IPWEA’s Practical Tips on Attaining Net-Zero Emissions

Embarking on a net-zero emissions plan can be daunting for any business or organisations doing it for the first time.  

The tasks of gathering data and creating a carbon inventory may not be a very technical task but can very well be time-consuming when starting. However, practical guidance can make this otherwise arduous job lighter and worth doing.

The article from IPWEA (Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia) provides practical tips on how organisations, especially those with complex carbon footprints, like local councils and manufacturing businesses and a limited budget, can reduce their emissions.

Below is IPWEA’s simple diagram that shows four basic steps for organisations to become carbon net-zero and provides tips based on experience for steps 1-3.

Step 1 Measuring emissions

The first step to reducing emissions is to know your business’s CO2 emissions through a carbon inventory. Your inventory involves gathering the number of resources emitting CO2, such as electricity usage and the number of vehicles, and multiplying each with relevant “emission factors.” 

Doing this is the most time-consuming task of all. If you are on a budget, appoint someone from your organisation to do the carbon accounting task. Based on this data, only ask for guidance from a carbon emission reduction specialist when needed, provide training, or calculate your overall footprint.

Once your company has finished its carbon footprint inventory, it’s time to have it audited by an independent and certified auditor. It pays to look around for an accredited auditor because quality may or may not be linked to price.

Step 2 Identify emissions reduction options

For this step, involving every staff member for input and creating a safe environment where staff can confidently contribute their ideas is crucial. It can also be cost-effective for the business as some staff members may know this area well. Investing in a decarbonisation expert to facilitate can also be valuable.

Step 3 Develop decarbonisation and offset plan

Once you have gathered the best ideas from your staff to decarbonise and offset the plan, you can begin screening it and classifying it into three groups: likely, maybe, and unlikely.

Likely ideas are those that stand out in terms of practicality and cost-efficiency.  Maybe ideas need more investigation and could be made into the “likely” group shortly. Unlikely suggestions are those that are impractical or too costly for the company to consider.

These ideas can be grouped into cost, risk, practicality, climate adaptation benefits, staff well-being, and others, which can be ranked and compared. However, according to the IPWEA article, for businesses just starting with the net-zero process, it’s wise to focus on cost-efficiency and consider other criteria less formally.

Step 4 Implement the plan

Once your organisation has developed shortlisted decarbonisation options that include the emissions reductions target and the costs involved in implementing the plan, the next step is to schedule the implementation, starting with the least-cost options and carrying them out as soon as possible. Options that require significant investments need budget planning and can be scheduled for later dates.

Organisations can also develop various decarbonisation plans or scenarios and compare each according to the amount of emissions reduction, investment cost, and potential business impacts.  

These scenarios can consist of business as usual (BAU), when a company does not do anything about its emissions; conservative scenarios, where there is limited emissions reduction and slow implementation of emissions reduction activities; and ambitious scenarios, where the organisation undertakes urgent emissions reduction activities.

Below are two examples of New Zealand organisations- one is a private business and the other a district council in their net-zero carbon journeys:

Carbon Offsetting Success Story of a Consulting Firm in NZ

Kāpiti Coast District Council is NZ’s Model for Carbon Reduction

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