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CO2 Reduction: How Companies can Reach Net-Zero

CO2 Reduction: How Companies can Reach Net-Zero

This month marks a total of 1245 companies signed up to CO2 reduction targets through criteria produced by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi.) 427 corporations have committed to 1.5°C scenarios.‍

On the other hand, reaching net-zero is a lofty goal for many corporations that requires a truly organization-wide effort through robust decarbonizing operations in order to achieve CO2 reduction goals. So what tangible and meaningful actions can corporations take now to inch closer to reaching net-zero?

From setting meaningful baselines, and setting a robust internal carbon price, to joining a transformative science-based initiative, here are five actions that companies take to reach net-zero from the GHG emissions management experts at SINAI.

Net-zero vs. carbon neutral

Net-zero (short for net-zero emissions) means that a company or individual achieves a balance between the greenhouse gases they put into the atmosphere and those they take out.

Imagine you have an empty sink. You can turn the taps on to add water and pull the plug to allow water to flow out. The amount of water in your sink depends on how much water you allow to run through the taps and how much to let out through the plughole. To keep the amount of water in the sink at the same level, you need to ensure that the input and output remain balanced.‍

Reaching net-zero follows the same principle, requiring companies to balance the number of greenhouse gases they emit with the amount they remove. ‍

When what we add to the atmosphere is no more than what we take away, we reach net-zero. Reaching net-zero is also referred to as carbon neutral. Zero emissions and zero carbon are somewhat different, as the latter usually means that no emissions have been produced in the first place.‍

Five actions that help companies reach net-zero ‍

1. Establish Emissions Baselines

Baseline definitions are a snapshot of your company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a specific moment in time.  Building emissions baselines make it a lot easier to view and analyze historical emissions. Additionally, they’ll help your organization grasp future trajectories and serve as a reference point to evaluate decarbonization projects and business decisions.

Finally, defining your baseline carbon will assist in peer benchmarking and is an integral part of many climate risk disclosure frameworks for reporting.

2. Assess mitigation and adaptation options 

Our second suggested action to take is to organize and compare emissions reduction opportunities that exist in your corporation and connected supply chain. ‍

This will help you compare and contrast marginal abatement costs of mitigation options across your multiple business units while helping your company identify the most cost-effective opportunities for adaptation.

It’s possible to generate automatic Marginal Abatement Cost Curves (MAC Curves) and Levelized Cost Curves that are accessible and user-friendly to help you analyze emissions reductions costs, quickly and easily.

3. Align with the Paris Agreement 

Consider aligning your CO2 reduction targets with the goals of the Paris Agreement by striving for net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.‍

Science-based CO2 reduction targets are considered the gold standard for corporations setting emissions reduction goals, both within their direct operations and across their supply chains.

Companies can now set targets in line with the decarbonization level required to limit global warming to 1.5°C. These targets are ambitious, but they are achievable and are vital in reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

4. Set an internal carbon price

Setting an internal carbon price means putting a monetary amount on the carbon emissions your company produces. The cost can be calculated based on your environmental impact of GHG emissions and any low-carbon energy solutions you utilize, among other indicators.

Putting a price tag on your company’s carbon is a powerful and efficient way of incorporating climate risks into the cost of doing business.

In several countries, emitting carbon is now much more costly as a result of carbon pricing. Emerging technologies and products help corporations and individuals calculate, monitor, price, and achieve their CO2 reduction goals.

5. Commit to a science-based initiative

Lastly, companies may be assisted in reaching net-zero faster by committing to ambitious targets set by an external, science-based initiative.

The STBi’s Ambitious Corporate Climate Action is just one of many respected initiatives companies are getting involved in. Science-based initiatives bring together a growing collective of energy-smart businesses with ambitious targets in transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

Additionally, many initiatives generate shared natural climate solutions across the supply chains in specific business sectors by bringing companies together, focusing on the energy, agricultural, and transport industries. These types of initiatives give businesses greater access to resources and communities that can help them develop new low-carbon pathways.‍

Emissions tracking and management made simple

SINAI can help you achieve your net-zero emissions targets. Contact us today for a demo of our software solution.


This article was originally published at Sinai Technologies


Featured Image Credits: Pixabay

Supply Chain Decarbonization: Corporations Must Consider

Supply Chain Decarbonization: Corporations Must Consider

New research published earlier this year shows how tackling supply chain emissions can be a game-changer in the worldwide battle against climate change. Net-Zero Challenge: The Supply Chain Opportunity from the World Economic Forum and the Boston Consulting Group looks at the top eight worldwide supply chains that produce more than 50% of global greenhouse (GHG) emissions. They find that several corporations can multiply their climate impact by focusing on supply chain decarbonization.

