Allwyn Commits to Net Zero by 2030
Author:
Jacob McKenzie
Lottery operator Allwyn has committed to becoming the first net zero lottery company by the year 2030. The company, which is in the running for the fourth National Lottery license, has made a green pledge to completely eliminate its carbon emissions.
Allwyn has committed to helping tackle the climate crisis, by drastically reducing its carbon emissions.
©Harry Cunningham/Pexels
A Green Lottery
Allwyn, the UK branch of European lottery group Sazka, hopes to lead the way in becoming the world’s first carbon neutral lottery. As part of its green mission to reach net zero by 2030 or sooner, it has aligned itself with the UN Race to Zero. It has also put its commitment in writing, by signing the Planet Mark Zero Carbon Commitment.
Announcing the bold new initiative, Allwyn has set out its key steps to achieve its goal by 2030. Firstly, it hopes to reach net zero in Operations by 2030, and at new sites from day one. It also wants to achieve a net zero supply chain by 2030, or as soon as possible, with the help of its key partners.
Another step is to create an affordable renewable energy scheme for its retail partners. By 2025, Allwyn will require all of its suppliers to report on their carbon emissions, as well as share their plans to reduce them. 20% of executive remuneration will be linked to further social value commitments, including net zero.
By 2030, it aspires to achieve zero waste to landfill and remove all single use plastic from its supply chain, which currently adds up to more than a billion items every year. It will switch to obtaining all of its paper from 100% FSC certified sources and all Allwyn vehicles will produce zero emissions.
Chairman of Allwyn, Sir Keith Mills has explained why it is so important that the lottery company does its bit to fight climate change and ensure a greener future. According to Mills:
“Combatting climate change is the issue of our generation. Every human activity creates carbon emissions – even buying a lottery ticket. Addressing that, achieving net zero, is not someone else’s problem, it is everyone’s responsibility. Business has a vital role to play.”
Cutting Carbon Emissions
CEO of Allwyn David Craven also commented on the importance of corporate responsibility when it comes to environmental issues. Allwyn hopes to lead the way in transforming the lottery into a greener sector. Craven also expressed hopes that Allwyn would be able to share its findings with other lottery operators around the world, to help them go greener too. The National Lottery recently awarded £20 million to community projects tackling climate change.
Allwyn has aligned itself with the UN Race to Zero and Planet Mark to help it achieve its ambitious vision. Race to Zero is a global campaign backed by the United Nations, which works to rally non-state actors, like companies, cities and institutions, to reduce global emissions.
Race to Zero is striving to halve global emissions by 2030, by working with members to reduce their emissions in line with the Paris agreement. By offering action plans and considered targets, it is making it easier and fairer for parties to reduce their emissions on a rapid timescale.
The campaign is led by Nigel Topping and Gonzalo Muñoz, both high-level climate champions for Climate Action. It also encourages members to join the Climate Ambition Alliance, which was launched by the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, at the 2019 UNSG Climate Action Summit.
Planet Mark, whose Carbon Commitment Allwyn has signed, is a sustainability certification open to every kind of organization. It recognizes continuous achievement and encourages signees to take action to protect the planet.
Through measuring the carbon and social data of companies, Planet Mark helps them to lessen their environmental footprint, while fostering a community of like-minded businesses to make a positive difference. Steve Malkin, founder and CEO of Planet Mark, thanked Allwyn for committing to net zero emissions, adding:
“No matter what stage a business is at on its net zero journey, from setting a baseline, to a target, to creating the action plan needed to get there, Planet Mark is here to support all the way and we’re looking forward to supporting Allwyn on that journey.”
Sazka Takes On UK
Allwyn is the recently set up UK branch of the Sazka Group, Europe’s biggest lottery operator. Through Allwyn, Sazka is now seeking to secure its foothold in the UK lottery market. Allwyn has thrown its hat into the ring for the competition for the fourth National Lottery license.
The current license, held by Camelot, is due to expire in 2023 and the Gambling Commission is running a competition to choose the next license-holder. The Gambling Commission will also regulate the next license. The competition was launched in August 2020, and the first phase of applications were received in April 2021. Phase two of the selection process then began in July 2021.
So far Camelot has successfully fought off all the competition, having been awarded all three licenses since the launch of the National Lottery in 1994. It is hoping to hold on to its title as National Lottery license holder, but it will face some stiff competition. As well as Allwyn, Italian operator Sisal is bidding for the license.
Richard Desmond, the publishing mogul and former pornographer responsible for the Health Lottery, has also submitted a bid for consideration. Amongst those that have withdrawn their intention to bid are Richard Branson, who has previously bid for the lottery, and Indian lottery operator Sugal & Damani.
Bidders have already announced a number of partnerships to help boost their profiles in the competition. Sisal has partnered with children’s charity Barnardo’s and BT, while Allwyn has enlisted the support of Vodafone. Allwyn has also set up a highly qualified advisory board, featuring some of the UK’s top entrepreneurs, business people and academics.
Sazka, the operator behind Allwyn, runs lotteries in Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece and Italy. Apollo Global Management, which recently tried to purchase William Hill but lost out to Caesars Entertainment, is backing Sazka’s global expansion.
