Getting to Net Zero with SBTi (Science Based Targets-Initiative) & Climate Actions
๐ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ – ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐: The climate crisis is the mother of all crises. The future of human civilization and ecosystems depends on keeping planet heating within 1.5ยฐ celsius. Therefore climate has a key role inย CSRD andย ESRSย reporting requirements for companies and in other standards such as the EU Taxonomy, theย FSB Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD),ย or theย Science Based Targets initiativeย (SBTi).
1๏ธโฃ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐๐: ๐๐๐, ๐ฃ๐๐ & ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐ญ/๐ฎ/๐ฏ
The basis for climate action is a carbon footprint for the company (CCF) or specific products (PCF). Both measure greenhouse gas emissions expressed in CO2 equivalents (CO2e) emitted within the company (Scope 1), for energy procured (Scope 2), or in the upstream or downstream value chain (Scope 3) using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol or other calculation-standards.
2๏ธโฃ ๐ญ.๐ฑยฐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ-๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐
If you have your company’s carbon footprint, the EU expects you to set reduction targets and emission pathways in line with the 1.5ยฐ Paris Agreement. Theย Science Based Targets initiativeย can check and certify if your reduction plans are compliant with the science-based pathways.
3๏ธโฃ ๐๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐
Next, you need to take action on reducing your greenhouse gas emissions, be it with energy efficiency, renewable energy, emission-free production processes or emission-free transport and mobility. Your company needs a calculated plan with short, midterm and long-term actions to prove that your actions are sufficient to meet reduction targets.
4๏ธโฃ ๐๐ข๐ฎ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น๐
CO2 offsetting and carbon removal actions should be reported, but always kept separated from carbon footprint and reduction actions. Companies should report, if they buy carbon offset credits from certified projects, if they have solutions that help to reduce emissions at customers or if they apply carbon removal technology such as Carbon Capture and Storage/Use.
5๏ธโฃ ๐๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ธ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ & ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐
Climate risks are of specific interest to investors, who want to prevent damage to invested assets. Companies need to quantify climate-related risks such as climate damage risks, stranded asset risks, and asset transition risks. Companies also need to take adaptation actions and report on how climate risks can be mitigated to be more resilient to climate change.
๐ Mid-sized companies should get started with foot-printing and target-setting. They are an important part of the solution, contributing green technology to reduce emissions and helping large corporations to decarbonize operations and the supply chain. Still, they need to prepare for taking green investments to modernize and decarbonize their own operations.