As an environmental consultant, you may be asked to help your clients set and achieve carbon reduction targets. This can be a challenging task, as you need to balance the environmental, economic, and social impacts of different options. In this article, we will explore some of the key steps and considerations for setting effective carbon reduction targets for clients.
The first step is to assess the current carbon footprint of your client, using a reliable and consistent methodology. You can use tools such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the ISO 14064 standard, or the Carbon Disclosure Project to measure and report the emissions from your client's operations, products, and services. You should also identify the sources and scopes of the emissions, such as direct emissions from fuel combustion, indirect emissions from electricity use, or upstream and downstream emissions from the supply chain and customer use.
Measure the client's current carbon footprint by assessing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3. This involves collecting data on direct emissions from owned or controlled sources (Scope 1), indirect emissions from purchased electricity (Scope 2), and other indirect emissions from the value chain (Scope 3).
QHSSE&R Manager | Chemical Manufacturing, Waste Treatment, Product Transformation
Actually I agree with the baseline assessment discussion, should emphasize on the down stream emissions from the supply chain and consumer use. As this is the area where assessment is very difficult, involves many steps and covers wider areas.
Assessing the baseline is indeed necessary before setting the reduction target. All the various sources of emissions will be identified for the client and the sources will then be categorised into scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions. The client will decide if he wants to monitor and reduce scope 3 emissions. Scopes 2 and 3 can be estimated using standardised emission factors while scope 1 can either be directly measured if the instrumentations are available or estimated via fuel analysis using recognised emission factors. The base year should be a year when the organisation is running optimally provided data is available.
The next step is to choose the type of target that best suits your client's goals and context. There are different types of targets, such as absolute targets, which aim to reduce the total emissions by a certain amount or percentage; intensity targets, which aim to reduce the emissions per unit of output or activity; or science-based targets, which aim to align the emissions with the global goals of limiting warming to 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius. You should consider the advantages and disadvantages of each type, such as the level of ambition, the flexibility, and the comparability.
While the three methods are useful, the intensity target better suits clients that are into manufacturing, oil & gas, and energy sectors. It gives a more realistic commitment that ties the emissions to the output of the organisation hence more comparable among similar sectors irrespective of the size.
Targets must be science-based to be fully credible. The Science-based targets (SBT) initiative offers frameworks and validates targets for near- and long-term. SBTs ensure that targets are ambitious enough to be in alignment with the Paris Agreement aiming to keep global heating to below 1.5°C or well below 2°C.
The third step is to set the target level, which is the amount or percentage of reduction that your client wants to achieve by a certain date. You should base this on a realistic and achievable scenario, taking into account the current and projected performance, the available technologies and practices, and the external factors and uncertainties. You should also benchmark your target against the industry standards, the best practices, and the expectations of the stakeholders, such as customers, investors, regulators, and NGOs.
One thing I've found useful in setting the target is wider stakeholder consultation. The various process owners within the organisation need to be carried along in setting the target. When a target is set at leadership level alone and cascaded down to the operators and other process owners, it detaches them from taking the necessary ownership and commitment needed to achieve the desired target. They tend to see the targets as unrealistic even though in some cases the targets are really unrealistic. Your internal stakeholders are very key in setting the targets because they are the ones to operationalise it.
The fourth step is to define the target scope, which is the range of emissions that your client wants to include in the target. You should follow the principle of relevance, completeness, consistency, transparency, and accuracy, and ensure that you cover the most significant and material sources and scopes of emissions. You should also consider the potential trade-offs and leakage effects, such as shifting emissions from one scope to another, or from one location to another.
Materiality assessment is very important in fulfilling the expectations of the stakeholders. Some clients found themselves in hard to abate industries, they need to do some carbon locking for their processes hence may want to define the scope that is achievable for the industry based on the available technology and resources.
The fifth step is to implement the target plan, which is the set of actions and measures that your client will take to achieve the target. You should prioritize the most cost-effective and impactful options, such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, low-carbon products and services, circular economy, carbon offsetting, and carbon capture and storage. You should also establish a clear governance structure, assign roles and responsibilities, allocate resources and budgets, and monitor and report the progress and performance.
Implementation requires strategies and actionable plans assigned to specific persons with the required resources allocated. One thing I found useful in setting the governance structure is to identify and include all the relevant internal stakeholders in the governance structure. This ensures a sense of ownership, accountability, eases consultation and seamless implementation.
The sixth step is to review and update the target, which is the process of evaluating and adjusting the target based on the actual results and the changing circumstances. You should conduct regular reviews and audits, using relevant and reliable indicators and metrics, and communicate the outcomes and achievements to the stakeholders. You should also identify the gaps and challenges, and update the target level, type, scope, or plan as needed, to ensure that your client stays on track and meets the expectations.