Turning Your Net Zero Plan into Action

Starting your journey to net zero can feel overwhelming, even when you’ve made a solid plan. It may seem like a daunting task, and that’s completely understandable. But fear not! Our Road to Net Zero programme is here to guide you through every step of the way, making it a manageable and practical process.

Rallying Your Key Stakeholders…Why You Can’t Do It Alone

Surprisingly, if you’re like most businesses, around 80% of your emissions are influenced or controlled by your key stakeholders – this includes your suppliers, customers, and employees. Let’s not forget the crucial role your leadership team plays in this too! You simply can’t achieve Net Zero without bringing these stakeholders on board.

Step 2 of our Road to Net Zero programme is designed to help you turn these potential “roadblocks” into your ultimate “support crew.”

Building a Stakeholder Engagement Plan

That’s where a Stakeholder Engagement plan comes in. We help you identify which of your key stakeholders are crucial to implementing your action plan and develop strategies to get them involved. This is based on their current level of engagement and follows the ADKAR™ change management methodology.

The goal is simple: to ensure every single one of your key stakeholders is aligned with your net zero objectives and fully engaged in your carbon reduction journey.

How We Can Help You Move Forward

At this stage, you might wonder how to approach stakeholders or how to even begin those conversations. We’ve got you covered! Here’s how our programme helps you build momentum and create lasting change:

Stakeholder Surveys

Before engaging stakeholders, it’s essential to understand where each stand in their carbon journey. This can be achieved through targeted stakeholder surveys tailored to key groups. For suppliers, this may include gathering publicly available information. Taking this initial step ensures that we engage with each stakeholder at the appropriate level. Below are examples of the types and formats of questions we use in these surveys.

Stakeholder Workshops

Workshops are a great way to bring together your key stakeholder groups. During these sessions, we help them understand the role they play in contributing to your emissions, and we invite them to confirm their own progress on their carbon journey. Most importantly, these workshops secure their buy-in to an annual carbon data collection survey.

These sessions are about more than data collection—they’re about encouraging open, honest conversations. We delve into each participant’s challenges and work together to overcome them. And remember, even small actions to reduce emissions are steps in the right direction. Getting your team on board is invaluable to achieving your net zero goals.

As actor and environmental advocate Ted Danson once said, “We are all in this together. We will all make it, or none of us will make it.” That’s the spirit we embody in these workshops.

Helping Your Suppliers on Their Carbon Reduction Journey

Another crucial piece of the puzzle is ensuring your suppliers are on board. After all, their carbon footprint directly affects yours. The good news? Subscribers to the Road to Net Zero programme get free access to our Supplier Carbon Reduction Programme.

This programme ensures your suppliers are actively working to reduce their emissions—and, in turn, your carbon footprint. It also helps improve the accuracy of your own carbon calculation by ensuring they report emissions associated with the products and services they provide.

Offering Solutions, Not Problems

Instead of presenting your suppliers with a problem (i.e., demanding they reduce their emissions), you can offer them a solution! We provide a comprehensive set of services to help your suppliers wherever they are on their carbon journey. These include:

• Carbon footprint reporting service

For suppliers who already have their emissions third-party calculated and verified.

• Carbon footprint verification service

For suppliers who have calculated their emissions but need verification.

• Carbon footprint calculation service

For suppliers who have yet to calculate their emissions at all.

These services give your suppliers the tools they need to reduce their carbon footprint and, by extension, help you achieve your net zero goals.

Conclusions:

The path to net zero might seem long, but every journey starts with a single step. By engaging your stakeholders, collaborating with your suppliers, and taking small but meaningful actions, you’re setting yourself up for success.

The Road to Net Zero programme provides the support, tools, and strategies you need to move from plan to action—and bring everyone along with you. We also hold regular meetings with you, to ensure you’re held accountable and stick to your plan.

Ready to Start your journey?

Before deciding on the best approach, it’s essential to clarify your goals. Whether you’re focused on understanding your carbon footprint, developing a robust reduction plan, or preparing for certification, defining your objectives will guide you towards the right solutions.

Written by Eoin McQuone

Eoin (pronounced like “Ian”) is the Chief Carbon Coach and founder of Go Climate Positive. He is a Practitioner member of IEMA (the Institute of Environmental Management) and a sustainability lead on the Cheltenham Economic Recovery Task Force.

Eoin says, “Sustainability is no longer a ‘nice to do’, it is business critical. My goal is to make it accessible and affordable for every business, however big or small , no matter their market sector.”