Why Are Industrial Companies Too Short-Sighted on Decarbonisation?

While many businesses know their responsibilities around decarbonisation for 2030, very few are thinking longer-term. In this article, we’ll examine why companies need to plan for 2050 and how you can get started on a carbon reduction plan to meet the Paris Climate Agreement’s targets.

Despite global commitments to net-zero by 2050, businesses across the UK are failing to adopt any kind of decarbonisation strategy. According to research by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics done on behalf of the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI), the most prominent guilty party is the heavy industry sector. Only 16 of 111 large PLC industrial companies have an emissions reduction pathway that would reduce global warming to 2C or below.

The report analysed the companies to see if their emissions reductions plans were according to the Paris Agreement. All 111 of those PLC’s that failed to meet the requirements belonged to the aluminium, cement, mining, steel and paper sectors. All of these industries are classified as ‘hard to decarbonise’ – but what does this really mean?

A ‘hard to decarbonise sector’ has no apparent low-carbon replacement for their products or technologies. However, each of these sectors can still adopt less obvious approaches in other areas of their business to help reduce their carbon impact.

Some sectors are more complex to decarbonise than others. The research highlighted aluminium and paper as two particularly difficult industries to align with the target 2050 reduction.

Surprisingly, however, is the fact that 22% of the 111 companies are, in fact, aligned with the global targets for 2030. Unfortunately, as the requirements ramp up heavily after 2030 to meet 2050 targets, these companies fall short. They do not have plans expansive enough to accommodate the rapid decrease in emissions outlined between 2030 and 2050 by the Paris Agreement.

The same report for the TPI argues that heavy industry can benefit from the circular economy to utilise new processes to reduce waste and pollution and increase the recycling of materials.

Energy Management as a Means to Meeting Decarbonisation Goals

Rather than relying on technological solutions that may not be developed in time, businesses MUST take action now to begin decarbonising towards 2050. As the report above shows, it’s not enough to meet 2030’s targets as the 2050 ones require a more radical approach.

Both ESOS and SECR provide legislation and guidelines that may seem like a challenge to many businesses but are actually designed to help put you on a path to energy efficiency and decarbonisation.

By choosing Integral Energy to carry out SECR for your business, you’ll put your company on a decarbonisation strategy that can take energy commitments seriously and help reduce your carbon output and increase energy efficiency. Contact us today to discuss energy-saving opportunities.