How Not To Commit To ‘Net Zero’: 5 Common Carbon Strategy Mistakes

How Not To Commit To ‘Net Zero’: 5 Common Carbon Strategy Mistakes

Corporate net zero pledges are coming thick and fast, but not all of them are up to the standard we ... [+] need. Net zero, it seems, is the new plastic-free - a target for carbon neutrality is the must-have centrepiece for your brand's sustainability communications strategy. A weary tweet from the Telegraph's Sam Brodbeck last month spoke volumes: "Can any firms confirm they're NOT going carbon neutral? Would be a lot quicker." The trend shows no sign of slowing. The NewClimate Institute recently reported a threefold increase in the number of businesses setting net zero goals, from 500 at the end of 2019 to 1, 565 in October 2020. Meanwhile, estimates suggest that the carbon offset market could hit $1. 4 trillion annually in 20 years, a roughly five-thousand fold increase from $247. 9 million in 2020. It was this sort of forecast that prompted Mark Carney to launch the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets. We urgently need businesses to radically reduce their carbon emissions in order to achieve decarbonisation by 2050 and limit the worst threats of the climate crisis. But as organisations queue up to add their net zero strategies to the pile, a number of