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: Why should my organization care about developing and implementing a decarbonization strategy?
A: This topic is becoming increasingly relevant as the marketplace changes. One of the biggest drivers today in making businesses consider their emissions is customer requests to do so. These can take several forms but a few of the most well-known ones out there are Walmart, 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 are for reducing it, so your organization isn’t exposed to risks, 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 I start?
A: Emissions and energy need to be woven into the active management of the business as part of an overall management system. To start, get a solid understanding of your energy and emissions metrics and identify KPIs that you can create actionable data from. If there’s a process that hasn’t been rethought in years, there’s almost always waste to be eliminated or technology that can be implemented to improve efficiency.
Once you’ve established KPIs and found the low-hanging fruit, you can start to build business cases for pursuing action to meet reduction targets. Building a business case is crucial for fitting your decarbonization plan into the financial picture of the organization, but this whole process can’t be started without finding the KPIs and understanding the levers available in context with the motivations and requirements of your decarbonization goals.
Q: How do I measure success when it comes to my organization’s decarbonization efforts?
A: Ultimately, success is meeting the targets set at the outset of the decarbonization plan according to the goals and objectives defined by the stakeholders. To achieve that success, a robust plan to achieve the emissions reduction targets while maintaining business objectives and avoiding greenwashing is necessary. This means that clear goals are articulated, solid and actionable energy and emission reduction strategies are planned and executed, and renewables are utilized to bridge the gap between reduction potential and the reduction target. Emphasize reductions to both energy and emissions instead of relying on offsets. Of course, to succeed as described requires finding the value and finance pathways to make the plan happen.