In our “Ask a 3R Expert” series, 3R’s knowledgeable and experienced team members answer common client questions.
Jason Clark, CEM, CMVP, LEED AP, 3R Sustainability Managing Director of Built Environment, answers questions about developing and implementing a decarbonization plan.
Jason Clark
Q: Our customers and investors are asking us to reduce carbon emissions/footprint of our product. Some are even asking us to set a Science-Based Target (SBT). Where do we start?
A: This topic is becoming increasingly relevant and one of the biggest drivers is customer requests. These can take several forms but a couple of the most well-known are Walmart’s Project Gigaton and Microsoft Supplier. We also see requests from investment firms that hold equity in manufacturing companies. These requests ask organizations to quantify and set targets to reduce their emissions.
Additionally, there are federal, state, and local government regulations, such as building performance standards, being introduced at a rapid rate. This makes it crucial to understand your emissions footprint and what levers there may be for reducing it. Once you understand what options you have available, your organization will be able to reduce the risks being addressed by the request or regulation, such as fines or ineligibility to maintain competitiveness or qualification in the supply chain in which you operate. If you develop a decarbonization plan, you go from reactive (you’ve been given a directive) to proactive so that when the request or requirement comes, you know what options you have available to you.
Q: My stakeholders are requesting that my organization decrease its carbon emissions. Where do we begin?
A: To address emissions in company operations, energy management needs to become a priority. To start, energy procurement, measurement, and management, need to be woven into the active management of the business as part of an overall management system. To do this and get a solid understanding of your energy use and emissions, metrics and KPIs need to be identified which you can create actionable data from. The starting point for the collection of this data is often some sort of metering system, or smart integration that pulls actual in-use energy data in real time.
Once you’ve established KPIs and found the low-hanging fruit, you can start to build the business case for taking steps to meet reduction targets. Building a business case is crucial for fitting your decarbonization plan into the financial plan of the organization.
A great place to start finding potential reduction is inside any processes that haven’t been rethought in years; there is almost always waste to be eliminated or technology that can be implemented to improve efficiency if a process or equipment hasn’t been addressed or changed in a long time.
Q: How do I measure success when it comes to my organization’s decarbonization efforts?
A: Ultimately, success is meeting the interim targets defined by the decarbonization plan. A robust plan includes time-bound reduction goals, actionable energy and emission reduction strategies, and the use of renewables to bridge the gap between reduction potential and the reduction target. Successfully meeting selected targets is going to take an integrated approach requiring the right data to find the low-hanging fruit, make business cases for capital improvements, and define where possible reductions meet a successful renewables strategy. Beyond the data, the right team to interpret the data, understand the motivations and incentives, and measure progress is essential.
Check out 3R’s webinar series for more expert insights on decarbonization planning.