Over the past two decades, Xerox has continuously elevated its climate goals, necessitating advancements in emissions tracking. In 2023, the company's sustainability team collaborated with Persefoni to streamline and improve the precision, efficiency, and comprehensiveness of its carbon accounting practices.
Ambitious Climate Targets, Regulatory Readiness
In 2021, the Xerox sustainability team set a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2040. They also wanted to prepare for climate disclosure. As part of its commitment to transparency, the company had already been reporting voluntarily through frameworks such as CDP and EcoVadis. However, with the emergence of new disclosure regulations in the EU and other jurisdictions, Xerox recognized a growing need for more comprehensive, auditable, and granular carbon data.
The team knew from experience how complex carbon accounting was. They sought a solution that would help them further streamline and simplify the process while also ensuring greater data integrity. Specifically, they wanted to find a platform to help standardize workflows, enhance their analytic capabilities, fill gaps in their GHG inventory, and align with various global reporting standards and frameworks.
Xerox Carbon Accounting Objectives
To achieve its ambitious climate targets and ensure compliance with evolving regulations, Xerox outlined a set of key carbon accounting objectives. These priorities would guide the company’s efforts to enhance data accuracy, streamline reporting, and drive meaningful emissions reductions.
- Reduce scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions aligned to Science Based Targets (net zero by 2040)
- Align with regulatory disclosure frameworks
- Track emissions quarterly
- Perform carbon inventory more efficiently
- Establish auditable processes
- Gather more data and additional detail
- Improve visibility into progress on emissions reduction initiatives
Flexible, Reliable, Audit-Ready Accounting
Xerox decided to work with Persefoni for several reasons. The platform provided the flexibility to meet the nuanced requirements of multiple reporting frameworks, and it was supported by a team with deep expertise in GHG accounting and climate disclosure regulations.
Persefoni’s automated software quickly closed data gaps and provided more granular, auditable information. For example, the Xerox team was able to use the platform to apply different emissions factors based on regional considerations, improving the precision of calculations. Persefoni’s data capabilities also enhanced Xerox’s ability to make informed assumptions for scope 3 accounting, leading to more reliable supply chain reporting and stronger decision-making.
A Cross-Functional Effort
Xerox’s carbon accounting and sustainability reporting efforts are led by a highly skilled team, including the Chief Sustainability Officer, the Vice President of Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability, a CSR Manager, an Energy and Climate Lead, a Sustainability Analyst, and a Greenhouse Gas Inventory Specialist. This team coordinated closely with the company’s finance department to ensure that Xerox’s carbon accounting approach remained flexible enough to align with financial reporting requirements and future climate disclosure regulations.
Together, they worked with Persefoni’s experts, who offered hands-on technical support and strategic guidance on managing the organization’s complex carbon inventory.
Migrating From Spreadsheets, Upgrading Processes
The transition to Persefoni began with the migration of Xerox’s 2022 scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions data from spreadsheets into the Persefoni platform. To facilitate this shift, Persefoni hosted a dedicated workshop on data integration and automation. Together, the teams identified high-impact measures to enhance the company’s data collection, governance, accounting processes, and documentation. Persefoni also supported the Xerox team in refining its Inventory Management Plan (IMP) and understanding the requirements of different regulatory standards and reporting frameworks.
Streamlined Accounting, Enhanced Scope 3 Reporting, Disclosure Confidence
Through its partnership with Persefoni, Xerox strengthened its carbon accounting processes and improved its sustainability reporting capabilities, achieving:
- Higher-Quality Data & Methodology Enhancements. The overall quality of Xerox’s GHG inventory improved, with standardized methodologies and governance ensuring reliable and complete data. Persefoni enabled critical enhancements to the company’s scope 3 methodology, making supply chain emissions tracking more precise.
- More Comprehensive & Granular Reporting. Xerox successfully filled key data gaps for a more complete and actionable carbon inventory. Enhanced footprint accuracy provided visibility into progress against emissions targets.
- Calculation Control. Automated calculations replaced manual efforts, reducing mathematical errors, improving Unit of Measurement (UoM) translation, and limiting the need for emissions factor adjustments.
- Stronger Regulatory Alignment & Disclosure Readiness. Xerox gained confidence in compliance with key reporting frameworks, establishing audit-ready processes for disclosures under regulations like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
- Platform Enablement. The Persefoni team provided full platform onboarding and enablement, optimizing Xerox’s use of the software for carbon accounting and sustainability reporting.
Helping Xerox Clients Reach Sustainability Goals
Beyond reducing its corporate emissions, Xerox has committed to decarbonizing its entire value chain. As part of this effort, the company is helping its clients design and maintain more sustainable workplaces and practices. With Persefoni, Xerox has been able to report data to clients rapidly and at a granular level — laying the groundwork for emissions reductions throughout the lifecycle of its products and services.
What’s Next
The Xerox team plans to keep building out its carbon accounting capabilities and improving its ability to assess progress on climate initiatives. In the future, they aim to incorporate more supplier-sourced emissions data, track carbon data on a quarterly rather than annual basis, and gather additional types of data, including adding downstream transportation and distribution to their calculations. They are also exploring opportunities to help partners on their own sustainability journeys through Persefoni's software.
Partnership Publications
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