At ACS, we have been evaluating and measuring our carbonfootprint since 2019, and working hard to reduce our emissions ever since – but this takes time and a dedicated team. Our Sustainability Team has been carefully assembled with employees from a number of different departments within ACS. This spread of representation across all operations allows us – where possible – to more easily identify and implement emission reductions.

The Sustainability team meets regularly to discuss our progress, and we held a workshop earlier in the year to explore additional ways to achieve our Net Zero ambitions. Our findings are being worked into a Transition Plan towards Net Zero, which we will communicate towards the end of the year.  

In the meantime, we are very proud to share some of our initial reduction successes. Most notably implementing a travel policy to travel by train, or shared electric road transportation, to our clients’ projects which are less than 600kms from Amsterdam. We have also moved our head office to a more energy efficient building, and transitioned our fleet of sales vehicles to EVs, which can be charged at our own charging poles at the head office. Our Utrecht office is almost completely self-sustained, with solar panels on the building to charge the electric sales vehicle, and also our first electric delivery van.

So, we feel that we are well on the path towards Net Zero, but until we can achieve our ambitions, we need to offset our residual emissions. These are calculated with the help of our sustainability consultants, Anthesis (formerly the Climate Neutral Group), who also produced ACS’s 2024 CO₂ emissions footprint report, which details the amount of tCO2e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) ACS produced in 2024. Anthesis then advised us regarding the offsetting possibilities for these residual emissions – carefully selected climate projects that combine solutions for carbon reduction with broader social and environmental benefits..    

As the European industry leader in creating impressive congress spaces, ACS audiovisual solutions knows how to transform an empty exhibition hall into multiple fully-equipped session rooms, that can accommodate from 200 up to an impressive ten thousand attendees.

At ACS, we understand that each event is unique, so our skilled AV designers produce highly-detailed technical drawings that simulate any congress environment. With meticulous attention to detail – every element within each room is carefully selected and positioned to assure an optimal congress experience for every participant.

ACS has a number of acoustic solutions that reduce unwanted noise, while enhancing the clarity of each speaker’s message. We offer various sound-damping material including curtains, carpets and furniture and our commitment to innovation means that we continuously refine our approach to sound resonance within congress spaces. Through extensive testing and development, we are proud to present our latest groundbreaking solution; the Sound Absorbing Cylinders.

These cylinders significantly enhance acoustics by absorbing unwanted noise and amplifying what matters most – the voices of the speakers.

ACS has been measuring its CO₂ emissions since 2019, and working with Anthesis to calculate its carbon footprint each year.  When calculating a footprint, it is important to define the organisational and operational boundaries, which then relate to which emissions should be included in the footprint. There are guidelines for measuring the different emissions under the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Standards. This GHG Protocol uses 3 scopes to distinguish between direct and indirect emissions.

Scope 1, includes direct emissions from sources that are owned or created by us. These emissions are seen as being generated by us, from ‘our own chimney’, for example if we burn gas to heat our buildings.

Scope 2, includes indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy, such as electricity. These emissions are generated elsewhere (i.e. at the energy supplier), but are directly related to your company. This scope also includes the energy used to power our fleet of electric vehicles.

Scope 3, includes all other emissions from within your value chain; including business travel (flights, hotels and cars), employee commuting. There are also upstream and downstream emissions in the supply chain. Upstream and goods and services coming into the company and downstream are goods and services leaving the company, which mainly includes transportation & distribution.

Once we established which emissions should be measured, we started to collect the data. This data included how many litres of diesel/petrol was used, the amount of kWh of electricity used across the year, and how many KMs were flown. This data was uploaded to the Anthesis (Climate Neutral Group) online programme, where the date was checked and our total emissions for the year were calculated. Anthesis then created a CO₂ emissions footprint report, which showed how many tCO2e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) we used in 2023.