The journey to net zero can feel overwhelming. While it’s tempting to look for quick fixes this opens companies up to criticism and can be more expensive in the long run. The age of urgency requires credible, transparent action from corporate actors. Though there are many barriers to climate action, Gold Standard can help guide your planning and actions, regardless of where you are on your journey.
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ACTION 1
DON’T BE AFRAID TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP
- Visit the GHG Protocol website to learn about GHG inventories and understand what carbon accounting is.
- Read SBTI’s Net Zero Standard and check out Gold Standards blog series on key topics for demystifying net zero.
- Make early public statements about your commitment to act, rather than setting big, binary goals.
ACTION 2
SET UP YOUR GOVERNANCE
- Establish good practices in climate governance at both board and management levels.
- Place your climate team at the heart of your business so they can influence financial decisions.
- Include stakeholders and experts, for example by setting up an advisory group that represents your work and what it needs to achieve.
ACTION 3
TRANSPARENTLY DISCLOSE EMISSIONS
- Use freely available tools and build a comprehensive GHG inventory covering Scopes 1,2 and 3.
- Transparently disclose your emissions (or/and estimates) and progress towards targets annually. It’s ok to get started and get better at this as you learn.
ACTION 4
TACKLE YOUR VALUE CHAIN EMISSIONS
- Use five-year targets for both value chain emission reductions and Beyond Value Chain Mitigation (BVCM) actions. Read more
- Use appropriate measures to mitigate emissions in your operations and value chain and follow the latest guidance from reputable bodies like the Value Change Initiative to identify which measures can count.
ACTION 5
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR EMISSIONS YOU’RE YET TO ABATE
- Use best-practice guidance from SBTI, WWF and Gold Standard to develop a clear BVCM strategy.
- Establish a meaningful internal carbon price for your company and disclose both your emissions and that fee as part of annual reporting. Read more
- Use the internal fee to fund high-quality climate action such as research and development into new solutions, purchasing high quality carbon credits, or campaigns for new legislation that will help you reduce emissions.
ACTION 6
AMPLIFY YOUR POSITIVE CLIMATE ACTIONS BY ENCOURAGING OTHERS
- Work with your peers and suppliers to set targets and collaborate on decarbonising value chains.
- Contribute positively to climate dialogue by, for doing things like campaigning for clearer requirements on claims and due diligence legislation.
- Create sustainability requirements in your procurement processes and work with others in your sector to make these standard (e.g. no deforestation, no single-use plastics).
- Implement adaptation measures to manage risks from climate change.
ACTION 7
MAKE CREDIBLE, HONEST AND TRANSPARENT CLAIMS
- Use plain language in your claims, ensuring they are truthful and verifiable. Read more Internal and external stakeholders should be able to talk about your climate strategy positively and confidently.
- Don’t be afraid to be radically transparent– admit mistakes, point to where you aren’t able to act and discuss why, respond to criticism honestly.
- Avoid headline or binary claims like ‘carbon neutral’ which can be misleading or expose you to risks, avoid sins of omission. Read more
- Do not make claims about a product if the performance of the overarching company doesn’t align (for example, don’t market a product as carbon neutral if the company isn’t).
- Claim you are contributing to our global journey to net zero, rather than you’re offsetting your impact. Read more
ACTION 8
AUTHENTICALLY COMMUNICATE YOUR PROGRESS
- When you make progress, share it to encourage others to take bold action.
- Be honest about challenges and failures. When they arise, explain what happened. We are all on this journey together, and we must learn from each other. Read more
- Change can only happen if the whole company commits, so share what you’re doing with colleagues and secure internal buy-in.
ACTION 9
START NOW!
- The time is now. You can start reducing your emissions and taking responsibility for those you have yet to abate whilst further solutions are developed. Just be honest and transparent!
- Investors are looking for companies that can abate emissions, rather than those reliant on accounting tricks. Increasingly savvy customers will see through workarounds and coming legislation banning misleading claims will only increase scrutiny. Acting now means future-proofing your business, reducing liabilities and becoming more investible.
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