Carbon Reduction Plan

Publication date: 03/08/2026

 

Commitment to Achieving Net Zero

The Ark is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2040.

 

Environmental Policy Statement

At The Ark, we recognise that the media and communications industry carries an environmental responsibility that extends beyond the physical footprint of our own operations. The work we produce shapes public behaviour and perception, and we believe that responsibility should be reflected in how we run our business as much as in the work itself.

 

Our approach to environmental management is grounded in honesty about where we are today and a genuine commitment to doing better. As a small agency, our direct environmental impact is modest, but we do not treat that as a reason for complacency. We are committed to measuring our emissions accurately, reducing them meaningfully, and being transparent about our progress.

 

We manage our environmental impact through a combination of operational policy and procurement decisions. We operate a remote-first working culture to minimise unnecessary travel, a hybrid working model to reduce commuting, and an office environment designed to consume as little energy as possible. We are in the process of transitioning our company cars to fully electric vehicles, and we actively consider the environmental credentials of the suppliers and platforms we work with on behalf of our clients.

 

We review this Carbon Reduction Plan annually. Our ambition is for each successive year of reporting to reflect genuine, measurable progress rather than simply restating intentions.

 

This plan has been prepared in accordance with PPN 006 and the associated technical standard for the completion of Carbon Reduction Plans.

 

Baseline Emissions Footprint

Baseline Year: 2025

 

This is our first reporting period and therefore our baseline year. The Ark is a small, independent media agency. Our operations are primarily office-based and digital in nature, and our emissions profile reflects this.

 

All calculations have been produced using the DEFRA 2025 GHG Conversion Factors. Our Scope 1 emissions relate to two company vehicles, one petrol and one hybrid, currently in the process of being transitioned to fully electric vehicles. The baseline figure reflects the remaining internal combustion engine usage, with the hybrid vehicle calculated using the average hybrid car proxy. We do not hold any direct emissions from owned facilities as our office space is rented and heated electrically. Our Scope 2 emissions cover purchased electricity for that rented office space.

 

In line with PPN 006, we have reported against all five mandatory Scope 3 subsets. Categories 4 and 9, covering upstream and downstream transportation and distribution respectively, are recorded as zero. As a media planning and buying agency delivering entirely digital and strategic services, we do not manufacture, purchase, transport, or distribute physical goods, and no freight or logistics activity occurs in either direction. Category 5 covers office waste, estimated on the basis of standard paper recycling and residual mixed waste for a team of our size. Category 6 reflects business travel, primarily driven by staff travelling by car to client meetings and media owner negotiations, alongside occasional rail travel and domestic flights. Category 7 covers employee commuting by car and local bus, calculated against our hybrid working model, and we have voluntarily included homeworking emissions as a supplementary best practice measure within this category.

 

Baseline year emissions: 

Emissions	Total (tCO2e)
Scope 1	4.190
Scope 2	1.593
Scope 3 (Included Sources)	15.938
Upstream transportation and distribution	0.000
Waste generated in operations	0.026
Business travel	4.493
Employee commuting (incl. homeworking)	11.418
Downstream transportation and distribution	0.000
Total Emissions	21.721

 

Current Emissions Reporting

Reporting Year: 2025

As 2025 is our baseline year, the current reporting year figures are identical to the baseline figures stated above.

 

Emissions	Total (tCO2e)
Scope 1	4.190
Scope 2	1.593
Scope 3 (Included Sources)	15.938
Total Emissions	21.721

 

Emissions Reduction Targets

In order to continue our progress towards achieving Net Zero, we have adopted the following carbon reduction targets.

 

We project that carbon emissions will decrease over the next five years to 16.291 tCO2e by 2030, representing a reduction of 25% against our 2025 baseline. This trajectory is underpinned by the specific initiatives set out below, most notably the completion of our fleet electrification programme, which alone is projected to eliminate our entire Scope 1 contribution. We are committed to reviewing and, where possible, strengthening this target at each annual reporting cycle.

 

Completed Carbon Reduction Initiatives

The following environmental management measures have been implemented and will be in effect when performing the contract.

 

We operate a remote-first policy for all internal meetings and routine client contact, with video conferencing used as the default approach. This directly reduces the volume of business travel undertaken by the team and is the primary driver of our Scope 3 Category 6 reduction trajectory. Alongside this, we operate a flexible hybrid working model that reduces the number of days employees commute to the office each week, which in turn lowers our commuting emissions under Scope 3 Category 7.

 

Within our office space, we have installed LED lighting with PIR motion sensors to minimise electricity consumption and reduce our Scope 2 footprint. We actively promote our Cycle to Work scheme to all staff and encourage car-sharing arrangements for those who do drive to the office, further reducing commuting emissions.

 

Future Carbon Reduction Initiatives

In the future we hope to implement further measures to accelerate our progress towards Net Zero.

 

We are committed to completing the transition of all remaining company vehicles to fully electric vehicles. Once complete, this will reduce our Scope 1 emissions to zero and represents the single largest planned reduction in our emissions profile. We will also review our digital supply chain with a view to migrating internal servers and client campaign hosting to providers operating on 100% verifiable renewable energy, recognising that the digital infrastructure underpinning our work carries its own carbon cost. Finally, we intend to implement a dedicated carbon tracking system to replace our current estimation methodology, enabling precise quarterly monitoring of our Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions and supporting more granular, auditable reporting in future years.

 

Declaration and Sign Off

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 006 and associated guidance and reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans.

 

Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the GHG Reporting Protocol corporate standard and uses the appropriate government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting.

 

Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported in accordance with SECR requirements, and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard.

 

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been reviewed and signed off by the board of directors (or equivalent management body).

 

Signed on behalf of the supplier: Darren Needham

Darren Needham, Managing Director

Date: 03/08/2026