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Carbon Reduction Plan

UpHill, S.A. Publication date: February 2026 · Prepared in line with PPN 06/21 and the associated reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans.

Duarte Sequeira

July 20, 2022 · 3 min de leitura

1. Commitment to achieving Net Zero

UpHill is committed to achieving Net Zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its operations by 2045, aligning with the ambition of the NHS to become the world's first Net Zero national health service. As a provider of MDR-certified, cloud-based clinical software, our own operational footprint is comparatively small, and we take an active role in helping the health systems we serve deliver lower-carbon care — our digital pathways and triage reduce avoidable in-person appointments and the associated patient and staff travel. We are committed to measuring, reducing and transparently reporting our emissions each year.

2. Baseline emissions footprint

Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases emitted before the introduction of any strategies to reduce them. The baseline enables all future emissions to be compared against a consistent reference point.
Baseline year: 1 January – 31 December 2024
Methodology: emissions were quantified in line with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. Scope 2 is reported on a location-based basis using the Portuguese national grid emission factor. Scope 3 was estimated from business-travel expense records, cloud-provider carbon reports, and spend-based factors for purchased goods and services. UpHill operates from leased office space (Covilhã and Lisbon) with no owned vehicle fleet and a remote-first working model.
Basis of estimate (key assumptions, 2024).
  • ~75 full-time employees; remote-first with hybrid office attendance (~2 days/week).
  • Two leased offices (Covilhã HQ, Lisbon), ~50 MWh combined electricity, Portuguese grid factor (~0.18 kgCO₂e/kWh) → Scope 2 ~9 tCO₂e.
  • Scope 1 limited to air-conditioning refrigerant top-ups (~1.5 tCO₂e); no fleet or on-site fuel combustion.
  • Business travel: ~90 mostly short-haul European trips (PT–ES–UK–DE) plus rail → ~42 tCO₂e.
  • Cloud hosting from major providers on renewable commitments → ~12 tCO₂e (location-based).
  • Purchased goods & services (software, IT equipment, professional services) estimated on a spend basis → ~46 tCO₂e.

3. Current emissions reporting

Reporting year: 1 January – 31 December 2025
Total emissions fell by approximately 6% against the baseline, driven by a shift towards renewable-backed office electricity, continued remote-first working, and a lower-carbon travel policy — achieved while the business grew its headcount and customer base.

4. Emissions reduction targets

To continue our progress towards Net Zero, UpHill has adopted the following science-aligned targets, measured against the 2024 baseline:
  • Reduce total GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 (to approximately 64 tCO₂e).
  • Achieve Net Zero across all scopes by 2045, with residual emissions addressed through certified removals.
  • Source 100% renewable electricity for all UpHill offices by 2027.
  • Maintain cloud hosting exclusively with providers committed to Net Zero and matched to renewable energy.

5. Carbon reduction projects

Completed and in-progress measures

As a software business, digital-first delivery is central to our low-carbon model. The following measures have been completed or are in place:
  • Cloud-native, digital delivery. Our platform is delivered as software-as-a-service, avoiding physical hardware shipments and enabling fully remote implementation, training and support.
  • Low-carbon cloud hosting with major providers operating on renewable-energy commitments and high data-centre efficiency.
  • Remote-first and hybrid working, substantially reducing commuting and office-energy demand.
  • Lower-carbon travel practices — remote demonstrations, virtual onboarding and a preference for rail over short-haul air.
  • Paperless, digital-by-default operations across the business.
  • Enabling avoided emissions in healthcare — digital triage and clinical pathways reduce avoidable in-person appointments and the patient and staff travel they generate.

Planned measures

  • Complete an independently reviewed baseline across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 and report annually.
  • Move all remaining office energy to certified renewable tariffs by 2027.
  • Formalise a low-carbon travel and procurement policy, including supplier carbon criteria.
  • Engage key suppliers to adopt their own carbon-reduction commitments.

6. Declaration and sign off

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 06/21 and the associated guidance and reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans. Reported emissions have been calculated in line with the published reporting standard and the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.
This Carbon Reduction Plan has been reviewed and signed off by the management body of UpHill, S.A.
 

Duarte Sequeira

COO & Co-founder

Duarte has an integrated Master's Degree in Medicine, whose thesis dissertation covered the area of medical informatics and management, giving rise to the first pilot version of UpHill Simulate software. In his academic background he also has a postgraduate degree in Information Management and Business Intelligence in Healthcare. His professional career focused on Digital Health, with the management of several projects in the area of Health IT, and on components of interoperability and business intelligence, with his multi-year collaboration with the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health, EPE. He is also an invited assistant at University of Beira Interior and is currently a PhD student in Information Science and Technology.

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