Environment Disclosure
Information Requested | Nielsen Disclosure |
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Approach to environmental management, including ownership of environmental issues and commitments at each level of the company; approach to managing environmental compliance; environmental sustainability policy; and environmental management system |
Under the umbrella of Nielsen Green, we take a comprehensive and holistic approach to responsible environmental management, considering our direct impacts as well as our ability to influence the environmental performance of our suppliers and other stakeholders. In our own operations, we focus on our most material environmental impacts: waste, business travel and energy. Through our supply chain sustainability platform, we engage and collaborate with our supplier network to improve their performance and minimize the lifecycle environmental impacts of our business. And, we collaborate with our clients and other stakeholders to help facilitate a lower-carbon economy. By unlocking the unique power of our data to help fuel change for a more promising future—and sharing these insights with the world—we are advancing our collective understanding of how evolving consumer preferences and purchases are driving sustainability. Our wide-ranging tools and services, focused on innovation and predicting future consumer needs and preferences, can help our clients to maximize their resources while minimizing their environmental impacts. In addition to complying with laws and regulatory requirements, we seek to continually reduce the adverse environmental effects of our products and services during their full lifecycle, including design, creation, and use. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are overseen at the Board level by the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee. Our Global Responsibility & Sustainability (GR&S) team oversees and manages our global ESG strategy and performance on a day-to-day basis. This team reports to our Chief Legal & Corporate Affairs Officer and presents to the Board at least once per year. Among other responsibilities, the GR&S team works with other functions and teams to ensure alignment with relevant environmental mandates and requirements such as compliance with local laws. Compliance is managed both globally and locally, depending on the team responsible for the relevant requirement or local execution of our global strategy. We regularly evaluate the effectiveness of our environmental management processes through a detailed, cross-functional review. All Nielsen leaders have responsibility for ESG issues in some way. For example, the management of energy- and waste- reduction efforts is integrated into our review process with senior leadership and our Technology/Operations Sustainability Council. The Technology/Operations Sustainability Council focuses on connecting our global ESG efforts with our operational strategies across groups within the Tech/Ops function, such as Global Procurement, Finance, Technology, Real Estate, Architecture and Infrastructure. Our Real Estate leads investigate local targets for the reduction of waste and energy across our operational footprint. Our Chief Procurement Officer has responsibility for supply chain sustainability, including assessing and managing our suppliers’ climate-related risks and impacts. We use an environmental management system (EMS) software for all utility-based data collection, and management and reporting of our emissions data. Though our EMS is not third-party certified, our emissions and resource consumption data are externally verified by a third party prior to reporting. In addition to these formal environmental management governance systems, we are privileged to have thousands of associates around the world who are passionate about working together to reduce our collective environmental footprint. These employees have been organizing into local Green Teams—voluntary groups that lead grassroots projects at our various locations around the globe throughout the year, aligning their goals and impact with Nielsen’s most material environmental areas (waste, business travel and energy). Through simple but impactful initiatives, these volunteers have been changing our behavior and interaction with the environment every day. Examples of their work include our laptop donation program supporting local nonprofits, electronic and plastic recycling drives, awareness drives, green travel challenges, collaborations with Facilities leaders for green building certifications, and more. As further evidence of our Green Teams’ coordinated impact, Nielsen participated in World Cleanup Day in 2018 and 2019 and also engaged in a Data for Good project to lead a pro-bono trash blindness survey. In late 2019, we introduced a new approach to our local citizenship efforts, creating a more collaborative and holistic structure that will allow for greater insight and impact across our global offices. At the local level, we have combined our Green Teams with our Nielsen Cares employee volunteerism efforts and our Employee Resource Groups, calling these newly combined groups Inclusion Impact Teams (IITs). The Nielsen Green and Nielsen Cares aspects of the IITs are now aligned through our Social & Environmental Responsibility (SER) Committees, which are part of each local IIT. See our Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Functions for full detail on our approach to environmental management. |
Direct and indirect environmental impacts, including materiality of emissions sources for the company |
