The understanding of what the UK government’s mandated target of seeing the entire economy hit Net Zero by 2050 has wandered a lot over the last few years. There’s a general view that decarbonising your organisation means addressing all emissions. This is not the case and it never was, but this belief is common and is harming sustainability efforts, preventing many companies from even attempting the journey towards Net Zero.
A quick reality check
“To hit Net Zero we’re going to replace hydrocarbon based fuels with renewables by 2050” – No One, ever.
We’re not and the government know it. Though this is a forgivable assumption when thinking about Net Zero 2050. The reality is the global demand for energy, let alone materials from within the value chain, increases constantly unless there is an economic crash or pandemic lockdown which crashes economic output. Renewables are PART of the solution not the whole.
Despite being a Net Zero / Sustainability advocate who sees that journey as a necessary one, imagining that we’ll replace all hydrocarbon based fuels globally by 2050 is a clear fantasy. We may achieve it in the UK, but again I believe this is largely wishful thinking without some massive government push that will likely impede economic growth, increase the cost of energy to unsustainable levels or introduce energy insecurity. But, back to the topic of this post and keep the above in mind.
Net Zero v Absolute Zero
What’s the difference and how will clarification help enable commitment to the journey?
Net Zero – emissions are reduced as much as possible, and any residual emissions are offset through carbon removal methods, such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), afforestation, or direct air capture.
Absolute Zero – emissions means eliminating all Green House Gas (GHG) emissions from our activities without relying on offsets or carbon removals. It requires completely phasing out all emission sources from all sources across all sectors. No fossil fuels, no methane from agriculture, no nitrous oxide from fertilizers, etc.
One is a tenable approach, the other is a pipedream, nationally or globally. Net Zero is the correct choice, but what does it mean in practice?
80% Reductions, 20% Offset
(It was inevitable that at some point Pareto would enter the conversation.) The Net Zero goal was set out within the ‘Climate Change Act 2008’, and committed the UK to achieving Net Zero GHG emissions by 2050. The Climate Change Committee (CCC), an independent, statutory body established under the Climate Change Act (2008) and who advise the government on policy and strategy, projects that by 2050, emissions will be reduced by 80–90% compared to 1990 levels (the baseline year), with the remaining 10-20% offset through removals.
Read that again in context of what you may have thought you were trying to achieve with Net Zero – it’s the reason why I tell clients the goal is 80% reduction in emissions as a realistic target. The CCC are advising the government the UK should decarbonise 80% and offset 20%. Absolute Zero is not the goal for the UK and it’s not the primary goal for your organisation either. 81% to 100% decarbonisation or even beyond to addressing historic emissions is for the rare few. Do not get distracted by this at the current time, the opportunity cost is too high.
Your Net Zero Journey
With this in mind the goal of achieving Net Zero is clearly much more attainable. Your Scope 1 (Direct Emissions) and Scope 2 (Indirect Emissions) are energy oriented emissions and will give you a big start in reducing emissions generally. This is also where looking at SECR and ESOS comes in.
It’s Scope 3 (Value Chain) that will deliver the bulk of your reductions but that will also be the source of challenge in getting past that 80% reduction target. You will need to collaborate with suppliers and service providers to reduce emissions within your value chain. The key start point is to understand where you are in terms of total emissions, that’s why an audit of Scope 3 emissions as part of Data Collection is a critical next step.
Data, clarity over emissions sources and scale will allow you to develop a pragmatic strategy and transformation approach that will take you confidently and swiftly towards 80% reductions.
As you gather your data and build your carbon accounting methodology you can then start to address your emissions Categories across your operations and out to your supplier network to lock-in those emissions and clarify how to address the remaining 20% – it’s work, but it’s achievable.
Mark.
