Policies & Guidelines > 2026 sustainability report

2026 Sustainability Report

Effective Date: May, 2026

Last Updated: June, 2026

Company Profile

Cimple is a public sector procurement platform and a Future Arc portfolio company. Our sustainability policies, tracking, and actions are collectively monitored at a group level.

1.1 Sustainability Vision & Strategy

Vision

“Forge Cimple into a Net Positive Organisation”

We are committed to creating a net positive environmental and social organisation. We strive to integrate sustainability into everything we do—reducing our carbon footprint, fostering ethical business practices, and leveraging technology to drive meaningful change for our clients, employees, and the communities we serve.

Mission

Our mission is to lead our sector by delivering sustainable solutions that drive progress while minimising environmental impact. Through responsible business practices, ethical sourcing, and a commitment to net-zero emissions, we aim to be a catalyst for positive change in our industry.

1.2 Our Principles

1.3 Strategic Areas of Focus

2. Sustainability Governance & Accountability

2.1 Governance Structure

At Cimple, sustainability is a shared responsibility. All employees are expected to actively drive sustainable practices within their roles, and to participate in the meetings and surveys that support our overall tracking and reporting.

Whole Team - Active engagement with sustainability strategy; participation in tracking, surveys, and reporting.

Operations - Reporting, policy management, and performance tracking. Collating and analysing core sustainability data and sharing with leadership.

CEO & Operations Lead - Sign-off and accountability across all policies and annual reporting cycle.

Board - Oversight and awareness of all sustainability documentation and policies.

2.2 Sustainability Policies

All sustainability policies are managed by the operations and leadership team, and are audited and reviewed on an annual basis as part of our business operating and management structure.

All employees sign an awareness and acknowledgement form as environmental training is conducted and updates to strategy and operations are implemented.

2.3 Overall Benchmarks & Targets

Note: The 42.11 t CO₂e company benchmark is calculated using the UN Climate Change Calculator methodology, which includes a full allocation of shared co-working space waste. The ~10.94 t CO₂e figure in section 3.1 reflects Cimple's directly attributable Scope 3 emissions only. Both figures are valid under different reporting lenses and are provided for transparency.

3. Environmental Impact

This report measures Cimple's greenhouse gas emissions across Scopes 1, 2, and 3 in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. Emissions are calculated using the United Nations Climate Change Calculator (2021 version), with supporting factors drawn from DEFRA 2024 coefficients and ICAO international travel measurements. Our reporting boundary covers all full-time employees and estimated contractor activity. Where exact data is unavailable, conservative estimates have been used and are noted accordingly. Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are zero or negligible given our operational model; our material impact sits within Scope 3.

In 2025 we adopted the United Nations Climate Change Calculator to audit our environmental impact across all relevant categories and set holistic benchmarks for the future.

3.1 GHG Protocol: Emissions Overview

Cimple operates as a digital, remote-hybrid business. We have no Scope 1 emissions (no owned vehicles or on-site fossil fuel use). Our Scope 2 electricity impact is zero, as our co-working space operates entirely on solar-generated, carbon-neutral energy. Our material emissions sit within Scope 3.

Note: Waste figures in section 3.9 reflect full co-working space usage allocated across Cimple’s visits, not Cimple’s sole output. The 42.11 t CO₂e headline benchmark uses the UN calculator methodology inclusive of all allocated shared-space waste.

3.2 Energy Use

Cimple’s office energy is entirely covered by the solar panels installed at our co-working space, meaning our electricity usage carries zero carbon emissions on a market-based method. On a location-based method, our total team usage of 22,731 kWh equates to approximately 5,729 kg CO₂e.

3.3 Water Usage

Total annual water consumption across team office visits is estimated at 21.83 cubic metres, equivalent to approximately 7.51 kg CO₂e. This is calculated from an average usage of 0.045 m³ per person per visit across our blended office attendance pattern.

3.4 Employee Travel

Commuting is primarily by London bus and Underground. We calculate annual journeys based on 48 working weeks and an average of 2.5 office days per week for London-based staff.

3.5 Business Travel

We limit business travel wherever possible and prioritise lower-carbon options. In 2025, flights were taken for two trips: one from India to the UK, and one from Porto, Portugal to the UK.

Hotel accommodation for UK-based events totalled 276.18 kg CO₂e across multiple stays.

3.6 Home Office Energy

With a hybrid working model, home office energy use is a significant part of our footprint. Based on 4 UK-based staff working 50% from home across 12 months, we estimate 4,984 kg CO₂e for the UK, with an additional 2,357 kg CO₂e for one team member based in India. Total home office impact: approximately 7,341 kg CO₂e.

3.7 Tech, Cloud & AI Emissions

As a technology business, we take seriously the emissions associated with our digital infrastructure. We track cloud hosting (AWS), AI tool usage, and SaaS subscriptions.

AI tool emission factors are third-party estimates — no major AI provider currently publishes official per-query data. AWS figures use the AWS Customer Carbon Footprint Tool (Location-Based Method). SaaS figures use DEFRA 2024 coefficients.

3.8 Food & Catering

We track the carbon impact of team and business events, including snacks provided in our co-working space. In 2025, food and catering activities generated approximately 737.70 kg CO₂e.

3.9 Waste Management

Waste is managed within our co-working space. As a digital-first business, physical waste is minimal. We remain committed to paperless operations and work with our co-working provider to reduce shared-space waste over time. We are targeting waste reductions collaboratively, as our per-employee consumption is tied to the shared facility’s overall practices.

4. Social Impact

4.1 Sustainable Procurement

We follow a formal internal policy for sourcing and managing external third parties, ensuring suppliers and subcontractors meet our standards for ethical operations and environmental responsibility.

4.2 Employee Wellbeing

We conduct half-yearly wellbeing surveys to understand satisfaction at work, work-life balance, and awareness of available support. The results below reflect our most recent benchmark.

Note: the work-life balance target of 85%+ reflects a recalibrated and sustainable range rather than a decline in ambition — our 2024 benchmark of 93% was considered an outlier following an unusually quiet period, and 85% represents a healthy and realistic ongoing target.

This survey is conducted twice-yearly. Key areas of focus for improvement include team awareness of mental health support, workload distribution, and leadership feedback mechanisms.

Areas for development → Our 2026 Priorities

Training on available mental health and wellbeing resources
Workload distribution support across the team
Leadership 360 feedback to improve team wellbeing
Mental and physical first aider training
Community engagement, volunteering, and charitable activity

4.3 Diversity, Inclusion & Professional Development

Professional Development

We actively support our team’s professional growth through structured competency frameworks across strategy, research, and design. These are reviewed and updated as we grow. We conduct bi-annual role assessments and offer mentorship through regular one-to-one sessions with senior leadership.

Fair Wages

Cimple is a registered Living Wage Employer, ensuring all team members are paid at or above the real Living Wage. We are committed to regularly benchmarking salaries against industry standards to remain competitive and fair as wage benchmarks evolve.

5. Current Sustainability Challenges

We believe transparency about the barriers we face is as important as reporting our achievements. The following outlines our current challenges and how we are addressing them.