Given the pressing issues of climate change and dwindling natural resources globally, we believe that all companies—including Nielsen—have a role to play in minimizing environmental impacts and maximizing environmental efficiencies and benefits. As described in our Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Functions, given the nature of our business, our primary environmental impacts are waste management, energy management and business travel. Per our nonfinancial materiality assessment findings, our operations do not have significant impacts on biodiversity. In an effort to further reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, we have also looked at the indirect environmental impacts in our supply chain by conducting our first Scope 3 emissions assessment in 2019. See our nonfinancial materiality assessment for more on how we identify our most material impacts. |
Commitment to reducing environmental impacts |
Reducing environmental impacts from our own operations, and working to reduce impacts in our supply chain as well as for our clients, is central to our policy and approach to managing environmental and climate-related issues. See our Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Functions for our overall strategy and commitment to reducing our environmental impacts through our operational processes, as well as for more detail on our approach to responsible resource management. |
Employee training on environmental issues |
All associates have access to sustainability information through our Green Teams, Social & Environmental Responsibility (SER) Committees, and online training. Our SER Committees, which are led by our employees as part of our local Inclusion Impact Teams around the world, provide engagement and training on social and environmental issues, and are open to all employees. Nielsen now offers courses, articles and modules through a new program: myLearning powered by Degreed. This platform enables associates to access a huge selection of internal and external content (videos, podcasts, articles, etc.), including corporate social responsibility and sustainability-related articles and videos available to all associates to search and view based on their interests. (See the Human Capital section for more detail.) Through this myLearning platform, training modules are offered for all Inclusion Impact Team members as well as specific training for SER Committee leaders. These training sessions include detail about our social and environmental strategies and policies and how the SER Committees can take the responsibility for activating these at a local level. |
Environmental goals, including quantitative objectives in all relevant environmental issue areas and short-term GHG emissions target |
See our detailed infographic for more information on our environmental goals and progress toward them. |
Low-carbon products or services; efforts to promote sustainable consumption and engage customers in lower-emission and climate change strategies |
Just as Nielsen has put more focus on environmental, social and governance issues in recent years, so have our clients. More and more companies are seeking to make their operations—and their products—more sustainable and responsible. Our research, data and insights can help them do that. In the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, for example, the rising trend in consumer preferences for sustainability and healthier food and drink options—and for transparency about ingredients and their provenance—has had a profound effect. Transparency is no longer a nice-to-have, but a must. We are responding to these changing trends with new products and solutions that support our clients’ growth. One example is our ingredient and label measurement tool, Nielsen Product Insider, which is powered by Label Insight, a product data refinery platform. This tool combines data from Nielsen and Label Insight to help FMCG and retail clients better understand how ingredients and label claims are performing across the store. By helping clients understand the market potential for sustainable products and avoid producing less-sustainable options without consumer appeal, Nielsen data and insights contribute to a more efficient, lower-carbon economy. In addition, we regularly conduct research for our clients about perceptions, issues and concerns relating to environmental sustainability and corporate responsibility. This information—complemented by a broad array of additional Nielsen products and services—helps clients more efficiently develop products, services, partnerships and internal actions that consider ESG impacts. We also share key insights with the broader public about consumer trends and new innovations in the industries we support, via Nielsen Insights and our Nielsen Database podcast episodes. |
Engaging with suppliers and other partners on environment and climate strategies, including efforts to promote sustainable consumption |
See the following for details on how we engage with our suppliers and other partners:
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Environmental technologies and principles used in the design and construction of buildings |
Our efforts to reduce the impacts of our buildings and facilities are described in our Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Functions. |
Green information technology measures |
