Our environment

Xero’s environmental sustainability objectives

Building on our efforts and achievements to date, we will continue to positively contribute to environmental sustainability. Our objectives are to:

• reduce electricity consumption in buildings
• reduce waste and increase recycling
• evaluate our greenhouse gas emissions footprint
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging alternative modes of transport for employees
• minimise carbon intensive travel options like air travel, and encourage video and teleconference style meetings
• enhance procurement processes so that environmental impacts are a key consideration when engaging with our supply chain (e.g. minimising the carbon impact of transportation)

Net Zero @ Xero

Xero's environmental sustainability program, Net Zero @ Xero, represents our journey towards net-zero* carbon emissions by 2050.

Xero has offset 100% of its carbon emissions since FY19 and has been certified carbon neutral by the Australian Government’s Climate Active program since FY20.

Xero has set the following emissions reduction targets in line with climate science:

• 42% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions from FY20 by FY30
• 17% reduction in Scope 3 emissions from FY20 by FY30
• Net-zero* emissions no later than FY50

*Emissions reduced to a point where fewer than 10 percent of total emissions require abatement through offsets as defined by the Science Based Targets initiative Net-Zero guidance.

Xero will work towards achieving these targets by focusing on the areas of increased renewable energy uptake, being more strategic about business travel, and switching to more sustainable catering wherever possible.

More information about Xero’s carbon disclosure, emission reduction plans, and the projects selected to offset our emissions, are on the Climate Active website.

Xero's emissions data is available in the Xero Databook – Financial year 2024 (XLSX)

Download Xero’s FY24 Climate Appendix (PDF)

Download Xero's FY23 Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Statement (PDF)

Download Xero's FY22 TCFD Statement (PDF)

Read more in the Xero blog

• The next step in our journey towards net-zero
• Xero certified carbon neutral
• Net Zero @ Xero: Supporting conversation, biodiversity and and clean energy generation
• Announcing Net Zero @ Xero

Electricity consumption

Clean green office spaces

We continue to implement initiatives aimed at reducing our electricity consumption, such as ‘switch it off’ signage; sensor and timer lighting; extensive use of LED lighting in all offices; working with air conditioning engineers and landlords to improve the efficiency of systems; and automating switching off of AV equipment.

Xero is also compliant with the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme in the United Kingdom. Our London office runs on renewable energy and is certified carbon neutral.

Read more

• Inside Xero’s plush new Melbourne HQ
• First look inside Xero's trendy Auckland headquarters
• Heritage building reinvented as modern business premises
• Inside Xero’s new Wellington HQ

Data centre storage

Xero uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) as our cloud services platform partner.

AWS is committed to running its business in the most environmentally friendly way possible and achieving 100% renewable energy usage for its global infrastructure by 2025. We're also working with AWS to determine how we can optimise infrastructure utilisation.

Read more about AWS and sustainability

Office recycling

We are continually improving our recycling methods.

We already:

• recycle paper, glass, hard plastic, aluminium and tin cans and cardboard
• undertake composting where these services are available in leased offices
• have eliminated the use of bottled water in all offices
• endeavour to source all paper for printing from FSC/PEFC sources
• use paper hand towels and toilet paper from recycled FSC/PEFC sources where we have direct control of supplies
• procure recycling services for printer toner cartridges, batteries and electronic waste
• return leased IT equipment (principally laptops) at the end of its life
• recycle non-leased IT equipment (printers, screens etc) where possible via certified e-waste companies

As part of our Net Zero @ Xero program, our initiatives and employee commitment to waste minimisation and recycling saw Xero achieve a 52.7% diversion of waste from landfill in FY24*.

* FY24 waste diversion and recycling has been calculated using an extrapolation of activity data from the 10 months of the financial year (1 April to 31 January). This number will be amended in the FY25 Annual Report using the full financial year activity data.

Read more

How to reduce single-use plastic in your day

Responsible supply chain

Sustainable sourcing

To maximise our impact through our supply chain, we’re continually looking at ways to make more sustainable purchasing decisions in our everyday work.

Some of the other ways in which we are making improvements through more sustainable decisions include:

• Since 2019, our Annual Reports are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accredited and are printed with vegetable inks.
• Our major vendor, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is committed to running its business in the most environmentally friendly way possible and achieving 100% renewable energy usage for its global infrastructure by 2025. We're also working with AWS to determine how we can optimise infrastructure utilisation.
• Since 2019, we’ve used ethically sourced organic cotton for our staff t-shirts.

Office buildings

We provide end-of-trip facilities, including secure bike parking, showers, and well-equipped changing rooms in all our newer buildings to better support alternative modes of transport. Charging points for electric vehicles are also available.

Where possible we aim for our office spaces to be Green Star, LEED, BREEAM or NABERS certified.

• In March 2022 we opened our new 7,580m2 Australian headquarters building in Melbourne, which was designed with sustainability in mind. It’s our largest office building and has more than 220 solar panels, a rainwater harvesting system, and 10 electric vehicle charging stations. The office was built to meet NABERS 4.5* standards.
• The Wellington building which opened in 2017 is our second largest office at 6,804m2. It has a NABERS rating of 4.5 stars.
• The Auckland office has a 5* Green Star rating (6,800m2, our third largest office).
• Our Napier office has solar panels.
• The Denver office is LEED Platinum rated (2,786m2, our fifth largest office) and includes solar panels.
• Our Toronto office is BOMA gold-rated.
• Our Brisbane office has a NABERS rating of 3 stars.
• Canberra office has a NABERS rating of 4.5 stars.

Supporting sustainable small business

Part of managing our sustainability at Xero is supporting small businesses to become more sustainable and helping them operate in socially and environmentally responsible ways.

Of the small businesses surveyed by Xero, 68% told us they wanted to become more sustainable but needed help achieving this. Xero’s small business sustainability hub includes helpful information and resources from across the globe to help our small business customers and partners to achieve their sustainability goals.

Several of our Xero app partners are also helping small businesses operate more sustainably. They offer a range of capabilities such as carbon measurement and management. Learn more at the Xero App Store.

We’re committed to connecting our customers with the most relevant, scalable resources and support models to help them operate in an environmentally conscious way.

More information

Xero's Annual Report 2024 outlines our performance for the year to 31 March 2024 and also includes details of our work in sustainability, and our latest gender diversity figures.

Xero Annual Report 2024 (PDF)

If you need more information, please email sustainability@xero.com