Zero to Hero: Guide on Achieving Net-Zero and Combating Climate Change

Climate change and publications on it are still treated like a legend — present for ages, passed down from one generation to another, and yet dismissed as a mere myth by some. However, in the last few years, climate change has been stern in proving the legitimacy of its existence as weather events waltz to extremes on the spectrum.

The main culprit of this concerning phenomenon is the increased emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, which can be attributed to human activities such as efforts exerted towards modernization. Although modernization primarily led by big corporations has remarkable impacts on making lives easier, there is no denying that it has also significantly contributed to accelerated global warming.

In light of this, climate change advocates, the government, and businesses have teamed up to mitigate adverse climate impacts and preserve the earth’s livable state. A solution being considered is gearing towards reaching net-zero emissions. Although net-zero is often simply defined as reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero, looking at it through economic, social, and political lenses illuminates its breadth. A greater understanding of its complexity in turn contributes to better planning and decision-making regarding sustainability efforts.

What Does It Mean to Reach Net-Zero Emissions?

Greenhouse gases are crucial in keeping the earth’s temperature to a suitable warmth. Over the years, a surge in their release has been observed due to human activities, which have led to detrimental effects on the environment. For such reason, net-zero emissions need to be achieved soon before the effects of global warming become profoundly irreversible. As mentioned, net-zero happens once man-made greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to as close to zero as possible.

Balancing GHG emissions and absorptions

While man-made emissions are being cut down to approximately zero, the remaining GHGs in the atmosphere should be balanced and absorbed through carbon removal efforts such as various negative emission technologies (NETs): afforestation and reforestation, land management, ocean fertilization, enhanced weathering, and the use of carbon-capturing strategies (DACCS, CCS, and BECCS). Although these technologies offer advanced ways of dealing with the climate crisis, it is essential to continue and prioritize mitigation initiatives.

The Roadmap to Net-Zero

The Paris Agreement was a treaty agreed upon in COP21 by 196 parties to limit global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius or preferably, 1.5 degrees Celsius and was later reaffirmed in the COP26 held at Glasgow. The Asia-Pacific (APAC) was put on the spot in the COP26 as efforts from their end lag behind. Many found this concerning considering that the most vulnerable countries susceptible to the effects of climate change and eight of the G20 countries responsible for over half of global GHG emissions are located in the region.

Despite slow movements, more and more APAC members have made significant efforts in updating their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which are ambitious commitments expected from countries to achieve net-zero emissions.

2030-2050 Net-zero Targets

To realize the goal laid out in the Paris Agreement, GHG emissions need to be reduced to 45% by 2030 and completely reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Following through with this timeline is not an easy feat for any country considering the economic and social adjustments needed to be manifested. However, with the urgency of the current climate situation, drastic actions are presumed from all involved parties.

Countries with Net-Zero targets

As of August 2022, over 130 countries have pledged or committed their participation in achieving net-zero emissions. It was reported that the APAC region is falling behind in the movement toward reaching net-zero emissions. Moreover, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), has reported that only 8% of companies in the region have committed to net-zero targets. With these reports and figures, a major step-up from current efforts is crucial to realize the goals of the Paris Agreement in reaching net-zero emissions. Below are some of the countries in the APAC region’s commitments:

How to Achieve Net-Zero by 2050

Achieving net-zero emissions is not exactly a walk in the park. As the Paris Agreement has stated in its contents, countries are to pledge ‘ambitious’ efforts. To carry these out, a comprehensive review of past actions, detailed planning, and effective implementation are needed. All these can be overwhelming, but with a guide to net-zero, achieving it may not be as elusive:

Create a net-zero strategy

The race to net-zero is a fight against time and the looming effects of climate change. Like any battle, coming up with a strategy is paramount to successful execution. Thus, understanding one’s carbon footprint is useful in figuring out how much is needed to be done and to be undone. Companies should also assess the risks or impacts of climate change exposure to the business and see where changes are needed to be able to adapt accordingly.

Once through with analysis, a net-zero business model can be defined to know what resources to invest in. This helps companies accommodate new opportunities to grow in the direction of achieving net-zero emissions. Short-term and long-term goals should also be defined so companies can stay on track.

“Climate-proof” operations

Decarbonizing operations, as well as supply chains, by switching to more sustainable methods and resources can be quite costly. Hence, it is unsurprising that some companies have hesitations about going green. However, by staying with traditional processes, companies delay net-zero emission goals and might face greater financial costs. There is also the possibility of missing the chance of offering innovative sustainable products or services in the market.

With weather-related events being exacerbated by climate change, it is a must to upgrade and ‘climate-proof’ operations to ensure business continuity—especially for businesses in the APAC region, the globe’s most disaster-prone location.

Transitioning into a net-zero organization

If planning was already a challenge, adapting and maintaining is an even bigger hurdle to surpass. An efficient communication system should be prepared to ensure all stakeholders within and outside the company are aware of their roles in becoming a net-zero organization. This would also be beneficial in holding businesses accountable for making sure goals are being met. To help monitor transition efforts and decarbonization goals, countries are categorized into three phases.

Transitioning into a net-zero organization might require an extensive budget for some. Hence, companies may work extra hard on enticing investors for funds. Investors would want transparency to ensure that the company’s plans are aligned with humanity’s interest in long-term sustainability and that these plans are being materialized. While it is already a challenge to implement net-zero plans, some companies may find preparing climate-related reports just as tedious. To help lighten this load, a solution that can be considered is employing ESG reporting software.

Convene ESG: Your Partner to Net-Zero

Convene ESG makes ESG governance hassle-free. Let reporting and data tracking be the last thing to worry about with going net-zero.

Full Visibility of Insights and Progress

With Convene ESG’s performance dashboard, insights, goals, and progress can easily be monitored. This helps identify trends and anticipate risks that can impact the business. No need to go through several files saved in several locations to analyze ESG data — full visibility of the needed data in an instant!

Consolidate Data Accurately

Since Convene also has a Data Collection dashboard, collecting data from different sources can be done twice as fast without worrying about human errors, as well as the safety of the data. You can now do away with manually collecting data in spreadsheets which may be prone to errors.

Easy Goal Creation and Tracking

Having complete visibility of ESG performance aids in setting goals to address any gaps in current practices. Convene ESG provides a Goals dashboard where goals can be created and tracked. Your ESG goals can be color-coded according to priority and progress can easily be monitored until completion. Goals can be moved under different columns to indicate if they have not been started yet, are in progress, or are already completed.

Peer Benchmarking and Report Generation

Convene ESG’s Peer Benchmarking dashboard can be used to compare data with peers. If the company’s goal is to be a net-zero emission leader, it is easy to see how competitors in the market are doing. Users can navigate through each ESG disclosure to see how peers reported on similar topics.

To fully equip you with ESG reporting, automated reports can be generated from the system. The reports are readily prepared using new provisions and best practices aligned with SGX ESG regulations and disclosure standardization initiatives. It eliminates the need to go through several files just to consolidate data to produce a report.

Discover how to set, track, and report on your sustainability targets and performance digitally with Convene ESG.