We are working to reduce the environmental impacts associated with our information technology systems, in particular regarding our energy use and electronic waste (e-waste). As part of our overall data center and office consolidation efforts, we removed more than 800 devices across all of our global regions during the reporting period. To reduce the negative impact of end-of-life management of our electronics, we are working with approved suppliers who use safe and environmentally friendly disposal methods. In 2017, we launched an e-waste business process improvement project, through which we re-evaluated our current e-waste vendors against certain environmental criteria. With a committed focus on ensuring none of our electronic waste goes to landfill, by 2019 we were able to use the findings from that evaluation to identify and onboard new vendors who support this vision, ensuring responsible management of Nielsen’s e-waste globally. In 2018, through just one of our electronic waste management vendors, we avoided 654 metric tons of GHG emissions (measured in carbon dioxide equivalents or CO₂e) through the reuse and recycling of e-waste. By the end of 2019, according to our two primary e-waste management vendors, we avoided almost 28,676 metric tons of GHG emissions through the reuse, donation and recycling of our e-waste. While water use in our direct operations has not emerged as a significant material area in our nonfinancial materiality assessment process, we nevertheless recognize that access to potable water is a societal issue and a fundamental human right for everyone. With this in mind, we strive to minimize the impact of our daily operations on the availability of collective water resources. |
Green meeting guidelines |
Nielsen has established Green Meeting Guidelines for associates to use as they plan local meetings and events. Associates are encouraged to share the steps they have taken to make their meetings more sustainable, and to complete assessment forms to help us track the impact of these efforts. The green metrics they report on range from the use of videoconferencing instead of traveling to meet in person, to food waste management, to reducing our paper usage. In addition, Nielsen Green and our Global Events & Partnerships teams are working together to establish key performance indicators that will allow us to track and identify sustainable efficiencies in how we are organizing and managing larger-scale global events. For these bigger events, we work to select venues that promise more environmentally friendly facilities and infrastructure, as well as implement innovative and sustainable communications and registration mechanisms, among other efforts. |
Noncompliance with environmental laws and regulations |
We had no instances of noncompliance with environmental laws or regulations during the reporting period. |
Environmental risk assessments |
We assess environmental risks through our formal Enterprise Risk Management process, as well as through our nonfinancial materiality assessment process. In 2018 we also undertook a global climate risk assessment to identify the physical and transitional business risks related to climate change over the short and long terms. See the Climate Change, Energy and Emissions section and our TCFD Report for more on how we assess and monitor climate-related risks on an ongoing basis. |
Information Requested | Nielsen Disclosure | ||||||||
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Process for identifying climate-related risks and the climate-related risks that have been identified, including risks of Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions affecting both the current state and future of the company and its operations; impacts of climate-related risks on company strategy; and management of climate-related risks and issues |
Nielsen recognizes both the imperative reality of climate change and the opportunities for increased efficiency and effectiveness that it presents. We are working with teams and leaders across our organization to continue to ensure that climate change risks and opportunities are integrated into our business strategy and that we are taking meaningful action to drive continuous improvements where needed. The process of identifying, assessing and managing climate-related issues is integrated into our overall, companywide Enterprise Risk Management process, in which Climate Change is assessed as a standalone risk. In 2018, we conducted a climate risk assessment that looked into both physical risks and transition risks related to climate change through 2050. The findings from this assessment have implications for all aspects of our business. As a result, we have engaged teams across areas including Global Responsibility & Sustainability, Real Estate/Facilities, Security, Business Resiliency, Risk & Insurance, Technology, Global Procurement, Architecture, and Infrastructure to review the findings for relevancy and impact and to identify improvement opportunities accordingly. For full details on our climate-related risk assessment and management, see the following:
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Board’s oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities |
At the Board of Directors level, Nielsen’s Nomination & Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for reviewing the company’s policies, practices and positions relating to corporate citizenship and sustainability, including but not limited to environmental quality and other environmental, social and governance areas. The Board considers the impact of these areas on Nielsen’s internal and external stakeholders, including our employees, clients, suppliers and investors. For full details, see our TCFD Report as well as:
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Management’s role in assessing and managing climate-related risks and opportunities |
