by Susan Uthayakumar

SOURCE: Schneider Electric

DESCRIPTION:

Here in the U.S., the public sector has set ambitious decarbonization goals, including recommitting to the Paris Agreement and outlining the Biden-Harris Climate Plan. These are strong first steps in the path to net-zero emissions and limiting global warming. However, federal and state ambitions will only take us so far.

Accelerating decarbonization and meeting these bold goals will require investment and action from the private sector. The challenge for many companies, however, isn’t establishing sustainability ambitions; it’s converting those ambitions into action.

In this blog post, I’ll provide an overview of four steps you can take to propel your company’s sustainability journey. And, I’ll share a link to a detailed guide on the four-step decarbonization process at the end.

Watch our recent webinar on-demand, Restore the Earth: A Response to the Leaders’ Climate Summit

The first step: Know your baseline and your potential

Knowing where you currently are on the decarbonization journey gives you guidance on goal-setting and helps you make faster decisions, including where and how to act.

At Schneider Electric™, we advise our customers to start the decarbonization process by outlining baseline emissions by source. We suggest using a single, digital solution to collect and aggregate the data, such as the EcoStruxure™ Resource Advisor tool. This software keeps all your information in one place and makes it easier to analyze and share data with your stakeholders.

Speaking of stakeholders: keep them in the loop throughout the process. Consulting with them will ensure your decarbonization ambitions align with your organization’s appetite for change.

And finally, model your goals on science-based targets as a best practice. In doing so, your ambitions are more likely to have an evidence-based foundation and maximized return on investment.

The second step: Create and announce targets

Now that you know what goals are possible, it’s time to announce them.

According to our research, making a public announcement encourages companies to set more ambitious goals, meet those goals faster, and boost confidence of success.

Schneider has made our own decarbonization goal announcements, including carbon-neutral operations by 2025 and a net-zero supply chain by 2050. Making formal announcements holds us accountable and has helped us become the world’s most sustainable corporation.

And we’ve helped companies like Clorox, PepsiCo, and Greif, Inc. announce their own science-aligned targets, too.

The bottom line: If you let the world know about your goals, you’ll become more likely to achieve them.

Read the full blog on the Schnieder Electric website

Tweet me: Here are strong first steps in the path to #netzero emissions and limiting #globalwarming from Susan Uthayakumar at @SchneiderElec: https://bit.ly/3uV5eAm #climateaction

KEYWORDS: EPA:SU, Schneider Electric, decarbonization, climate change, Net Zero, Sustainability