Net Zero – Where are we? What’s the opportunity? What we are now seeing in the U.K. market is that the U.K. Government, large institutions such as the NHS, and large corporations such as FTSE 1000 companies, have set ambitious Net Zero targets which then requires their supply chain to decarbonise at the same pace. This means that many larger B2B companies have now also - as a result of pressure from their customers - published their targets to reach net zero by a certain date with milestones along the way. Which is great news for the environment. But. Many of these same companies are now struggling to deliver against their external Net Zero targets. It is easy to fail if things are not set up well on day one. This means that there is currently an opportunity available to companies that embrace carbon reduction as a core part of their vision and strategy – this can set you apart from your competition for years to come, for example when submitting tenders. Having worked with 100s of medium & large companies in many sectors it is clear that there are some key things every medium & large company needs to do to actually become a Net Zero company in the future. Six of the main ones are below, although there are more: 1. Before you publish any targets in the public domain, do the groundwork Measure your baseline carbon footprint and develop a realistic carbon reduction plan that at least provides a realistic path to halve your emissions by 2030. 2. Set up a day long facilitated workshop with the leadership team, focussed on the vision and strategy of the company: For an organisation to become a Net Zero company in the future the ethos of the whole organisation must change. The outcome of the workshop needs to be agreement that becoming Net Zero is part of the overall vision for the company and forms a key strategic pillar for the company (either on its own or as part of a wider ESG strategic pillar). The exact wording is dependent on the culture that the company wants to have and will likely require follow on workshops. The whole Exec team needs to be bought into this and ultimately their job descriptions and targets needs to include delivery against specific Net Zero objectives and KPIs. 3. Set up a Programme of work & budget Delivering Net Zero needs to be thought of in the same way as delivering any other large-scale change into an organisation. It will impact every department in your company. Therefore, a rolling programme of work needs to be put in place, with the usual associated programme governance.
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4. Set key strategic themes your company will adhere to Many companies fall into the trap of starting lots of little initiatives in year 1. While there are often quick wins you can get going on, at Go Green Experts we help our clients set their strategic themes first, from which individual initiatives then flow. For example, a key strategic theme we recommend to nearly every client is “Electrify Everything”. The UK Electricit grid is supposed to be zero carbon by 2035 (although 2040 may be more likely given current progress on infrastructure roll out).
6. Seek out solutions externally Normally there are some quick wins you can adopt straight away to get going, but in years 2 onwards of your Net Zero programme you are likely going to need some external advice and potentially partner with different organisations that also put Net Zero at the heart of their company ethos. There is more to it than this, but hopefully this gives you a flavour of how succeed on your Net Zero journey. Good luck! Please feel free to get in touch if you want to talk further about Net Zero, we are to help. dlavelle@gogreenexperts.co.uk
So, if a company can convert all its energy use away from gas, oil, petrol and diesel and towards electricity then, in future all that energy use will be zero carbon. Having strategic themes helps you ensure individual initiatives work well together, and it also makes explaining the Net Zero strategy to employees a lot easier. 5. Hearts & Minds: Engage your employees regularly & get them involved There is currently a good FREE employee training course available for our West Midlands based clients you may find useful. This can be a great first step for employee education and engagement.
Dominic Lavelle Managing Director, Go Green Experts Ltd
hwchamber.co.uk
