3.1 Monitor for direct GHG leaks –Monitor processes to identify and prevent potential for greenhouse gas leaks (e.g. CFCs, HFCs etc.). –When addressing direct, non-power GHG emissions, companies can first assess existing operations. Monitoring ensures that action can be targeted. –Processes that use high-GWP (global warming potential) refrigerants or gases (e.g. CF4, NF3)87 deserve extra consideration. –For identified leaks or inefficiencies, immediate action limits the risk of contamination and improves operations, whether sealing a leak, optimizing a process to more efficiently use a gas, or upgrading to more efficient equipment. –Energy and associated emissions are covered in more detail under Action 5. 3.2 Utilize gas scrubbers –Utilize gas scrubbers to capture waste gases and prevent emissions. Once operations are optimized to avoid as many emissions as possible, facilities can then look to reduction through scrubbers. –Other actions typically require more significant overhauls of processes, which require longer timelines to implement. –There are several options for abatement, including point-of-use (applied to a targeted point in a process), point-of-area (applied to a section or across a process) and central abatement systems (applied across the entire facility). Which system to use depends on company- and facility-specific factors, with each having trade-offs on cost, operational impact and efficiency.88 Example: Samsung uses its Regenerative Catalytic System (RCS) to handle process gases. The RCS can use less fuel and still lower emissions because it operates at a lower temperature than many, enabling up to 95% processing efficiency.893.3 Design to lower embodied carbon –Design products with the goal of reducing embodied carbon through minimizing material inputs, such as reducing the quantity of plastic used. This action addresses indirect, embodied GHG emissions. –Companies can seek to reduce the volume of material used and/or to use inputs with lower nature impacts, such as reusable packaging or recycled material. They can also request product carbon footprints. Example: IBM established a Design for the Environment programme that guides its business organizations and includes an objective to minimize resource use and select environmentally preferred materials.90 3.4 Invest in carbon credits –Invest in high-quality, verified carbon offset and removal credits to account for any remaining emissions, considering biodiversity and other co-benefits. –Carbon credits are typically divided between offsets, which compensate for emissions by preventing them elsewhere, and removals, which compensate for emissions by removing a set amount from the atmosphere. Carbon removals are often more highly regarded as a direct, traceable solution that physically reduces GHGs in the atmosphere. –Critical concepts when assessing carbon credits include additionality, where emission reductions/ removals tied to the project would not have occurred without the revenue generated from selling the credit, and permanence – the timeframe for the durability of the emissions reduction or removal. Example: Some companies may even consider purchasing additional credits to account for past emissions and work towards becoming a “carbon negative” company since inception, as Microsoft has committed to do by 2030.91 Action 6 on supply chain engagement includes additional relevant priority actions, emphasizing the importance of working with suppliers to utilize gases with lower GWP where possible. Microsoft has committed to purchasing additional credits to account for past emissions and work towards becoming a ‘carbon negative’ company since inception, by 2030. Nature Positive: Role of the Technology Sector 35

Nature Positive Role of the Technology Sector 2025