One of the most challenging tasks that humanity has been confronted with is the shift to a net-zero planet. Why? Well, because it necessitates a radical revolution in how we generate and spend.
Put bluntly, net zero implies reducing greenhouse gas emissions to as near as zero as feasible, with any leftover emissions recycled back from the environment, for example, by seas and forests.
Because net zero objectives might involve the use of carbon offsets to offset emissions, they do not always require a corporation to reduce its actual emissions.
The contemporary evidence clearly reveals that global temperature increase must be confined to 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change and maintain a livable world.
The Earth is now roughly 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s, and emissions are still increasing. To restrain global warming to 1.5°C, greenhouse emissions must be cut by 45 percent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
Commitments to achieve net zero emissions are in governments’ economic growth plans, company goals, portfolio aims of investors, and manifestos of regional governments and local councils. The goal of reaching net zero is the main focus of this year’s critical UN climate meeting in Glasgow.
According to new research by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) and Oxford Net Zero, net zero pledges are currently held by 21% of the world’s 2,000 giant public corporations. [Proud to be part of SEO for some of them]
Coca-Cola HBC
CEO: James Quincey
HQ Country: Switzerland
Coca-Cola is arguably the most recognizable beverage company. The leading nonalcoholic beverage corporation in the world advertises its services in practically every nation and jurisdiction on the planet.
Coca-Cola HBC, a key regional bottling associate of the Coca-Cola business, pledged net-zero emissions by 2040 across the whole value chain.
Coca-Cola asserted it would diversify its partnership approach to help its distributors reduce emissions, use 100 percent renewable electricity and low-carbon power sources in its processes, lower emissions from agricultural condiments, adopt circular economy initiatives, and enact a green fleet program to achieve its goals.
The new 2040 aim expands on the company’s current science-based commitment to reducing emissions by 25% by 2030.
City Developments Limited
CEO: Sherman Kwek
HQ Location: Singapore
As per the World Green Building Council, City Developments Limited (CDL), a Singapore-based global real estate business, the corporation has publicly committed to solely owning and building net zero carbon operational facilities under direct management by 2030.
CDL has been working since 1995 to develop low-carbon and resilient buildings to achieve net zero ratings by 2030 by investing entirely in renewable energy, with offsets used only as a last alternative. They are the first major Southeast Asian company to commit to WorldGBC.
Ingka Group (IKEA)
CEO: Jesper Brodin
HQ Country: Netherlands
IKEA has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030. The company’s initiatives are divided into three categories: substantially decreasing greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain, extracting and sequestering carbon, and extending beyond consumers, partners, and suppliers to minimize the company’s climate impact outside the value chain.
To meet these objectives, IKEA is transitioning out of fossil fuels and aiming for 100 percent renewable energy (electricity, heating, cooling, and fuels) across the IKEA value chain by 2030, with an extra €4 billion in investments to assist the shift to a renewable energy future.
By 2025, the business hopes to make energy services such as residential solar and sustainable energy subscriptions accessible to a larger number of consumers.
Siemens AG
CEO: Roland Busch
HQ Country: Germany
Siemens AG, a participant of WorldGBC’s Corporate Advisory Board, has pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. Siemens is not only dedicated to a net zero world, but they also assist its clients in doing the same.
They have indeed decreased 54% of their carbon footprint and spent 65 million euros on energy-efficient goods. The company is saving 13 million euros annually, and renewable sources power 70% of its electricity usage globally.
Siemens is working on several business, community, and resource programs to achieve a net zero target in the next 10 years. They assist clients who ethically do their part to optimize building sustainability through their Energy Efficiency Program.
Heineken
CEO: Dolf van den Brink
HQ Country: Netherlands
Heineken focused their top-emitting operational firms, which account for 75 percent of the overall carbon footprint, developing specific net-zero roadmaps and a backlog of projects to be completed over three years.
Numerous projects are already in the process, ranging from solar power plants in Nigeria and South Africa to electric vehicles in Brazil and involvement in a pan-European power purchase agreement.
The company is working with distributors throughout our whole value chain to rally their support for science-based objectives (SBTs).
