When it comes to Net Zero, is there such a thing as a carbon copy approach?

However complex a challenge you’re facing, a combination of the right preparation, careful planning and consistent action will help you achieve the goal at hand. Reaching Net Zero should be no different.

In fact, in principle there are a series of steps that can be undertaken by any organisation, no matter how large or small, that will guide ambition and deliver progress.

• Understand your starting point – knowing your baseline energy consumption and therefore your scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions, means you know how far you need to go.
• Design your Net Zero pathway – giving you a clear plan and staged goals. This sets out the solutions and technologies required, the investment needed, and what it will take to achieve the desired progress.
• Executing your pathway – implementing the right solutions at the right time will advance your Net Zero pathway and ensure business continuity is not interrupted.
• Monitoring and adapting – measurement is vital to prove the plan is delivering the desired progress. Plus, by measuring progress, if the pathway needs to be adapted to meet evolving organisational needs, to navigate unexpected challenges, or reflect changes in legislation or new carbon reduction technologies, you will be using the latest information to make decisions.

Set out like this the pathway seems simple enough, although there are of course layers of complexity at every stage, conflated further by the vast differences between organisations themselves, or even between the individual sites across an organisation’s estate.

No carbon copies

Even with this universal structure in place it is of fundamental importance to recognise that no two Net Zero pathways are the same.

That’s why it’s vital to avoid a carbon copy approach. While the tendency may be to replicate what another organisation, or even competitor, is doing, trying to walk the pathway of a similar business can become a serious misstep. Similarly, what’s working at one site within a large estate may not be the right solution at another, even if the energy consumption profile of buildings, instillations and equipment is similar.

Even down to the circuit or appliance level, two appliances may seem to be functioning the same but could in fact have vastly different consumption patterns and energy usage.

For example, we work with a meat and dairy wholesaler that relies on several large refrigeration units to store product. Each unit is the same make and model, installed at the same time, and serviced on the same cycle. By monitoring energy consumption at appliance level, we were able to see that one unit had a far higher consumption rate. A maintenance check uncovered a fault, which was causing the unit to operate inefficiently. Once the fault was rectified, the unit’s consumption came back in line with the others and prevented the wholesaler from wasting energy and, more importantly, money.

What’s crucial here is that it was only one unit that needed attention; sending the engineer to the others, or to similar units on other sites, would have been costly and ultimately unnecessary. It would also not have been the correct action for any other organisation.

It is the bespoke action, that was driven by actionable insight, that yielded the desired result.

Turning insight into intelligence

It’s here that data-accuracy is key, in this case when it comes to consumption data. Domestic smart meters have suffered from something of a perception problem in recent years. The commercial equivalent, or more specifically the provision of real-time energy consumption data at circuit level, faces a different challenge. Of all the technologies and innovations associated with Net Zero, it is by far the least visible and least sexy.

Yet overcoming this lack of sex-appeal is vital; it’s this technology, the data it provides, and the actionable insights that can be developed, that will underpin every organisation’s own unique Net Zero pathway. Decisions at a macro and micro level can be guided by this kind of insight, ensuring that everything from the overarching pathway design to both the planned and ad hoc actions taken to execute it, are exactly what are required.

It’s a pathway, not a project

Whatever pathway is put in place, it needs to be based on the unique needs and requirements of the organisation and be underpinned by accurate, real-time consumption data. Crucially, the plan must be commercially viable and not risk any interruption in business continuity. Far from being further hurdles to making progress, this financial and operational rigour is, in our experience, what helps to create internal understanding and buy-in; pivotal in propelling any organisation forward.

The other key requirement is flexibility and the ability to adapt. As an organisation's requirements change, and new solutions and technologies become available, the pathway to Net Zero may need to change too. Again, this will be unique, as will the organisation’s response to it. It helps to keep in mind that by its very nature reaching Net Zero is a pathway, and not a project. It needs to change and adapt, flexing around new challenges and where successful steps are leading to valuable impacts for the organisation.

There is no silver bullet solution for reaching Net Zero, but there is a way forward for every organisation. Reaching Net Zero won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.

It all begins with a single step.

To find out more, visit www.equityenergies.com