In a Jan. 15 Forbes article, Magnus Ahlqvist, President & CEO of Sweden-based Securitas AB, emphasized that sustainability is not just a corporate initiative but a foundational strategy for progress. He highlighted how businesses must integrate sustainability into their core operations to ensure long-term growth while balancing innovation with environmental responsibility.
As the world inches toward the Fifth Industrial Revolution – a phase characterized by a more collaborative relationship between humans and machines – Ahlqvist sees 2025 as a pivotal time for companies to reassess their impact and chart a course toward a more sustainable future.
From its Uniontown, Ohio headquarters and across North America, security integration services giant Securitas Technology, a division of Securitas AB, has taken Ahlqvist’s vision to heart by launching what it calls a “Sustainability Initiative.”
Officially launched at GSX 2024 in Orlando, the program integrates sustainability into the very fabric of its security offerings, ensuring that businesses enhance safety while at the same time reducing their carbon footprint.
“Building a more sustainable future requires a collective effort, and our clients are increasingly prioritizing sustainability,” Securitas Technology Global President and CEO Tony Byerly explains. “As the world’s second-largest commercial electronic security company, we take our leadership role in shaping a more sustainable future seriously, and this is just the beginning of our journey.”
Step One: Measuring and Reducing Emissions
One of the most significant aspects of the company’s sustainability initiative is integrating greenhouse gas emissions data into all client proposals. Securitas’s strategic partners – which include many of the world’s top security manufacturers and innovators – have agreed to help the company develop emissions data for client proposals.
“We are proud to lead the industry toward greater environmental responsibility, working alongside our dedicated technology partners who have provided critical data for this initiative,” Byerly says. “By equipping clients with precise emissions data related to the power consumption of our solutions, we enable them to make informed decisions that enhance security while minimizing environmental impact.”
This initial aspect of the program was gleaned from rigorous data analysis stemming from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a global organization that helps companies set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets in line with the latest climate science as outlined in the Paris Agreement.
“We started this journey [in 2023] when we committed to the [SBTi], becoming the first security company to do so,” explains Julieta Verrier, the company’s Global Chief Marketing Officer. “After analyzing emissions globally, we found that 70% of the CO₂ footprint came from product use – cameras, access control systems, and other hardware that consumes power 24/7.”
In collaboration with strategic partners such as Axis Communications and Genetec, Securitas attempted to compile emissions data for every security device in its portfolio. Moving forward, all sales proposals will include a sustainability summary detailing each product’s power consumption and CO₂ emissions.
“This isn’t just about corporate responsibility,” Verrier says. “Three-quarters of decision-makers in electronic security have expressed interest in sustainability, and we are providing them with the tools to act on it.”
Beyond client-facing initiatives, Securitas Technology has fully embedded sustainability into its corporate culture. “This is not just a sales initiative – it is a total cultural shift,” Verrier notes. “Our employees are fully on board, and our client advisory board has given overwhelmingly positive feedback. Clients are even suggesting new ways to expand this initiative.”
Technology in Action
A full company sustainability initiative also means looking at internal processes. “We are looking beyond security devices – we are considering sustainable clothing for our technicians, optimizing travel routes to reduce vehicle emissions, and expanding our cloud-based services to minimize on-site visits,” says Michael Beattie, the company’s Global CIO. “Sustainability is a core part of our operational model.”
Both internally and externally, sustainability at Securitas goes beyond simply tracking emissions. The company is leveraging technology to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact, including increased use of remote monitoring, AI-powered analytics, and cloud-based access control systems, which all help clients cut energy consumption and reduce unnecessary travel.
“One of the big things we’re doing is transitioning to digital tools and management platforms that help our clients monitor and optimize their security operations more efficiently,” Beattie says. “Cloud-based security services, for instance, eliminate the need for frequent on-site visits, reducing travel emissions. We also provide clients with data-driven insights that help them align their own sustainability goals with their security infrastructure.”
As an example, Beattie cites occupancy insights, which help clients optimize heating and lighting, reducing wasted energy. He says mobile credentials eliminate plastic keycards, and video storage technology is evolving to use motion-sensing triggers rather than recording continuously. “All these steps add up to meaningful reductions in environmental impact,” Beattie says.
Securitas has also introduced a new review framework to assess a product’s sustainability at the product development level before bringing it to market.
“We are operationalizing sustainability,” Beattie explains. “We have built emissions data tracking into our systems so clients can access this information in real-time. The goal is to make sustainability not just a slogan but a measurable, actionable component of our business.”
The Business Case for Sustainability
While a corporate goal like sustainability is rooted in taking a leadership role in environmental responsibility, it is also a potential driver of new business.
“Clients, particularly those in leadership roles within their industries, are asking whether their vendors have a sustainability program,” says Ashwin Kataria, SVP of Performance Excellence at Securitas Technology. “This is becoming a critical factor in vendor selection. Companies that don’t prioritize sustainability risk losing business.”
Kataria further explained that Securitas Technology is taking sustainability a step further by offering clients alternative solutions designed with lower carbon footprints. “For those clients who specifically seek more sustainable systems, we provide recommendations that align with their environmental goals. As sustainability becomes central to decision-making, viable options are key to staying competitive in this industry.”
Securitas Technology’s initiative also includes an interactive emissions calculator that translates CO₂ savings into real-world impact. “We can show a client how many acres of forest would need to be preserved to offset a company’s emissions, or how much waste would need to be diverted from landfills,” Verrier explains. “It makes the data tangible and understandable.”
Kataria emphasizes the importance of educating clients with integrated tools to help them quantify and visualize their sustainability efforts. “Part of our mission is to ensure that our clients understand the sustainability impact of their choices,” he says. “If we simply provide them with the numbers but don’t help them interpret what those numbers mean in a broader environmental context, then we’re not fully supporting them.”
A Sustainable Future for Security?
As Ahlqvist emphasized in his Forbes article, sustainability must be an integrated strategy, not a standalone initiative, and Beattie believes this initiative will drive further innovation.
“We were surprised when we saw that 70% of emissions came from security device usage,” Beattie says. “It was a wake-up call, and we will see manufacturers innovate in response by developing more energy-efficient cameras, sensors, and analytics solutions. This is just the beginning.”
Verrier also notes that the company’s commitment to sustainability has become a differentiator in the recruiting arena, where the initiative has tangibly helped attract and retain employees at all levels. “Employees today want to work for organizations with a sense of purpose,” she says. “Our sustainability efforts have become an important part of our employee value proposition. People want to contribute to meaningful change, and we allow them to do that at our company.”
As ISC West approaches, Securitas Technology is poised to continue to showcase security solutions alongside a roadmap for a greener, more responsible industry. In an era where sustainability is slowly becoming an essential business metric, the company is proving that security and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand.