Global Emissions - Decarbonizations

Image Credits: WEF

On the other hand, even leading corporations struggle to set clear goals and standards for their suppliers and get the data they need.

How best can corporations build a meaningful pathway to deep decarbonization within their supply chains?

In this article, the GHG emissions management experts at SINAI explain what corporations should consider when getting to grips with supply chain emissions. We present practical and scalable ways in which corporations can achieve deep decarbonization, from setting a carbon baseline to automating data collection throughout your corporation’s supply chain.‍

Slowing down climate change ‍

The Paris agreement is a legally binding global treaty on climate change aiming to slow down climate change. Unfortunately, current pledges do not go far enough. Many agree that to hit the targets set, deep decarbonization is needed, particularly in global supply chains across a variety of industries. ‍

What is decarbonization? ‍

The term “decarbonization” is used to represent the process of reducing and removing the carbon dioxide, or CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent, meaning, all 7 greenhouse gases included), the output from a country’s economy. The most common way this is done is by decreasing the amount of CO2e released from active industries within each economy – including but not limited to utilities, transportation, consumer goods, construction, and materials.‍

A robust picture of emissions ‍

The first step every corporation should take to get a handle on supply chain emissions is to gain a complete view of what those emissions are. The GHG Protocol’s Scope 3 Standard provides corporations with a methodology that can be used to account for and report carbon emissions from companies of all sectors, worldwide.

Corporations should consider building a detailed view of emissions with supplier-specific data to set ambitious targets for reducing carbon emissions. You can take control of your supply chain’s carbon emissions by performing a carbon inventory.

You should be able to compare emissions sources and resource consumption together with quickly identifying trends and patterns. Ensure you can aggregate, sort, and filter your emissions data to manage risk better and help/support suppliers to find deep decarbonization opportunities. ‍

A detailed carbon baseline‍

Corporations should consider exploring historical activity data to project emissions as their business grows and changes, creating forecast baselines they can use to monitor progress.

Establishing a comprehensive emissions baseline for your corporation is vital. Baselines are built according to business growth, and you can combine these with supply chain emissions with different levels of detail, to generate multiple baselines according to additional premises. Use granular data to analyze suppliers that contribute the most significant emissions.

Emerging software can help corporations easily match procurement data with environmentally extended input/output factors, building a high-level picture of their supply chain’s overall carbon footprint. Corporations can also leverage predictive analytics on resource consumption and emissions trends to gain better insight and business intelligence. ‍

Automated GHG inventories  ‍

Corporations should consider engaging diverse partners in their supply chain in a meaningful way, assisting them in a value-based exchange of emissions data.

Work towards a flexible data collection process to move away from generic data sources and create custom emissions factors that you can track with ease.

Collaboration is crucial, and we know supply chain emissions data can be messy. By automating data collection, corporations can consolidate, analyze and organize data from various sources quickly and easily, leading to more accountable reporting and better decision making. ‍

Smarter carbon emissions strategies ‍

Corporations should look to optimize their carbon emissions strategy through a scenario and sensitivity analysis and enhanced risk management for deep supply chain decarbonization.

Intelligent, data-driven scenario analysis can future-proof your corporation and your supply chain, with a heightened understanding of your projected deep decarbonization pathways.

Accurate and precise data can show which assets of the corporation are most at risk. Explore any reduction opportunities that exist and what cost-positive opportunities may be worth investing in, in the long term. Suppliers that go over the same type of analysis, will ultimately reduce their scope 1 and 2, which will reflect back to their buyers’ scope 3. The overall approach helps everyone in the supply chain to reduce emissions, with their own individual definition of success.

Technology to help your organization to remain accountable ‍

Front runners in several global industries are using innovative and cutting-edge technology to better manage their supply chain’s journey to deep decarbonization. They have a complete view of carbon emissions throughout their supply chain and baseline definitions in place, reviewing more granular data of those with the highest emissions. They are working towards deep decarbonization through automated carbon inventories from suppliers and following carbon emissions strategies, backed by data.

SINAI’s GHG emissions management solution can help you achieve supply chain decarbonization. Our software provides a seamless way to measure, analyze, price, and reduce emissions. Supply chain carbon management doesn’t have to be difficult, with the right solution that’s customizable to your corporation’s unique needs, you can move closer to net-zero.

To see SINAI in action, reach out for a demo today.


This article was originally published at sinaitechnologies.com


Featured Image Credits: Pixabay