Why do we need a new vision for reaching Net Zero? Part two.

Find out where you are, before you make the next move.

Baselining is the process of measuring where you currently are in relation to carbon impact, so you can base reduction targets on the known impact you are making. Baselining is also vital to be able to measure the ongoing impacts future steps along your pathway will have. Otherwise, without a baseline, how will you know what’s working?

Many organisations have rushed to set carbon reduction targets without a clear view of their baseline. While not a great example of best practice, it’s never too late to measure, even if published targets and timelines need to be retrofitted into more ambitious pathway design. Regardless, the visibility that comes through proper baselining is perhaps the most powerful part of the process. Think of it like finding out your location in a maze. Designing your pathway through becomes much easier when you know where you’re starting.

If you’ve already done this, fantastic. But if not, there’s no shame in admitting you need help identifying your starting point. Doing so will quickly help unstick things.

From there it becomes much easier to fully understand the impact of the most accessible steps, like bringing in energy efficiency solutions to reduce consumption. After all, the cheapest and cleanest kilowatt is the one you don’t use.

A solution like MY ZEERO – our proprietary analytics and intelligent metering platform, which empowers clients to measure, manage and visualise their energy use at a granular appliance or circuit level, provides not only instant visibility, but actionable insights around energy efficiency and carbon reduction opportunities.

One of the best examples of this is where we’ve used MY ZEERO in a school setting. Installing the metering throughout the estate provided real-time energy consumption data, down to appliance level.

This quickly demonstrated that the maintenance lift, which was intended to carry the caretaker’s trolley up one floor, was being used by pupils too. The energy used was unnecessarily costing the school hundreds of pounds in every year. Re-applying key fob access to lift – which also encouraged the kids to walk up one flight of stairs – delivered immediate savings, and hopefully helped them burn off some of their own energy before sitting down in class!

On its own this might seem like a simple, and seemingly insignificant saving. But for a school with increasingly tight budgets, reducing the energy bill by several hundred pounds was a brilliant step in the right direction, not least because we had the evidence to back up the progress being made to reduce energy costs and carbon impact.

Business continuity is key.

So, once you know your starting point, or where you are in relation to steps you have already taken, what comes next?

For us, the other guiding principle is making sure the pathway we design together is commercially viable.

As mentioned above, energy efficiency and reducing consumption is the often the easiest starting point. Low cap ex, and immediate savings on energy costs mean tangible benefits that can be played back within the organisation, helping to prove the commercial viability of a Net Zero pathway, while unlocking the investment and organisational support needed to make bigger and bolder steps forward. It’s also smart to begin with things like reduction strategies, so you become more energy efficient and reduce ongoing costs.

Pathway design can then progress, taking careful consideration of the way the organisation functions, and responding to the need for business continuity throughout.

It then becomes a much easier commercial conversation around investing in advances like on-site generation – such as installing solar on the roof – when progress can be tracked. And in the case of any kind of on-site generation, if you’ve reduced your usage first, you’ll need to generate less, which in turn has a positive impact on investment costs.

Of course, on paper this all seems straightforward, but we understand that reality can feel very different. Breaking things down into stages, and measuring impact as we go, is what turns complexity into considered progress.

We’re all on the same journey, just taking a different pathway.

One thing I find especially useful when working with clients, or talking to anyone about Net Zero, is the fact that we’re all in the same boat. Like every other organisation, at Equity Energies we are on our own pathway to Net Zero.

Equity Energies is part of a larger group – DCC Energy – which has committed to a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2030, as part of the longer-term 2050 goal.

As a result, we have our own pathway in place, but even then, it’s helpful to think of this as an ongoing process over it being a self-contained project. That means we continually review and adapt our pathway, to make sure it is fit for purpose, to reflect the progress we have already made, and the job that still needs to be done. Everything we learn we can share with clients, to help them continue with their own journey.

Reaching Net Zero won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.

It all begins with a single step.

This article first appeared in The Big Zero Show Report.

Article written by Martin Hamilton, Sustainability Consulting Director.