Nielsen’s senior management—including our CEO—reviews climate change as a standalone risk in our formal Enterprise Risk Management process. The management of climate change and energy reduction efforts is integrated into our management review process with senior leadership and through our Technology/Operations Sustainability Council. Our Chief Technology Officer oversees our data center efficiency efforts, which also aim to reduce energy use. Our Real Estate leads investigate local targets for the management of waste and energy reduction across our operational footprint. Our Chief Procurement Officer has responsibility for supply chain sustainability, including assessing and managing our suppliers’ climate-related risks and impacts. For full details, see our TCFD Report as well as our Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Functions. |
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Incentives for management of climate change issues |
Our corporate executive team’s approach to addressing risks—including climate-related risks—and their ability to effectively respond to those risks, is tied to their compensation as part of a multidimensional, comprehensive review. This applies to our Chief Legal & Corporate Affairs Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer, among other leaders. Members of our Global Responsibility & Sustainability team, along with other leaders and teams with direct and indirect responsibility for our environmental sustainability management, are rewarded based on Nielsen’s performance against our relevant social and environmental strategies and objectives. This information is used in annual performance reviews and as part of a holistic approach to compensation decisions. For example, the Real Estate/Facilities function’s strategic efforts include reduction of waste and water usage, as well as maximization of our energy savings. Procurement managers can receive monetary rewards for advancing environmental criteria in purchases. See the Supply Chain Management section of this report and our Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy for more details. At the discretion of management, all employees are eligible to receive monetary awards and recognition for their contributions toward emission reductions and other sustainability projects. All associates who participate in initiatives that focus on optimal utilization of our natural resources, as well as reducing our overall impact on the environment, are eligible for rewards through Simply Excellent, a tool for acknowledging collaboration and innovation. We also have an ongoing recognition program focused specifically on responsible and sustainable business actions called Global Responsibility & Sustainability Champions. See also our Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Functions. |
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Climate scenario analysis |
As part of the physical and transitional risk assessment process, the independent, third-party service provider that we engaged to conduct our climate risk assessment in 2018 also did a deeper dive into carbon pricing risk and business model stress testing to complete a series of scenario analyses that assessed how different scenarios may affect our business, based on our approach to our energy goal. Additional details on this, and the results from this analysis, are provided in our TCFD Report. |
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Metrics used to assess climate-related risks and opportunities |
In addition to the metrics used in our scenario analysis and climate risk assessment (described above), we also measure climate-related risks by measuring our own and our supply chain’s GHG emissions. See the Environmental Data section in this report for our GHG emissions data. |
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Adaptation to climate change |
We recognize that our suppliers, facilities and product lines are all in some way impacted by climate change, requiring us to adapt or mitigate impacts. Climate change adaptation efforts, along with other business resilience efforts, are considered a part of our business continuity and disaster recovery process. Our Business Resiliency team works with mission-critical platforms to ensure that whenever any kind of incident occurs—including weather- and climate-related incidents—our platforms continue to function, or are able to recover as quickly as possible. The Business Resiliency team uses tools such as risk assessments to understand the potential effect of risks specific to a team, platform or organization, and to plan mitigation steps for minimizing the impact of those risks. The team also employs business impact analyses to look at the key processes that take place within a platform or organization. Both exercises help ensure that our strategies in these areas are comprehensive and coordinated. This team also works with other teams across the organization, including Human Resources, Communications, Global Responsibility & Sustainability and others, to ensure we are all coordinated in our ongoing preparation and incident response plans. To that end, our Incident Management team is on point when a disaster does occur, to ensure that the right teams are taking action as needed. The findings from our 2018 climate risk assessment further highlight our identification, adaptation and mitigation efforts across our global footprint and operations. |
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Energy and emissions management, including internal price on carbon |
Our approach to managing energy and emissions is described in our Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Functions. We do not currently use an internal price on carbon, but, as described above, we have included carbon pricing in our climate change risk-related scenario analyses, and we continue to evaluate whether or how this practice may make sense for Nielsen in the future. |
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Emission-reduction initiatives and results |
Key emission-reduction initiatives we undertook in 2018 and 2019, and their results, are described below.
