LogMeIn Inc. is announcing a new global sustainability program designed to mitigate the company’s operational impact on the environment. LogMeIn’s suite of products helps businesses stay connected in a rapidly changing world, and the sudden shift to remote work, necessitated by the pandemic, caused unprecedented spikes in LogMeIn’s product usage around the globe. The environmental benefits of this shift were also significant. LogMeIn has examined this new work paradigm and expanded its sustainability programs in order to account for all employee work options: remote, office-based, or a combination of the two.
When the pandemic hit, many organizations switched to remote work. Despite the uncertain times, there were key positive takeaways: emissions reductions and increased employee engagement. Fewer cars on the road and airplanes in the skies led to cleaner air and, often, happier and more productive employees. The perception of what is possible when it comes to working from home has changed, increasing the number of virtual meetings, redefining face-to-face interactions, and reducing travel.
“We initially started looking at our sustainability goals before anyone knew the massive impact the pandemic had on how, and where, we all work. What we quickly realized was that the acceleration in the remote work trend could have a very real and lasting positive impact on our environment and we are proud to be able to play a small role in enabling that shift,” said Bill Wagner, President and CEO, LogMeIn. “In looking at our own sustainability practices as an organization, we wanted to not only rethink where and how we use office space, and to make those spaces as environmentally friendly as possible, but also apply those same goals and best practices to our employees’ homes, where the majority of our workforce will be based moving forward. Our announcement today is the first step in bringing that vision of creating more sustainable places and practices for our people to fruition.”
As LogMeIn moves to a remote-centric work model, the company is doubling down on its commitment to sustainability by announcing several new programs focused on both corporate and home office spaces and employee engagement:
- LogMeIn will explore opportunities to participate in new renewable energy efforts while beginning to procure renewable energy certificates (RECs) with a goal of moving towards Net Zero by 2030. Starting in 2021, we will match 100% of our entire global electricity usage–including the estimated electricity usage of all employees working from home–with third party certified RECs. As the company grows, we will continue to explore new renewable energy opportunities while striving to mitigate our emissions with a goal of moving towards Net Zero by 2030.
- As the work-from-anywhere company, LogMeIn will lead by example and continue to reduce and offset all business travel emissions. Like many businesses, our work travel has been permanently altered by the pandemic. At LogMeIn, our technology will continue to replace the majority of face-to-face interactions with virtual meetings, though the company recognizes the necessity of business travel and in-person collaboration in certain situations. We take business travel emissions seriously, and will continue to procure certified carbon offsets to mitigate all emissions that we are unable to eliminate.
- LogMeIn will continue to work with secure, efficient, and remote data centers that operate sustainably. We will prioritize running operations through data centers with high energy efficiency standards, high ratings from Greenpeace, with a goal of using 100% clean and renewable energy for our global products.
- LogMeIn will complete an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) materiality assessment by the first half of 2021. This assessment will help LogMeIn identify which ESG issues we should prioritize. As part of this process, we are working with a third party, Sustainability Roundtable, Inc., to conduct confidential interviews with senior executives from across business lines and control functions.
- LogMeIn’s recent announcement of a shift to a remote-centric workforce means our employees will spend less time commuting, use less fuel, and create fewer emissions. With the new work policy, most employees will only commute to an office a few times per month for collaborative meetings. In such instances, LogMeIn has committed to purchasing certified carbon offsets to cover the resulting emissions.
- LogMeIn has launched a campaign in which all LogMeIn employees are invited to complete a personal pledge to reduce their own emissions while at home. For every pledge card completed, LogMeIn will plant five trees through the Arbor Day Foundation’s Time for Trees initiative.
- By Earth Day 2021, LogMeIn will further engage employees by expanding sustainability training and by organizing global green teams. We will launch employee sustainability training, engagement programs, and global green teams aimed at arming our more than 3,500 employees with the latest sustainability information, as well as best practices for reducing their environmental footprint not just in the office, but at home as well. This training is more important than ever, as remote-centric work has been permanently instituted at the company, and employee engagement is critical to the success of the Company’s sustainability goals.
Jim Boyle, CEO & Founder of Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. – a shared-cost industry leadership service that assists LogMeIn – remarked: “LogMeIn is well positioned to help play a catalytic role in our urgently needed transition to a Net Zero Emissions economy. LogMeIn has developed an impressive and practical program to reduce its greenhouse gas pollution and help its employees and customers do the same around the world. LogMeIn is demonstrating that businesses can, in accord with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, ‘Build Back Better’ from the Covid-19 pandemic.”
LogMeIn will also continue to invest corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds in non-profit organizations that are working towards a greener future including, but not limited to, The Ocean Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, and small grassroots organizations in our local communities.
