NET ZERO emissions are achieved when the greenhouse gas emissions produced by a country or a business equal the amount of emissions they remove. Emissions are produced from our everyday activities, such as the fumes from the fuel we use in vehicles and the heat and waste products they produce, as well as the services we sell or products that we make. All of these contribute to damaging our climate and environment.

Obviously, the best way to get to NET ZERO is not to produce any greenhouse gas emissions in the first place, however, that is simply not possible as no business or country can cut out all emissions. So offsetting is used to balance out the impact, that’s things like planting trees to absorb gases like carbon dioxide. NET ZERO is achieved when we cut back and offset sufficiently to cancel out the emissions we produce.

NET ZERO emissions will require a commitment to achieve and there is no one size fits all route to carbon neutrality. Your organization must decide on the path it wants to take, from setting sustainability goals that are ambitious yet achievable, to understanding which measures are feasible to implement today and which should be considered in the longer term.

The chart illustrates four different routes to achieving a NET ZERO target by 2030. The pathway to corporate targets can have multiple steps, and while some organizations feel it necessary to invest heavily now, Vervantis know that with early assistance, NET ZERO can be a self-funded journey that doesn’t saddle companies with large costs or the risk of stranded assets and outdated technologies.