One of The Keyholding Company’s (TKC) missions is to propel the security industry into a greener future, leading by example to deliver quality services whilst being kinder to the planet.
With its sights set on becoming a net zero organisation, TKC is delighted that its work towards that objective has been recognised by the 2024 Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs) in the Outstanding Security Sustainability category.
Here are some highlights from TKC’s award submission that bring to life its sustainability efforts from last year:
Driving operational efficiency
TKC protects 38,000 properties across the UK, conducting over 1 million jobs for its clients annually through its London Operations team and a nationwide network of 200 ACS-accredited service partners (SPs).
It delivers mobile security, which refers to any physical security job (e.g., mobile patrols, alarm response) where typically an officer moves from one property to another on a motorbike or in a vehicle.
Because of this and the scale at which it operates, TKC’s operational travel brings a hefty carbon cost. In 2019, it was responsible for 56.93tCO2e of vehicle emissions through its London Operations service delivery team. From that point, TKC committed to understanding, reporting and mitigating these emissions with initiatives its clients, SPs and employees could get behind.
Since 2019, TKC has reduced London Operations vehicle emissions by 50%, a figure its entire organisation is proud of.
Carbon calculator
TKC’s first step was to develop a tool to monitor and report the estimated amount of carbon emitted on every job. This information is now available to clients in its platform and on every job report, helping them hit their own sustainability goals.
The added benefit is that TKC can be smarter and more analytical operationally. It can optimise its officers’ routes, aiming for fewer, shorter journeys to lower emissions and deliver faster, more efficient services.
Electric vehicle fleet
Transitioning its London Operations car fleet to electric vehicles (EVs) has been a huge focus for TKC and has proved very influential in reducing its total carbon emissions.
TKC’s London Operations car fleet is now 100% electric, and it is undergoing a large-scale project to incorporate electric motorbikes into the fleet. Its research into EVs has led to an expert understanding of a relatively new market, so it has been helping some clients with their own EV fleet changeover.
Offsetting its carbon emissions
Every year, sustainability experts Alectro conduct a carbon audit for TKC. The audit gives a total figure of TKC’s company-wide carbon emissions, so it can meticulously track and report its environmental progress. Based on this, TKC makes financial contributions to projects that positively tackle the climate crisis, offsetting its own carbon expenditure and the estimated vehicle emissions created by the jobs its SP network conducts on its behalf.
TKC wants to encourage combined ownership in its sustainability efforts, so it asked employees to vote for the projects they wanted to see supported. Four offsetting projects for 2023 were selected, focused on reforestation, renewable energy adoption, and methane capture. Because of its contributions to these projects, TKC is proudly carbon-neutral.
Supporting its supply chain
TKC wants to support its SPs with their own sustainability goals, so it made per-job vehicle emissions calculations accessible to them too, not just its clients. They now have extra data at their fingertips to help hit their carbon reduction targets (every little helps!).
Another way TKC encourages exceptional operational practices across its network is through its annual Partner Performance Awards, which recognise top performers across client services, rapid service delivery and tech adoption. But with 200 SPs spanning the UK, TKC couldn’t help but think they were likely to be driving amazing ESG initiatives that needed to be celebrated too. From this, the ESG Award was born in 2023 to make known the incredible work local companies do to serve their communities and positively impact the world around them.
The first-ever winner was Copeland Group Services, who impressed TKC with their wide-ranging ESG initiatives, from sponsoring local football teams and boxing gyms to making their own electric vehicle transition.
In recent years, TKC has made some great strides towards its net zero target and is hoping to become one of the first B-Corp certified security companies in the UK this year. Taking home the OSPA on February 22nd would be a fantastic way to kick off an exciting 2024 – wish TKC luck!
To learn more about TKC’s approach to delivering sustainable services, visit its “Our Environment” page.
