measure consistently; report quarterly; improve annually.

Appendix B — Metrics We Track (minimum set)

• Total emissions (tCO2e) by Scope (where measurable).
• Electricity consumption (kWh) and renewable share (where known).
• Business travel: miles/km by mode (rail/car/air).
• IT: device counts, refresh cycles, e-waste recycled (kg/items).
• Waste volumes (where available) and recycling rates.
• Supplier coverage: % of spend with suppliers holding environmental policies / emissions reporting (where proportionate).