Wednesday 25 November 2020

‘Businesses are increasingly aware that cutting emissions and saving money go hand-in-hand’

‘Businesses are increasingly aware that cutting emissions and saving money go hand-in-hand’

Businesses are becoming increasingly aware that decarbonisation and cost reduction go hand-in-hand as part of a joined-up approach.

That's the suggestion from John Hartley, Director of Product Management at Centrica Business Solutions, who spoke to future Net Zero about the obstacles and opportunities that businesses around the world will face on their journeys towards net zero, and how Centrica Business Solutions can help them develop a successful decarbonisation strategy to thrive in the lead-up towards 2050.

He said he has seen changing perceptions across the business world as people and companies have come to the realisation that it is not necessary to make a choice between cutting carbon emissions or supporting your finances - the two 'choices' actually lead to the same goal if they are planned and implemented successfully.

He noted that in his work, he has seen customers start asking businesses to change - 89% of firms surveyed by Centrica Business Solutions said demonstrating their low carbon footprint will be "essential" for their brand by 2025.

Mr Hartley outlined three ways to get started on tackling the challenge of going green - he said: "Placing decarbonisation at the heart of your business strategy is a good step one - that's something we have really seen change the last few years, senior leaders taking more accountability for this and therefore baking it into the heart of the business plan."

He also stressed the importance of establishing a phased plan with clear milestones to achieve the strategy, suggesting that it "can't be done in one big step" and highlighting that such a plan would ideally be aligned to a defined protocol such as a science-based target.

Establishing a clear baseline level of emissions was the final suggestion, with the Director emphasising that this is a very important starting point to start tackling the challenge, with setting out scope 1 and scope 2 starting points the first step to be made.

He noted that data and smart technologies are a great way to keep track of progress against this benchmark.

Mr Hartley told future Net Zero: ""It's a great way, data, of bringing to life the achievements that are being realised if you're making steps to decarbonise."

"It's also important as a business, if you plan a strategy and get some budget to make it happen, you need to show progress and this is a great way, if you monitor it, of doing it."

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

Trending Articles