Cognizant

Carbon per million dollars of revenue. The legacy industry-standard reference (CDP, MSCI). Useful for cross-sector context, but distorted by margin — high-margin firms appear artificially efficient. Read alongside the operational and asset intensities for the full picture.

OpEx (operating expenditure) is the running cost of the business — staff, services, energy, materials. This shows how carbon-intensive operations are per million dollars of spend. Removes the margin distortion that revenue-based ratios introduce.

EVIC (Enterprise Value Including Cash) is the firm's total capital footprint — equity + debt + cash + minority interest. The EU's standard intensity measure (SFDR PAI 3) — answers: how much carbon does each million of capital deployed in this business produce?

PP&E (Property, Plant & Equipment) plus leased real-estate assets is the firm's physical infrastructure on the balance sheet. This shows the carbon intensity of that physical footprint — uses Scope 1+2+3 for consistency with the other headline intensities. Surfaces stranded-asset risk for asset-heavy firms.

Carbon per FTE (full-time-equivalent employee) — the diagnostic measure for people-leveraged businesses where headcount, not capital, drives delivery. Captures the office, energy and travel footprint per person.

• · CarbonPlan OffsetsDB
• · RE100

Cognizant is a RE100 member targeting 100% renewable electricity by 2026. In 2024, 46% of global electricity came from renewable sources (56% in India). The sourcing strategy combines: long-term physical PPAs with solar and wind developers in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra; on-site solar generation in Tamil Nadu and Kerala (1,267 MWh self-generated); retail green tariff procurement for leased properties; landlord engagement to switch to renewable electricity; and purchase of Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs). India dominates global electricity consumption and is the primary focus for scale-up.

Cognizant intends to offset all unabated emissions from 2030. The company has developed a set of principles to guide offset purchases aligned with credible standards and is monitoring availability of qualifying projects. At net zero year (2040), residual emissions will be neutralized with permanent carbon removals via purchased and cancelled carbon credits. No project-based credits were retired in the 2024 reporting year.

• Office energy efficiency: HVAC upgrades, AI-based chiller automation, LEED certification

  Cognizant is upgrading HVAC systems across its India operations, including a pilot of AI-based chiller plant automation at a Chennai facility now being scaled to additional owned sites. An Enterprise Building Management System with AI for real-time insights has also been deployed in Chennai. Over 60% of owned office space in India is LEED-certified by IGBC. These measures delivered 6,011 tCO2e of estimated annual savings in 2024 (HVAC) plus 577 tCO2e from lighting retrofits.

• Business travel reduction: new travel data analytics and travel policy enforcement

  Business travel represented 18% of 2024 total emissions. Cognizant reduced travel emissions by 9% in 2024 vs 2023, primarily targeting air travel. A new approach to managing associate travel data was implemented to identify inefficient travel practices. Renewable electricity sourcing also saved 3,760 tCO2e via Scope 2 market-based accounting. Travel policy changes are voluntary but governed under the net zero roadmap.

• Employee commuting: EV fleet and EV charging infrastructure

  Cognizant maintains a fleet of over 600 electric vehicles for associate commuting and has installed EV charge points across its India offices. For Indian employees using Cognizant's travel portal, emissions are calculated from actual distance and vehicle fuel type. This initiative targets Scope 3 Category 7 (employee commuting) and is integrated into the net zero roadmap.

• Employee commuting reduction via EV fleet and remote work

  Cognizant monitors associate commuting as a key Scope 3 Cat 7 source. In 2023, 176 electric vehicles were added to the transport fleet provided for associates commuting outside normal working hours. Commuting emissions fell 72% compared to the 2019 baseline, from 103,139 tCO2e to 28,967 tCO2e in 2023. The firm uses a distance-based methodology to calculate commuting emissions.

• Business travel reduction through thoughtful travel policy and virtual meetings

  Cognizant uses its travel booking systems to identify reasons for travel, routes, airlines, and inefficient journeys, providing guidance to associates on avoiding unnecessary travel. In 2023, associates undertook over 11.5 million virtual meetings. Scope 3 Cat 6 business travel emissions were 95,230 tCO2e in 2023 (base year 2019: 251,346 tCO2e), driven by air travel and accommodation spend. The firm tracks both flight-based emissions (distance method) and other business travel (spend-based via ERP).

• Renewable electricity sourcing and office/data centre energy efficiency

  Cognizant is reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by delivering on its 100% renewable electricity sourcing goal and improving energy efficiency across offices and data centres. In India, HVAC upgrades (electronically commutated motors on AHUs, chiller retrofits, variable refrigerant volume units), LED lighting conversions, and modular UPS systems have been deployed. A new AI-enabled Enterprise Building Management System Platform was implemented in Chennai. Market-based Scope 1+2 totalled 76,566 tCO2e in 2023, a 0.31% intensity improvement versus prior year.

