And you? Are you following the Path to Net Zero?

Nov 28, 2022
 

What does “Net Zero” really mean? 

The United Nations set a global goal to limit global warming to 2 C above pre-industrial levels. To achieve such an important target, most of the companies need to be Net Zero in their emissions by 2050

To achieve Net Zero, an organisation needs to cut all GHG emissions (CO2, methane, NO2 and other hydrofluorocarbons) as close to zero as possible*. In other terms, greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere must be equivalent to the greenhouse gases being removed from the atmosphere. 

*You’ve may also have heard about carbon neutrality, it refers only to CO2 emissions 

The Net Zero Greenwashing: carbon credits and long-term goals

         Carbon credits 

How can the most emitter companies as Shell or BP be doing net zero pledges? Well, one of the main strategies of big corporations is to invest in carbon credits. In other words, they pay other companies and organizations to compensate their emissions by removing the carbon from the air. In Ireland, there’s still no regulation on carbon credits and companies invest in voluntary initiatives. Some climate change experts and activists argue that this is another “greenwashing” action, that distracts everyone from the real problem. 

But how is carbon removed from the air? There are some ways such as: 

  • Planting massive new forests (reforestation): vegetation breathes, taking the CO2 from the air and emitting O2 
  • Mineralization: spreading crushed rocks over land to absorb carbon dioxide from the air. 
  • Air capture plants: machines that suck carbon dioxide directly out of the atmosphere and bury it. 

     

You may be thinking, “global warming problem solved!”, we can continue emitting while we capture GHG. Well, at the moment, there are just 19 direct air capture plants in the entire world, which in a year can remove the annual emissions of only about 700 Americans. It would take too much time and money to compensate on a large scale, if ever! And what about planting trees? To compensate for all Amazon emissions, they should plant 2.5 billion trees, the area size of Costa Rica, every year! Another good example is found when you buy a flight and they ask you to pay an extra 2 euros “to compensate” for the airplane's GHG emissions. Ryanair was compensating less than 1% of the airline’s emissions with this action. 

Some businesses find it impossible to reduce all of their emissions to zero and the carbon trading market may be the last resource to consider but reducing carbon emissions should be the core of the Net Zero strategy. 

         Long term targets 

One of the other major flaws that make Net Zero for these corporations an illusion is that these pledges are set way into the future, and most of them are relying on offsetting with future technology that is still not ready on the market. 

   

In short, the focus must remain on short-term decarbonisation and prioritise the investment in other mitigation efforts such as renewables. 

The real path to Net Zero: decarbonisation 

Don’t worry if you aren’t a large company that can invest in enough carbon removals to become Net Zero. In fact, you can do much better than them and start reducing your GHG emissions with some basic steps: 

1 Educate yourself. You may feel that you don’t have enough knowledge about actions and strategies to start decarbonizing your business. Search for companies in your sector and learn how they are taking their path to net zero (you can even find good opportunities to collaborate) There are online tools and programmes available on the market to train you in the green journey. FSG has a Green Business programme that can help you to manage your carbon emissions. 

2 Start measuring your GHG emissions and identify which parts of your business are producing most of them. This will show in what areas and sectors you need to start acting first to have a greater impact. To achieve Net Zero, companies need to consider both direct and indirect emissions. The GHG protocol establishes three categories for GHG emissions to help you to identify them: Scope 1, 2 and 3. Check this FSG post to learn more about them. 

3 Train your staff in how to reduce your GHG emissions. Sometimes the easier way to reduce your carbon emissions is by educating your employees on how to manage energy. You can also form a Green Team and distribute the green actions, ensure someone from every department is involved. 

4 Design a plan to follow and set ambitious near-term and long-term targets. Communicating your strategy on your website and social media will make you start taking steps to demonstrate that you achieved the goal. 

Invest or volunteer in biodiversity projects. In Ireland, here are multiple organisations that are planting native trees in an inspiring conservation effort, protecting biodiversity and ecosystems, or developing renewable energies. It will not give carbon offsetting credits to your company, but you’ll be having a positive impact on the environment and on your community. Check the last social media post about tree planting initiatives in Ireland. 

6 Last but not least, report and announce all your progress and achievements! 

 

Do you want to learn more? Check out our “The Green Business” programme that shows all the systems and processes you need to implement to reduce your business Carbon Footprint. 

Or email us on [email protected] 

 

And don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter

Thank you for reading today! 

 The FSG Team 💚 

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