Wednesday 20 January 2021

It’s all change at future Net Zero – and we need your involvement now more than ever

So 2021 has finally rolled around and on the surface at least, things are looking more uncertain than ever - shifting political structures, a seemingly ever-present pandemic and a continuing climate crisis mean it can sometimes feel impossible to stay on top of everything that's happening.

On the other hand, an era of uncertainty can also prove to be a time of great change, and perhaps even more importantly, great hope. Those who deny the need to drive down emissions to protect our planet are slowly but surely being ousted from their positions of power, we finally (sort of) know where we stand on Brexit, a long-awaited COVID vaccine is glimmering tantalisingly on the horizon and the march towards delivering net zero by 2050 is continuing to ramp up both in terms of global participation and ambition.

2021 will also mark the first full year of future Net Zero and we couldn't be more glad to have you all on board. The 27th of January will mark the first anniversary of the platform and I can't quite believe the progress we have made in that time, thanks to the help of all of our partners and our audience - in the same way that the world won't be able to reach net zero without focused business engagement, we couldn't have done everything we have achieved in the last year without you.

As we approach our first birthday, we have crystalised our vision for what we want to accomplish around three main themes:

• To inspire you go on your own net zero journey – through the ideas, thought leadership and commentary of our partner companies.

• To commit you to your net zero targets – with the launch of our FNZ Standard which is provided via the ever-increasing network of solution partners.

• To educate and inform businesses and the public about net zero – which we have reinforced with our Net Zero 101 portal.

With COP26 on the horizon in November, we see green progress ramping up incredibly quickly this year, and we will be implementing a series of changes to make sure everyone associated with the platform can capitalise on the opportunities presented as wider society becomes increasingly involved in the sustainability agenda.

I will officially become the Editor of future Net Zero and will curate the editorial content to make sure it is as targeted, relevant and useful for your organisations as it can be. We will be upping the quality and scope of our social media channels, showcasing more of your experts' best thought leadership and creating a wealth of new Net Zero 101 content to help our audience and partners alike find green solutions that can make a difference to their carbon footprint and bottom line right away.

We will shortly be announcing a major move that's happening with the FNZ Standard that I truly believe will help so many small to medium-sized organisations realise the vital role they have to play on the net zero journey and allow us to finally dispel the myth that net zero is only something for big corporates to engage with.

We will be launching a regular content stream titled ‘Pathway to COP’ to keep you in the loop with everything going on in the buildup to the climate summit, as well as unveiling the second series of our hit podcast series ‘Gaia Says No’ and exploring a more global perspective by investigating what's happening in terms of net zero in Africa.

And don't worry - you won't only be seeing us on Zoom. Ever the optimists, we are planning to host an in-person event in the summer to celebrate all things net zero. Stay tuned to the website and our social media channels for more information as we put it all together. If any of you are already missing the familiar sight of my living room, don't worry, there will be plenty of webinars, interviews and other online content too.

Ultimately, we want this platform to be a real driving force for net zero and I hope to see you more and more of you getting involved over the coming year. None of us can do it alone, so let's work together... I think you'll be surprised at what we can achieve.