We define our core value of sustainability as the creation or enhancement of environmental, economic, and social balance, as realized through client deliverables, business activities, employee actions, and community engagement. Backed by empowered teams, we implement these principles and best practices in corporate operations and customer solutions to address environmental risk and minimize our carbon footprint.
We acknowledge the risks that climate change poses to the natural environment, human health, and economy and believe that we have a responsibility to help mitigate its effects. We have set a target to reduce our absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2025 compared to a 2019 baseline. This target was developed to be in line with the 2o scenario defined by the Paris Agreement.
We partner with property owners in our leased facilities to implement energy-saving lighting and HVAC systems. In addition, our flexible work options allow employees to work remotely on a part-time or full-time basis, which reduces the need for office space. Energy consumption in our leased facilities has decreased by 20% since 2019, in large part due to a cumulative 16% reduction in our leased office area.
We partner with property owners in our leased facilities to adopt water conserving measured wherever possible to reduce impacts of our leased office facilities. In 2021 we began a broader-based collection of water use data for our office operations to report our enterprise-wide facilities consumption rather than only for our corporate headquarters, which will continue in future years.
While our office recycling programs vary by location, we have corporate programs for recycling waste paper and office electronics in a safe and secure manner. In 2021 we recycled or repurposed 22,194 pounds of e-waste and recycled 368,275 pounds of paper waste in our North American operations.
We know that successful environmental performance must be grounded in effective policies and procedures. We continuously review and update our policies, procedures, training, and solutions to reflect best practices in the industry.
Our sustainability policy, which applies to Parsons Corporation and all our businesses and subsidiaries worldwide as well as our suppliers/vendors per our Code of Conduct, affirms our commitment to sustainability and the mitigation of climate change impacts in our client solutions and in our internal operations.
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We conduct procurement in an open and competitive manner, using fair and ethical business practices to ensure sustainable procurement, vendor management, and purchasing to enhance our supply chain. We capture environmental reporting governance and services information from our suppliers/vendors as they are added to our system.
Our Sustainability Handbook outlines procedures and processes for sustainability stewardship, describes our corporate culture of sustainability, identifies best practices, and provides guidance for internal and client sustainable solutions.