A guide to green energy and net zero

Hello, I’m Phil Ager, managing director at Control Energy Costs.

I’m here today to talk about net zero, a term we hear more and more frequently in the news. But what does it actually mean?

First of all, I want to explain how we measure carbon emissions. These are generally measured using a standard called the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and can be summarised into three scopes.

Scope 1 emissions are those that are released into the atmosphere as a direct result of an activity, such as gas for heating an office or fuel for operating a vehicle. These are often referred to as direct emissions.

Scope 2 relates to the emissions created from producing energy that your company uses. In other words, the energy that your business purchases. For most organisations, this is where they account for their electricity usage and this can be made net zero if you are purchasing 100% renewable energy.

Scope 3 covers a much wider remit and includes all your indirect emissions. It is generally the largest part of an organisation’s carbon footprint These might include transportation and distribution, waste generated, leased assets, business travel, employee commuting, purchased goods and services through your supply chain and also water consumption.

Net zero covers these three scopes and the journey to net zero is made up of four steps.

Number one, review. Identify your carbon footprint and first steps to net zero.

Number two, reduce. Identify and implement opportunities to reduce your energy use.

Number three, renew. Generate electricity with renewables and transition to use cleaner technology, vehicles and solutions.

Number four, rebalance. Rebalance your emissions with carbon offsetting.

The UK has an ambitious target to be net zero by 2050; so, we all need to start planning for this now and acting sooner rather than later.

Failure to act on carbon emissions will have devastating effects on global warming and the implications are widespread, with ice caps melting, a rise in sea levels, more severe weather and flooding, migration of species and wildlife habitats destroyed, leading to species extinction.

We need to do all we can to keep global warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius. As a business, there are things you can do to reach net zero and support the planet. You can move to electric vehicles, adopt energy-saving technology, set up 100% renewable energy contracts, consider onsite renewable energy generation and you can offset your carbon emissions.

If you would like to find out more about how we can help you on your journey to net zero, why not get in touch via live chat on our website, email or phone.