• Cloud migration and data centre consolidation to reduce IT-related Scope 2 and upstream leased asset emissions

  Cognizant is adopting a cloud-first approach, migrating workloads to the cloud and partnering with key data infrastructure providers to optimise its global data centre footprint. This initiative reduces Scope 2 (location- and market-based) and Scope 3 Category 8 (upstream leased assets, reported at 26,998 tCO2e). The three-pillar approach covers cloud migration, data centre consolidation, and efficient IT resource management using data centre infra monitoring tools and intelligent power distribution units.

• Business travel reduction via teleworking and videoconferencing

  With over 330,000 associates globally, Cognizant recognises business travel as a material Scope 3 source (Cat 6: 38,353 tCO2e in 2021). The firm proactively evaluates travel frequency, leverages videoconferencing to support remote working, and engages associates to promote greener travel choices including alternative commuting options for India-based staff. Efforts to reduce business travel emissions are also dependent on client demands and airline industry decarbonisation. Employee commuting (Cat 7: 57,232 tCO2e) is also addressed through this lever.

• Office energy efficiency and LEED-certified campus operations in India

  Cognizant's large campuses in India are the primary driver of energy use and a key focus for absolute emissions reduction. The majority of buildings are LEED-certified. Operational controls include building management systems monitoring HVAC, lighting and power consumption; capacity optimisation of uninterrupted power supply systems; and technological upgrades including a chiller performance analytical tool. A Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) governance dashboard monitors data centre energy performance in real time. These efforts contributed to Scope 1+2 (market-based) declining and 47% renewable share in India by end of 2021.

• Supplier engagement: SBTi target requirements in new contracts, targeting top 150 emitting suppliers

  Purchased goods and services plus capital goods accounted for ~50% of Cognizant's 2024 emissions footprint. Cognizant has identified its top 150 suppliers by emission contribution, which collectively account for ~65% of supplier-generated emissions. New supplier contracts include a climate clause requiring SBTi-aligned targets within two years and annual CDP reporting of Scope 1 and 2 data. By end-2024, 53% of these suppliers had set science-based targets. Supplier-generated emissions declined 7% year-over-year in 2024.

• Client sustainability solutions: digital decarbonization tools, ESG platforms, Net Zero advisory

  Cognizant offers nine sustainability capability areas to clients including Net Zero Energy monitoring, Sustainable IT (green cloud), Sustainable Finance, ESG Reporting & Data, and Strategy & Consulting. A proprietary carbon footprint calculator provides project-level GHG accounting aligned to the GHG Protocol across all three scopes, enabling clients to replace spend-based estimates with more accurate data. In 2024, Cognizant expanded offerings to include sustainable finance, sustainability data reporting, sustainable buildings and infrastructure.

• Client decarbonisation services (Solving for Sustainability)

  As companies seek to deliver on their net-zero goals, Cognizant sees growing demand for its decarbonisation services. The firm offers five capabilities: (1) Net zero pathways using machine-learning, digital twins, IoT; (2) Sustainability and ESG reporting; (3) Sustainable products and circular economy; (4) Sustainable manufacturing and operations; (5) Sustainable supply chains. Cognizant uses a proprietary Carbon Calculator Tool aligned to GHG Protocol across all 3 scopes to provide project-level emissions estimates for clients.

• Supplier engagement to drive Scope 3 Cat 1/2 emission reductions

  Purchased goods, services, and capital goods accounted for 49% of Cognizant's total emissions footprint in 2023. Cognizant identified the top 150 suppliers representing 72% of total supplier-generated emissions and is engaging them to set SBTi-validated reduction targets. In 2023, 39% of these suppliers had met the expectation (up from 18% in 2022). The firm has embedded target-setting and emissions disclosure expectations in new supplier contracts and targets 90% of top 150 suppliers to have set a science-based target by 2026.

• Supply chain engagement: targeting top 150 suppliers (60% of spend) to set net zero targets

  Cognizant is engaging its top 150 suppliers—covering nearly 60% of procurement spend—to help them set net zero emissions reduction targets, addressing the dominant Scope 3 Category 1 (804,834 tCO2e) and Category 2 (220,137 tCO2e). Plans include supplier interviews, surveys, net zero training, integrating the Net Zero Goal into supplier RFPs and contracts, and implementing an automated platform for ongoing supplier emissions data capture and reporting. In 2021, the supply chain carbon emissions analysis using 2019 data was completed; full supplier engagement commences in 2022.