In coming months, Dorset Chamber will be sharing insights, practical tips, simplifying the jargon and supporting you on your Net Zero journey. From the opportunities and risks, to the significance and benefits, effective carbon reduction management and reduction is a key consideration for organisations of all sizes. In this article, Mark Sherwood of Auditel Carbon Solutions considers whether Net Zero targets really matter….
Do Net Zero Targets matter?
Net Zero targets don’t necessarily require immediate action from all SME’s, there is both a short term financial and opportunity cost involved, that is often a concern. For many Senior Leadership Teams it sits outside their knowledge zone and that lack of certainty gives understandable reason to delay. The UK government has made a commitment that all of the UK must meet net zero by 2050. That’s a long way off, so do business’s need to do anything now?
The new Labour government has already passed three pieces of climate related legislation. They have an interim carbon budget that requires a 52% reduction in emissions by 2027, the Paris Agreement commits the UK to a reduction of 68% by 2030 and at COP 29 Kier Starmer committed the UK to reduce emissions by 81% by 2035. A little closer to home, Dorset Council is implementing a strategy to cut the counties emissions by 36% by the end of 2025.
Multiple changes to legislation are being introduced to drive operational change within both the public and private sector at local and national level. Pressure is also mounting from companies who have committed to Net Zero, for their suppliers to provide verified carbon data.
Achieving Net Zero, involves reducing your carbon footprint to the point where its almost at zero. It doesn’t mean buying Carbon Credits to offset your emissions or paying someone to certify you as Carbon Neutral. Carbon Neutral is not Net Zero.
Net Zero involves operational change. It takes time to achieve and requires co-operation from your stakeholders. It means measuring all of the operational Green House Gas (GHG) emissions of your business and both your upstream and downstream supply chain. Then creating a carbon reduction plan and measuring the ongoing reduction in emissions, throughout the life of the plan. Implementation of a carbon reduction plan over a series of years, generally reduces operational costs, improves the business profile, increases both staff retention and recruitment rates whilst increasingly forming a key requirement of tender documents. We are now seeing companies judged on their actions not their commitments.
This series of short Articles are designed to help inform your decision making process. Next month we will explore What is a Carbon Footprint?
If you have a question relating to Net Zero or Carbon or would like us to address a specific topic in a future article, please email me at mark.sherwood@auditel.co.uk
