URL

https://thenetzerotoolkit.org/

Primary contacts (name, email, phone)

Emily Stone

emily.stone@scifest.co.uk

hello@thenetzerotoolkit.org

Short description of the network/initiative

A comprehensive and scientifically sound 8-step toolkit to get your business on the road to zero carbon emissions by 2040

How many actors have made net zero commitments under your network/ initiative?

5

How many actors do you aim to have making net zero commitments in the next 6 months? By COP26?

In the next 6 months: 100

By COP: 50

Pledge. Pledge at the head-of-organization level to reach (net) zero GHGs as soon as possible, and by midcentury at the latest, in line with global efforts to limit warming to 1.5C.  Set an interim target to achieve in the next decade, which reflects maximum effort toward or beyond a fair share of the 50% global reduction in CO2 by 2030 identified in the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C

Organisations completing the NetZeroToolkit are asked to obtain buy-in from the top of their organisation (e.g. CEO or board of directors). Step 6 requires organisations to set targets, requesting that the targets set obtain:

• A 50% emissions reduction by 2030
• Net Zero by 2040

Plan. Within 12 months of joining, explain what actions will be taken toward achieving both interim and longer-term pledges, especially in the short- to medium-term.

Actors are asked to provide an estimation of their likely emissions in 12 months and 5 years. They are also required to set a date to review their answers the toolkit, whereupon they will be contacted by Edinburgh Science and a statement on their progress will be requested. They will also be reminded to update their toolkit with any further information that they have obtained, which could inform the creation of even more ambitious targets.

Proceed. Take immediate action toward achieving (net) zero, consistent with delivering interim targets specified.

Publish. Commit to report publicly both progress against interim and long-term targets, as well as the actions being taken, at least annually. To the extent possible, report  via platforms that feed into the UNFCCC Global Climate Action Portal.

Organisations are encouraged to share the targets that they set themselves via participation in the NetZeroToolkit via their social media platforms.

Scope

Targets must cover all greenhouse gas emissions:

1. Including Scope 3 for businesses and investors where they are material to total emissions and where data availability allows them to be measured sufficiently.
2. Including all territorial emissions for cities and regions

Leading targets may also include:

1. Cumulative emissions (for all actors)
2. Consumption emissions (for cities, states, and regions)

   The guidance notes, available with each of the 8 steps and also available to download as a PDF, clearly state that all emissions across the entire value chain of the organisation must be covered.

Some of the eight steps cover multiple scopes:

Steps 2 & 3: these cover an organisation’s own electricity and energy use (Scope 1 & 2 emissions)

Step 4: this covers an organisation’s direct energy use in the form of driven business miles and fleet

Step 5: This step requires organisations to select areas in which they have currently unavoidable emissions, and requests details of the action to be taken in reducing them. The areas cover mainly Scope 2, and are as follows:

• Freight
• Product Footprint
• Supplier Buildings
• Supplier Operations
• Customer Travel
• Other staff travel

Step 6: Organisations are asked which areas they need to cover in their targets in order to reach Net Zero. The guidance notes makes it explicitly clear to actors that in order to be net Zero, they will need to account for emissions in their entire value chain.

Step 7: Organisations are asked to set a date whereupon they will switch their bank, insurance and pensions where possible to a share action approved provider;

Sinks and credits

1. In the transition to (net) zero, prioritize reducing emissions, limiting any residual emissions to those that are not feasible to eliminate.
2. Clearly specify what sinks or credits are used to make what, if any, neutralization claims, clarifying how sinks and credits are used both on the path to (net) zero, and after (net) zero is obtained. Any neutralization of residual emissions must transition to permanent removals by the time (net) zero status is achieved.
3. Encourage immediate contributions to the preservation and restoration of natural sinks, not necessarily linked to neutralization claims.
4. Ensure that any credits achieve robust outcomes for additionality, permanence, and accounting, and do not undermine social justice or harm biodiversity.

Offsetting

Empowerment and equity

Seek to enable all actors to contribute to the global transition toward (net) zero through engagement, information sharing, access to finance, and capacity building. Develop pledges, plans, and actions in consideration of equity, drawing on, inter alia, the Sustainable Development Goals and Articles 2 and 4 of the Paris Agreement.

Question

Answer

End state and transition. How do you define the end state you are seeking to achieve? For example, are you seeking net zero, absolute zero, or ‘climate positive,’ or some other goal? How is the pathway to that end state defined? Please refer to the Race to Zero Lexicon.

 Net Zero

Dependence on other actors

To what extent do your plans depend on other actors doing something? E.g. for a company, are you assuming suppliers will decarbonize? Or for a city, are you assuming a national power provider will go 100% renewable?

 Suppliers to decarbonise

Governance arrangements

How are targets embedded in long-term decision-making (e.g. for governments, are they in law, or simply political declarations?). Who is responsible for delivery? How does your network or initiative ensure that participants meet their commitments? What processes and procedures does your network use to make decisions?

 Target are embedded in annual reporting which links to Government net zero commitment.

There is a governance process used to make decisions.