Pathway to Net-Zero

Companies are recognizing the imperative for change and pledging to reach net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner, in line with the Paris Agreement’s goals. The urgency of acting now and halving emissions by 2030 has never been higher, making the 2020s the “Decisive Decade” for climate action. Environmental Defense Fund in collaboration with Deloitte Consulting, LLP, recommends steps to Transform to Net Zero coalition.

To prepare for their net zero journey, a company should first develop a detailed emissions profile

Organizations can then use four-stage process to identify, map, evaluate and prioritize abatement solutions with the highest impact near-term for successful climate action.

An abatement solution is an initiative, program, and/or investment designed to reduce or remove GHGs.

Step 1: Identify

Fashion Industry can start by locating a set of abatement solutions relevant to their sector .Then it should prioritize abatement solutions that leverage net zero opportunities in their own business, thus helping to lead in their field. For example, a fashion business might identify renewable energy as a key abatement solution. The company can then translate this solution into a set of actions, like installing renewable energy on site or purchasing renewable energy from another provider (lead), developing coalitions with industry peers to scale renewable energy purchasing (invest) or advocating for policy reform to provide renewable energy incentives (advocate).

Step 2: Map

After developing a list of abatement solutions and their associated actions, the next step is to map the actions to emissions profile categories. To conduct the mapping, create a table that lists company emissions sources from largest to smallest categories of emissions based on volume and GHG type, e.g., prioritizing high intensity emissions such as methane, using the emissions profile as a guide. Then, map the abatement solutions to each row by selecting the activities that would directly reduce each type of emissions. If the mapping exercise is not straightforward, companies can seek experts and publications from industry associations, NGOs and universities for guidance.

Step 3: Evaluate

Each abatement solution will have its unique benefits and drawbacks. One may have a high expected ROI while another may present a valuable learning opportunity for the company. One may target short-term, high intensity gases while another may focus on long-term CO2 reduction. In these cases, selecting one solution over another will inevitably entail tradeoffs and complex choices.

To evaluate and prioritize solutions that maximize climate abatement in a way that creates financial value for the business and drives just outcomes for impacted stakeholders the following questions can be asked:

Step 4: Prioritize

In the final step of the four-step funnel, company leaders are ready to make strategic decisions about which abatement solutions to implement and how to implement them.

All the fortune 500 companies aim to follow this pathway to net zero towards achieving zero emission by 2050 which indeed is a responsive move addressing shift in strategies that were needed to restore environmental health as well as global soaring temperatures back to normal.

Source: Net Zero Pathways: The Decisive Decade, © 2021 Environmental Defense Fund