Additionally, the firm has developed the Brew A Better World Academy to inform and inspire its 82,000 workers, as well as adjusted its compensation structure to align the net-zero aim with long-term rewards.
Nippon Steel
CEO: Shinji Minobe
HQ Country: Japan
Following Japan’s unprecedented statement in October 2020 that the government will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, there were murmurs that the world’s fifth largest steel maker may follow the lead.
Nippon Steel formally unveiled its Carbon Neutral Vision 2050 in March 2021, outlining how it plans to reach the same goal.
Nippon Steel proclaimed that it would build on current programs to deploy more hydrogen, improve energy efficiency, construct electric arc furnace facilities, boost usage of carbon capture and sequestration, and eventually create a steelmaking process that is 100 percent direct hydrogen reduction.
The company’s 2050 ambition was supported with an intermediate aim of reducing emissions by 30% by 2030.
Ford
CEO: Jim Farley
HQ Country: America
Ford, the world’s third-largest carmaker, has officially entered the contest to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. They have begun a scientific study to limit emissions.
They also intend to invest $11.5 billion in 2022 to make specific cars, such as the Mustang Mach-E and the F-150, electric and to provide locally-sourced renewable energy to every factory by 2035.
Ford has said that in order to meet this objective, it would concentrate on three sectors that account for about 95 percent of its CO2 emissions: car usage, supplier base, and business facilities.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec)
CEO: Fu Chengyu
HQ Country: China
Discussing net-zero promises from oil and gas firms in advanced economies, Sinopec was a significant company that came into this category in 2021. In March 2021, the Chinese state-owned corporation and Asia’s largest oil refiner pledged carbon neutrality by 2050.
Sinopec’s pledge is notable since it is ten years ahead of China’s Nationally determined pledge to the Paris Agreement, which seeks for the nation to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 rather than 2050.
Sinopec intends to enhance its usage of natural gas in the short term to help China reduce its dependency on coal, followed by a longer-term upscaling and tilt toward green hydrogen. The corporation also intends to limit its emissions before the Chinese national government’s 2030 deadline.
Dalmia Cement
CEO: Mahendra Singhi
HQ Country: India
Dalmia Cement was the first business in the manufacturing industry to pledge to be net-zero carbon and carbon negative by 2040 in 2018.
Dalmia is now one of the world’s lowest carbon footprint cement manufacturers, with promises to go 100 percent renewable power by 2030, double energy productivity by 2030, and make a significant transition to electric vehicles.
Dalmia hopes to cease the use of fossil fuels in cement kilns by 2035 by employing 100 percent renewable fuels. They have already replaced more than 12% of our fossil fuels in our cement kilns, with an intermediate target of achieving roughly 50% by 2025.
Dalmia’s zero-carbon transition pledges and vision open up a new set of options for the global heavy manufacturing sector.
American Airlines
CEO: Robert Isom
HQ Country: America
American Airlines presented its environment, social, and governance (ESG) report in November 2020, outlining its road map for attaining net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
American Airlines is the first airline in the United States with a realistic path to net zero carbon emissions, and they have focused on developing an intermediate, science-based objective for 2035.
To achieve this aim, the corporation invested in modern, more fuel-efficient aircraft, as well as a sustainable fuel.
According to American Airlines, their goals include sourcing 2.5 million gigatonnes of renewable energy by 2025, improving fuel efficiency by 15-20 percent with each new generation of aircraft, improving air traffic control management to minimize emissions, and transitioning to fuel derived from renewable fuel sources rather than the petroleum-based fuel.
To Wrap Up
The increase of net-zero promises has been paralleled by the proliferation of standards of different strengths. Net zero promises must also be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound if we are to shift from desire to reality.
Investors, public society, and other stakeholders are aggressively scrutinizing corporate commitments for specifics that might reveal whether a firm is genuine about meeting its net zero objectives.
Nonetheless, despite a bigger proportion of corporations actively attempting to meet their net-zero commitments following science, the pressure to address climate change appears to be absent. We no longer have the privilege of wondering if but how quickly we can move together to attain climate net zero emissions.
Is the net-zero approach the sole solution to climate change? Definitely, not! However, this is a milestone we need to achieve.
