How to measure net zero 

Businesses must measure and reduce their scope one, two and three emissions to meet the government goal of achieving net zero by 2050. How can they do this effectively?

Read the full article below or read on page 18 in our January magazine

The UK government is committed to achieving net zero by 2050. To meet these goals, businesses must integrate sustainable practices into their practice.

Nestlé is taking necessary steps to measure their GHG emissions with a whole life cycle approach. “We take a whole life cycle approach to determining the carbon footprint of our products and operations,” explains head of B2B marketing at Nestlé Professional, Julia Jones. “We then use science-based methodologies to identify and calculate our own emissions, building-in data disclosed by our suppliers. This gives us a clear picture of our overall emissions, so that we are best able to target our actions and interventions to make reductions.” 

Health and hygiene company, Essity, is committed to achieving net zero in a different way. “Essity is committed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and has approved near-term, science-based, targets for 2030,” says Jo Pybus, sustainability and public affairs manage. “Essity reports greenhouse gas emissions (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O) depending on origin.”

The government has outlined three scopes of emissions that must be measured. These are:

• Scope one: emissions from sources that a business owns or controls directly – for example, from burning fuel in a fleet of vehicles (if they’re not electrically-powered).
• Scope two: emissions that a business causes indirectly when the energy it purchases and uses is produced. For example, for electric fleet vehicles the emissions from the generation of the electricity they’re powered by would fall into this category.
• Scope three: emissions that are not produced by the business itself, and not the result of activities from assets owned or controlled by them, but by those that it’s indirectly responsible for, up and down its value chain. An example of this is when businesses buy, use and dispose of products from suppliers. Scope three emissions include all sources not within the scope one and two boundaries.

Reducing emissions

Scope one and two emissions are easier to estimate. For energy use, companies can source the data they need to convert direct purchases of gas and electricity into a value for the associated greenhouse gases and, according to Jo, “Scope one and two are directly linked to Essity production facilities and include direct emissions from fuel consumption and indirect emissions from the use of purchased energy.”

Scope three emissions make up the highest proportion of total emissions for many companies and, unfortunately, they are the hardest to reduce. For Nestlé, this also rings true. “The vast majority of our emissions come from scope three,” Julia says. “Therefore, this is where we focus most of our efforts and are taking steps to address more than 80% of these in order to reach our net zero milestones.”  

However, for Essity, scope three emissions are reported with a one-year delay. “Scope three reports indirect emissions in Essity’s value chain outside the company’s own operations. To ensure that Essity has complete and reliable data, scope three emissions are reported with a one-year delay, including emissions from recently acquired companies.” Businesses can work with existing suppliers, and their customers, on solutions for reducing emissions in order to reduce scope three emissions. 

Transparency

Once your business has developed a thorough action plan to reduce its emissions across all three scopes, you must communicate the actions that will enable them to achieve net zero. Keep these points in mind to ensure clear communication:

• Communicate regularly: consistent communication will give your business a voice on climate action which will help build a positive image.
• Distinguish your business: consider what your net zero journey means for your stakeholders and how it is different from other businesses.
• Be transparent: if you miss a milestone, communicate this and reiterate the goals of your journey.
• Keep it simple: avoid using complicated jargon and focus of the course of action you are taking. 

Offsetting 

The final stage of reaching net zero, once emissions have been reduced to below 90% as outlined by the government, is to balance any remaining and unavoidable emissions through accredited carbon removal schemes. This can be done through many different processes, including soil carbon sequestration or seagrass restoration, but Nestlé are looking to the food system to offset. “With the food system accounting for one third of GHG emissions, we’re investing into more regenerative agricultural practices,” Julia explains. “Starting with ingredients like dairy, we’re working with suppliers such as First Milk to reduce environmental impact and improve animal health and well-being.”

Creating a whole business approach

Businesses can also look to their staff for help in achieving net zero. By building green committees and volunteer groups to raise awareness of the journey to net zero, it’s possible to build a culture of transparency and take action with community projects. 

Nestlé is proud to have sustainability right across the organisation. “We are guided by our values, which are rooted in respect. This means respect for ourselves, others, diversity and for the future,” Julia says. “While we have sustainability specialists right across our organisation, we understand that we all have a role to play in reducing our environmental impact; we empower our employees to do so in both their personal and professional lives. 

“We know our employees are our greatest asset and, when we have a shared goal, we can achieve great things.”