About Us

People & Planet

Aether’s impact

At Aether we are continually striving to minimise our own impact on the environment, maximise environmental improvement and support global social wellbeing, equity, diversity and inclusion. We regularly reflect and review our policies and our effects on people and planet, internally and externally, locally and globally.

Environmental management system

Aether has a rigorous environmental management system (EMS) with the aim of increasing employee awareness and engagement, reducing our carbon footprint, and offsetting our emissions where we cannot minimise our impact. We have an Environmental Champion who calculates, analyses, and disseminates our carbon footprint, and sets actions within the company to reduce our emissions.

Aether is committed to providing a quality service in a manner that ensures a safe and healthy workplace for our employees and minimises our potential impact on the environment. We will operate in compliance with all relevant environmental legislation and we will strive to use pollution prevention and environmental best practices in all we do.

Aether is a certified carbon neutral company, annually offsetting emissions from the work space, national/international travel, and commuting, which are calculated using a tool that meets the criteria set by the Quality Assurance Scheme. Due to the nature of our work, we recognise that our main environmental impacts originate from business travel, resulting in emissions to air. To address this, we have committed to funding any additional costs incurred from choosing low carbon travel modes within Europe. It is our aim to continue to reduce the environmental impacts of our business and operate in an environmentally responsible manner.

Aether’s latest carbon action plan is available here

SME Climate Hub

In 2021 Aether joined the SME Climate Hub, an initiative founded by the International Chamber of Commerce, the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the We Mean Business coalition and the UNFCCC Race to Zero campaign. The aim is to support small and medium-sized businesses to build business resilience. We have signed the SME Climate Commitment, therefore committing to halve our greenhouse gas emissions before 2030, achieve net zero emissions before 2050 and disclose progress on a yearly basis. These targets include scope 1 and scope 2 emissions and a limit on offsetting of up to 10% of base year emissions. In the meantime, we will continue to offset residual emissions as we make efforts to reduce our total GHG emissions, to operate as a carbon neutral company.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Aether is committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and promoting a culture that actively values difference and recognises that people from different backgrounds and experiences can bring valuable insights to the workplace and enhance the way we work. Aether aims to be an inclusive organisation, committed to providing equal opportunities throughout employment including in the recruitment, training and development of employees, and to pro-actively tackling and eliminating discrimination.

At Aether, we understand a diverse workforce fosters a resilient working environment and we are always exploring how we can make Aether a more inclusive place to work. We have an annual EDI budget set aside to spend on receiving external training, reviewing and improving internal processes, and taking part in initiatives that align with our values. As part of our ongoing initiatives, Aether is proud to be a disability confident committed organisation (Level 1) and we are currently working towards gaining our Level 2 certification.

Carbon Footprint

Offsetting

We offset the following carbon emissions :

Work space energy use
National travel
International travel
Staff commuting

These emissions were most recently offset through Climate Impact Partners portfolio. Climate Impact Partners helps organisations build carbon offsetting programmes that deliver real impact. Their projects meet the international standards, including the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Gold Standard, American Carbon Registry (ACR), and the UK Woodland Carbon Code. As a founding member of the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) and a Board Member of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), they play a key role in shaping the voluntary carbon market. Their commitment to quality and accountability has been pivotal in defining what constitutes a credible carbon offset. By advocating for rigorous standards, they continue to lead the charge for meaningful climate action.

Our sustainability policy statement can be downloaded here

Testimonial

Don't just take our word for it...

“ The Aether team were a joy to work with and I would recommend the consultancy - the service provided throughout the process was exceptional. Where there were problems, they provided solutions. The team were working to very short time scales but were able to deliver a high quality piece of work within the specified time frame. ”

Sefton Council – for the Merseyside Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

“ Engaging Aether to support us to develop the first GHG Inventory System and first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for the United Republic of Tanzania has been a rewarding experience due to their high level of professionalism, creativity, timeliness and value for money. We will definitely consider Aether in our future initiatives. ”

Abbas Kitogo, Programme Specialist Energy and Climate Change, UNDP Tanzania

“ It is always an absolute pleasure working with Aether. I always know what is expected of me. Their work ethic is of a very high standard and projects are always handled in a very professional manner. I have learnt many skills in terms of project management, quality control and workshop training styles from Aether and I hope to carry these principles forward in my own work. I look forward to collaborating with Aether more in the future. ”

Luanne Stevens, Gondwana

“ Both the face-to-face training and the online version have been of high quality, with dynamic methods and a practical orientation that have allowed students to reach a solid knowledge base. The products have been delivered within the stipulated deadlines with an excellent quality and the team has always shown willingness to make adjustments according to the requirements of CONAF. We are very satisfied with the work. ”

Javier Cano Martín, Professional Unit for Climate Change and Environmental Services, CONAF (National Forestry Corporation), Chile

“ We have been collaborating with Aether for several years, and our projects have greatly benefited from it. Aether staff are very knowledgeable, professional and flexible - and last but not least, very friendly and a pleasure to work with. ”

Umhverfisstofnun, Environment Agency of Iceland

“ It has been a pleasure to work with Chris Dore and Richard Claxton from Aether: they did their job in a very professional and timely manner. The workshop was organized and carried out in a cooperative spirit; the information provided to the workshop participants was complete and clear. ”

Alina Novikova, UN/ECE Secretariat