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Methods used to drive investment in emission-reduction activities |
The following are some of the key methods we use to drive investment in emission-reduction activities: Climate risk assessment: In early 2018, we conducted our first global climate risk assessment, and we have since worked to determine the full relevance and implications of the findings across all functions. We have also identified potential opportunities for specific functional areas. More about our latest update on the findings and Nielsen’s efforts to manage risks and opportunities related to climate change can be found in our TCFD Report. Employee engagement: Nielsen’s Social & Environmental Responsibility Committees (part of our local Inclusion Impact Teams) are led by employee volunteers who drive local, regional and global programs across Nielsen offices to support our commitment toward responsible resource usage and waste reduction. They also promote the overall protection, conservation and restoration of the environment where we operate around the globe. |
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Green logistics and travel |
Logistics and business travel are important issues for Nielsen due largely to the climate impacts of transportation-related emissions. Our Global Travel & Procurement team manages our travel suppliers—including airlines, ground transportation providers, hotels and others—in order to provide the best possible value to our Nielsen associates and to ensure that we’re focused on responsible resource management and environmental sustainability in the way that we travel. In 2017, we updated our travel policy, which has allowed us to better understand our travel-related carbon footprint so that we can more effectively reduce it. Under this policy, we are now more accurately calculating our entire corporate spend relating to travel and entertainment—for example, by including associates in more countries and expanding our online tool to capture more expenses. We’ve also improved our online planning tool to make sustainable options more prominent. For example, more users now see videoconferencing options and preferred travel vendors who have been vetted against sustainability criteria. Nielsen’s Green Meeting Guidelines also identify travel, local commuting and accommodation as key performance indicators that allow us to track and identify sustainable efficiencies in how we are organizing and managing large-scale global events. In 2017, we conducted our first global commuter survey to learn about our associates’ commuting habits. Starting in 2019, we aim to work collaboratively across functions to turn the results of this now-annual survey into actions that create regionally and locally appropriate opportunities to make commuting more sustainable for all our associates. See the Supply Chain Management section of this report for more on how we are working with our suppliers to reduce environmental impacts, including through our Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy. See the Environmental Data section of this report for details on CO₂e emissions from our business travel. |
Information Requested | Nielsen Disclosure |
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Approach to waste management |
We support a variety of initiatives to reduce the generation of waste—particularly electronic waste and paper, given the nature of our business. And we are continually investigating new, environmentally efficient waste disposal options at each Nielsen facility, in line with our sustainability commitments and local laws and regulations. Because waste was identified as a key material issue for Nielsen, we’ve set a goal to send 0% of our global e-waste to landfills by the end of 2020, which we are on track to achieve. Using the findings from our global e-waste vendor assessment, we are now at almost 100% for all information technology equipment being sent for responsible disposal (e.g., recycling, refurbishing, reuse, etc.), diverting it from landfill by approved vendors. Our approach to waste management is described in our Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Functions. See the Environmental Data section of this report for waste data. |
Paper use and recycling |
We work to reduce our paper use, and therefore paper waste. We also encourage recycling across our locations where infrastructure exists in the local community. As an example of these efforts, our standard global policy is to set our printers to default duplex printing. There was a 15% reduction in our paper purchases across Nielsen regions between 2018 and 2019. Our Asia Pacific, North America and Latin America regions saw decreases in paper purchases of almost 42%, 33% and 34%, respectively. See the Environmental Data section of this report for paper usage and waste data. |
Information Requested | Nielsen Disclosure |
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Approach to water management |
While water use in our direct operations has not emerged as a significant material area in our nonfinancial materiality assessment process, we nevertheless recognize that access to potable water is a societal issue and a fundamental human right for everyone. With this in mind, we strive to minimize the impact of our daily operations on the availability of collective water resources. Our approach to water management is described in our Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Functions. See the Environmental Data section of this report for water data. |
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Data assurance |
All of our emissions, waste and water data is externally assured and verified. See our Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Functions for historical verification statements, as well as the Appendix of this report for our 2018 and 2019 verification statements. |
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Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data collection and reporting methodology |
