TEAM Energy Analytics consultant, Natalia Block, discusses the complexities of carbon reduction planning leading up to the UK's Net Zero goal in 2050, covering Scope 1, 2, and 3, carbon footprint, renewables, and more.
Reducing carbon emissions is a critical challenge that organisations across the globe are grappling with. With 25 years left to address climate change, the path to achieving significant reductions in emissions is challenging and loaded with complexities.
Natalia Block, Analytics Consultant at TEAM Energy, looks at the multifaceted nature of this undertaking and reveals how organisations can navigate a carbon emissions reduction plan.
The daunting task of emissions reduction
For many organisations, a carbon reduction plan can seem overwhelming. The task involves not only understanding and measuring emissions but also implementing methods that can lead to meaningful reductions. This process is often complicated by the need to address emissions across various scopes and engage a wide range of stakeholders.
Understanding Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions
To effectively reduce emissions, organisations must first understand the categories of emissions they produce:
It is more straightforward to address Scope 1 and 2 emissions as they are within the direct control of the organisation. Scope 3 emissions, however, account for a significant portion of an organisation’s total carbon footprint and are more challenging to manage due to their indirect nature.
The role of near real-time data for sustainability reporting
One of the key tools in the fight against carbon emissions is the use of near real-time data. By leveraging advanced monitoring, data integration and reporting technologies, organisations can gain immediate insights into their emissions. This data allows for more responsive and adaptive processes, enabling organisations to identify problem areas and implement corrective actions swiftly.
Engaging stakeholders in a carbon emissions reduction plan
Effective emission reduction requires the engagement of all stakeholders, including employees, customers, investors, and the broader community. Organisations must foster a culture of sustainability and ensure that all stakeholders understand the importance of reducing emissions. This can be achieved by tailoring initiatives to different stakeholders through transparent communication, targeted education, and by demonstrating the tangible benefits of sustainability initiatives.
Collaborating with the supply chain to enhance carbon footprint reduction
Working with the supply chain is crucial for addressing Scope 3 emissions. Organisations need to collaborate with suppliers to ensure that they are also committed to their own carbon footprint reduction plan. This can involve setting sustainability criteria for suppliers, providing support and resources to help them improve their practices, and integrating sustainability into procurement processes.
Effective approaches to enable organisations in their carbon emission reduction plan
Energy management systems: A robust Monitoring and Targeting (M&T) system is crucial for optimising energy consumption and maintaining energy efficiency, leading to significant reductions in Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Carbon accounting software: important to help organisations track, calculate, and manage their carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions using science based, verified methodology in line with global carbon accounting standards.
Application programming interfaces: bringing together data from an organisation’s M&T solution, carbon accounting and many other sources, APIs are a crucial component in for accurate sustainability reporting because they enable seamless data integration and near real-time updates.
Energy audits and surveys: getting a full evaluation of a property portfolio will provide valuable consumption insights and is essential when defining what energy efficiency measures are needed to support an organisation’s carbon reduction strategy.
Carbon reduction plan: a carefully created plan to suit an organisation’s scope and available resources can highlight optimal carbon saving projects and determine a realistic timeline in which emissions reductions can be achieved. A bespoke approach to developing a carbon reduction roadmap maximises cost savings, regulatory compliance, and enhanced sustainability.
Renewable energy: opportunities available to transition to renewable energy sources can drastically reduce an organisation’s Scope 2 emissions.
Carbon offsetting: while not a substitute for direct emission reductions, carbon offsetting can help organisations mitigate their impact by investing in projects that reduce or remove carbon from the atmosphere.
Reducing carbon emissions is undoubtedly a complex and daunting task, but it is also an essential one. By understanding the different types of emissions, leveraging near real-time data, engaging stakeholders, collaborating with the supply chain, and utilising effective tools, organisations can make significant strides in their sustainability journeys.
ENDS
Notes to editors
For further information, please contact:
Pauline Scoins/Charlotte Bland – marketing and PR executive / marketing executive
TEAM Energy
Phone: +44 (0) 01908 690018 Ext 204 /
Email: pscoins@teamenergy.com / cbland@teamenergy.com
EDW House, Radian Court, Knowlhill, Milton Keynes, MK5 8PJ
www.teamenergy.com
About Natalia Block
Natalia is a dedicated sustainability professional with expertise in project management, carbon accounting, waste management, and sustainability communications. Her experience contributes to carbon reduction strategy development, energy analysis, energy saving and decarbonisation opportunity analysis, GHG reporting, project management, and training. She will also provide support to compliance services for ISO50001 energy management systems.
Natalia has extensive experience in calculating carbon footprints following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and conducting data management and analysis for reporting.
About TEAM
TEAM is an energy and sustainability consultancy. It helps organisations with large energy estates reduce consumption and carbon emissions to save money and meet commercial and compliance targets on their journey to net zero.
Founded in 1985, it has a long history of helping customers navigate changing definitions and certification standards. TEAM Energy is an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), with employees having a direct stake in its customers’ success.
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