Net Zero Clue? Get the low-down on CO2 and start taking climate action

If you don't know your GHGs from your SBTs, here's a super-simple introduction to the concept, the terms and the process.

Net zero carbon. Everyone and their dog is making a commitment, but what does it actually mean? And how do you decide whether to jump on the bandwagon?

First, when we say "carbon" in this context, what we really mean is greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that cause climate change. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the yardstick, but there are many others like nitrous oxide, F-gases and methane. Some of these gases create a higher global warming effect than CO2, some less. So for simplicity, we work out how they compare to CO2 and bundle them up into a metric called CO2e, or carbon dioxide equivalent - carbon for short.

“Net zero” simply means you remove an equal amount of greenhouse gas from the atmosphere as your activities generate. BUT there are many ways to go about this!

The proper, ethical way is to first reduce GHG emissions as much as possible. Then “offset” what’s left. Offset schemes remove GHGs from the atmosphere or prevent them being emitted and include F-gas decommissioning in developing nations, tree-planting and replacing wood-fired stoves with solar. They are controversial, varying in quality, ethics and effectiveness, so that’s a whole different article!

The most important part of this story is GHG reductions. What do we measure and how much do we reduce? The devil is in the detail! There’s no single answer – everyone measures slightly different things and reduces by varying amounts although several good practice standards exist. There's a whole glossary of terms to learn when you delve into carbon accounting, but one of the most important to understand is "scopes".

GHG emissions are spilt up into three "scopes". Scope 1 emissions come from direct burning of fuel so includes diesel plant, company cars and any fuel you use in your business, like stoves, furnaces etc. Scope 2 emissions come from the electricity you buy - this is almost always the simplest part of your emissions to tackle by switching to "green" electricity. Again, this is controversial as a variety of schemes exist, so we 'll discuss that in a future post.

Scope 3 is where the Gremlins live! This category includes all emissions related to the stuff you buy and activities you influence - materials and services purchased, business travel, waste disposal, investments, logistics etc. You must decide what you will include and how you will measure it. Fortunately, best practice guidelines exist to help you, but there is some work required to understand scope 3 and make a judgement call on what you will include.

Once you understand your emissions, divided up into the three scopes, it's time to work out a reasonable target for reducing them and create a plan of how to do it.

The whole point of this work is for everyone to "pull their weight" to prevent global warming of more than 1.5degC – the aim of the famous Paris Agreement. This is where science-based targets (SBTs) come in – a slightly scary term that simply means using an established method to calculate your contribution to global GHG emissions and exactly how much you must cut to contribute to the 1.5degC target. Again, guidelines exist on exactly how to do this.

I hope that helps you understand the basics. It can be an overwhelming world of acronyms and complex issues, but you're not alone. We have loads of experience helping clients to work out their emissions, set targets and create practical, easy to understand plans to take climate action.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re thinking of setting a net zero target – we can help.