Data collection process and methodology: Nielsen first established a formal program of monitoring and reporting our GHG emissions in North America in 2015, adding Latin America for the 2016 reporting period, Europe for the 2017 reporting period, and the rest of Nielsen (Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific) starting in the 2018 reporting period. We have adopted the Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (Revised Edition) to report on the company’s GHG emissions. In 2018, we onboarded a new tool for emission calculation called the Portfolio Environmental & Energy Reporting System (PEERS). PEERS is a proprietary energy management tool developed by Nielsen’s global real estate services provider, JLL, to capture, analyze and report energy data. A third-party utility bill processor (ProKarma) is retained to enter utility bill data into a database; the data is then electronically conveyed from ProKarma into PEERS. Landlord data based on whole-building consumption is adjusted to reflect Nielsen’s percentage of building square footage and is then entered manually into PEERS. PEERS methodology: In order to properly align energy use to the timing of weather and site operations—in other words, to understand how energy use went up or down in relation to the weather and site operations at any given time—PEERS translates (i.e., normalizes) reported consumption that is reflected in utility bills to the start and the close of each month. To normalize consumption, PEERS divides the billed consumption by the number of days in the billing period to determine the average daily consumption. The daily average is then multiplied against the number of days in each month that the bill straddles in order to arrive at the portion of the consumption that should be assigned to each month. In most cases, this approach results in two successive utility bills providing consumption data for one calendar month; care is taken to avoid accidentally double-counting emissions across multiple months. All work continues to be done in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. While our utility data collection plan continued to expand each year, and new processes were added to enhance our reporting, challenges related to timely language translations and access to inventory, such as in landlord-owned facilities, limited us from gaining a full representation of every metric for each site in the regions covered in each reporting year. As such, for the emission and utility consumption data we share in this section for 2016 through 2018, we have also provided in the footnotes the square footage that each metric represents within the covered regions for each year. In order to increase our coverage in future reporting periods, we changed our methodology starting with our 2019 data reporting. Change in reporting methodology for 2019 utility data (Scope 1, Scope 2, Water, Waste): In order to gain a more comprehensive and complete view of Nielsen’s global emissions and resource usage across facilities, while also acknowledging data accessibility challenges, we have changed our methodology for our 2019 reporting. Using the PEERS tool, all gaps in the data that impact complete coverage of Nielsen facilities’ utility consumption are bridged through estimates. These estimates apply to all sites with any missing or unavailable data to represent a full year’s coverage. Where only partial data is available or where data on a metric is unavailable, the estimates are based on prior-year consumption/usage and the cost for the applicable month or average of surrounding months using the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey’s national averages for “administrative or professional offices” for approximate energy intensity of fuels within Scope 1 and electricity consumption within Scope 2. To estimate water and waste for sites where we have no data on their consumption, we use a portfolio-specific usage intensity to extrapolate approximate usage based on the square footage of a site. We take the average consumption per square foot for the sites where we have data to get the portfolio-specific usage intensity value. Additional details on the methodology are available in our Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Functions. All GHG emissions data, reported here and elsewhere, is calculated using the GHG Protocol and verified by a third party, Apex Companies, LLC (formerly Bureau Veritas North America or BVNA). The 2019 methodology change in how we calculate our utility-based emissions and resource usage—adding estimates to bridge any gaps in available data—now ensures that our reported data represent 100% of Nielsen’s global square footage for the first time in 2019. This explains the upward trend in the 2019 data for the metrics reported below in this section. Additionally, to better illustrate our year-over-year regional expansion of utility data reporting, intensity figures are displayed alongside absolute emissions or consumption to put each metric in the context of the relative square footage it represents, based on the specific sites within the regions that are covered in our reporting for that year (i.e., intensity figure = emission or consumption / sq.ft. the data represents as noted in the footnote). We have also included the total square footage in our global real estate portfolio for each year in order to provide full context. |
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Scope 1 GHG emissions |
Scope 1 GHG emissions are direct emissions that come from sources owned or controlled by the reporting entity. For Nielsen, this primarily includes generator fuel and natural gas. The 2019 methodology change in how we calculate our utility-based emissions and resource usage—adding estimates to bridge any gaps in available data—now ensures that our reported data represent 100% of Nielsen’s global square footage for the first time in 2019. This explains the upward trend in the 2019 data reported here. The square footage in the chart for each year represents the coverage of the actual metrics as a percentage of our global Nielsen real estate portfolio. The total square footage included in our global real estate portfolio for each year is included below for reference.
The intensity figures reported above have been normalized to metric tons CO₂e per square foot (sq. ft.) represented by the available data for North America and Latin America in 2016; North America, Europe and Latin America in 2017; and all Nielsen regions in 2018, including estimates added to bridge any gaps in actual data in 2019. 2019 Scope 1 Emissions Regional Breakdown
CO₂e Gases Below is the breakdown of components for our Scope 1 emissions:
Diesel Fuel
Natural Gas
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Scope 2 GHG emissions |
Scope 2 GHG emissions are indirect emissions from consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steam. For Nielsen, this primarily includes purchased electricity. Starting in 2016, we began reporting on market-based Scope 2 emissions, in addition to our location-based Scope 2 emissions. Market-based emissions include any green energy investments a company has made in its reporting period (e.g., renewable energy credits). The 2019 methodology change in how we calculate our utility-based emissions and resource usage—adding estimates to bridge any gaps in available data—now ensures that our reported data represent 100% of Nielsen’s global square footage for the first time in 2019. This explains the upward trend in the 2019 data reported here. The square footage in the chart for each year represents the coverage of the actual metrics as a percentage of our global Nielsen real estate portfolio. The total square footage included in our global real estate portfolio for each year is included below for reference.
The intensity figures reported above have been normalized to metric tons CO₂e per square foot (sq. ft.) represented by the available data for North America and Latin America in 2016; North America, Europe and Latin America in 2017; and all Nielsen regions in 2018, including estimates added to bridge any gaps in actual data in 2019. 2019 Scope 2 Emissions Regional Breakdown
CO₂e Gases Below is the breakdown of the components for our Scope 2 emissions. Data reported is for location-based emissions. The component breakdown is provided in the emissions factor datasets by IEA and eGrid—the datasets we use for location-based factors. For market-based, we do not have supplier-specific data and are using residual mixes to calculate the market-based emissions. The residual mix datasets (Green-e Residual Mix Factors and AIB European Residual Mix Factors) only provide CO₂e factors, not the corresponding component factors individually.
The square footage in the chart for each year represents the coverage of the actual metrics as a percentage of our global Nielsen real estate portfolio. The total square footage included in our global real estate portfolio for each year is included below for reference.
The intensity figures reported above have been normalized to kilowatt hours (kWh) per square foot (sq. ft.) represented by the available data for North America and Latin America in 2016; North America, Europe and Latin America in 2017; and all Nielsen regions in 2018, including estimates added to bridge any gaps in actual data in 2019. |
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Scope 3 GHG emissions |
Nielsen’s 2019 Scope 3 emissions calculation includes Waste (Category 5), Business Travel (Category 6) and Employee Commuting (Category 7). Based on this, Nielsen’s 2019 Scope 3 emissions were 73,590.42 metric tons CO₂e. For 2019 reporting (of our 2018 data), Nielsen engaged with a third party to expand our Scope 3 emission representation across our entire corporate value chain. Based on the relevance and impact established for each category, we formalized our overall Scope 3 collection strategy for a complete and accurate measurement of our emissions. The total Scope 3 emissions from Nielsen’s value chain assessment for 2018 were 615,382 tons CO₂e. Business Travel (Category 6) and Employee Commuting (Category 7) were calculated by Nielsen and provided to the third party for inclusion in the Scope 3 emissions assessment. Partial Waste data (Category 5) also came from Nielsen’s data collection, but represented only 2% of our global footprint. The third-party vendor then extrapolated to represent 100% of Nielsen facilities. The Scope 3 table in our Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Functions shows the relevance of each Scope 3 category, the actual emissions for each and its percentage of total emissions. Waste Nielsen’s 2019 Waste emissions were 1,152.44 metric tons CO₂e. For additional details on waste data, please see the four-year trended Waste Generation chart below. Business Travel Nielsen has been tracking our Business Travel emissions since 2016, primarily focusing on our air travel data. In 2019, we expanded our reporting coverage (representing 2018 data) as it relates to other metrics within business travel, to include rail and rental cars also. In 2020 (representing 2019 data), we have also included data from vehicles for hire. This change is reflected in our overall Scope 3 value chain assessment. Nielsen’s 2019 Business Travel emissions were 18,415.98 metric tons CO₂e. Nielsen Global Travel Miles by Air *
*Note: These data only represent bookings made via the American Express Business Travel tool. It does not include any direct or separate agency booking. Employee Commuting Nielsen’s 2019 Employee Commuting emissions were 54,022 metric tons CO₂e; in 2018, this was 49,838 metric tons CO₂e. For the category of employee commuting, we have used the distance-based method, which involves collecting data from employees on their commuting patterns (e.g., distance traveled and their mode of commuting). Employee-level data for 2018 were collected through a global commuting survey that ran from January through February 2019; data for 2019 were collected through a similar survey that ran from January through February 2020. The data were then weighted to make a representative sample of our global headcount; emission factors were then applied to reach our final emissions. |
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GHG emission intensity |
Unlike the other charts in this section where the intensity figure has been calculated using the square footage that represents only the sites reported in that year, for our global emissions intensity number below we have used the total square footage for each year’s regional coverage as the denominator for the calculation in order to provide additional context about Nielsen’s environmental footprint. |
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Waste data, including waste generated and paper usage |
Our reported waste metrics consist primarily of landfill waste, excluding composting and recycling. Nielsen continues to look at the local and regional infrastructure available to us to establish responsible waste management (such as setting up and/or properly separating different waste streams) in our global offices. However, for data collection and reporting purposes, all waste is assumed to be landfill in locations where recycling and/or composting are not yet set up or clearly separated. The 2019 methodology change in how we calculate our utility-based emissions and resource usage—adding estimates to bridge any gaps in available data—now ensures that our reported data represent 100% of Nielsen’s global square footage for the first time in 2019. This explains the upward trend in the 2019 data reported here. The square footage in the chart for each year represents the coverage of the actual metrics as a percentage of our global Nielsen real estate portfolio. The total square footage included in our global real estate portfolio for each year is included below for reference.
The intensity figures reported above have been normalized to short tons per square foot (sq. ft.) represented by the available data for North America and Latin America in 2016; North America, Europe and Latin America in 2017; and all Nielsen regions in 2018, including estimates added to bridge any gaps in actual data in 2019. We also continue to investigate reductions in our paper usage. We encourage recycling across our locations where infrastructure exists in the local community. |
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Water use |
While water has not emerged as a significant material area in terms of our direct operations through our nonfinancial materiality assessment process, we recognize that access to potable water is a societal issue and a fundamental human right for everyone. With this in mind, we strive to minimize the impact of our daily operations on the availability of water resources. The 2019 methodology change in how we calculate our utility-based emissions and resource usage—adding estimates to bridge any gaps in available data—now ensures that our reported data represent 100% of Nielsen’s global square footage for the first time in 2019. This explains the upward trend in the 2019 data reported here. The square footage in the chart for each year represents the coverage of the actual metrics as a percentage of our global Nielsen real estate portfolio. The total square footage included in our global real estate portfolio for each year is included below for reference.
The intensity figures reported above have been normalized to cubic meters per square foot (sq. ft.) represented by the available data for North America and Latin America in 2016; North America, Europe and Latin America in 2017; and all Nielsen regions in 2018, including estimates added to bridge any gaps in actual data in 2019. |
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Green team environmental impact reductions |
We detail the environmental impact reductions led by our associates in our offices and communities around the world in our Nielsen Global Environmental Policy & Guidelines Across Operations. Some of these activities across 2018-2019—focusing on our more material issues, such as managing our waste and travel—include the following:
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