What is a Net Zero Organisation?

One key component of an organisation’s drive to demonstrate a genuine commitment to addressing these global challenges is to become a Net Zero organisation as part of its EESG strategy.

A Net Zero organisation is one where no incremental greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere because of the organisation’s operations, including the delivery of its products, services and solutions to its stakeholders throughout the value chain.

THE NET ZERO LENS

As part of its ambition to continuously deliver on its Purpose, i.e., To build a better future for people, for communities and for organisations themselves, EFQM, in partnership with FutureZero (http://www.futurezero.com) has developed a Net Zero Lens questionnaire to help your organisation conduct a first, light touch assessment of the impact on it of the inevitable requirement to move towards becoming a Net Zero entity.

The EFQM Net Zero Lens shines a spotlight on the areas you will need to address to become a Net Zero organisation, not just in the delivery of your products, services and solutions to your target groups but also across the length of the value chain and wider ecosystem.

It highlights where and how your organisation can do better, letting you baseline your current Net Zero performance and identifying strengths & opportunities for improvement as you track and measure success in your transformation/transition to becoming a Net Zero organisation.

What is the structure of the EFQM Net Zero Lens?

The structure of the Net Zero Lens replicates the structure of the EFQM Model, i.e., the assessment begins with an exploration of the Direction of your organisation, referenced against its current and desired relationship with the concept and practices of Net Zero thinking.

Following on from this, the organisation is invited to consider how it is Executing the commitments made in Direction vis-à-vis its Net Zero ambitions.

Finally, the organisation is encouraged to consider if the Results it is achieving are in line with the fulfilment of its Net Zero ambitions and whether it is using these results to anticipate and plan for the future.

Is your organisation ready to make this assessment of your current competence and capability to become a Net Zero organisation?

What are you waiting for?

How can my organisation transition to become a Net Zero organisation?

The EFQM Net Zero Lens recognises that every organisation has its own ecosystem and context. This makes your relationship with the concept and desire to meet the Net Zero challenge unique.

There is no “one size fits all” solution and each organisation will have to make its own strategic choice(s) on the chosen pathway to achieving Net Zero.  

There are several possible destination pictures, and we encourage each individual organisation to consider its own emissions objectives set within a model that triangulates its Net Zero ambition within the context of: –

1. The expectations (and interests) of its Key Stakeholders

• Emerging regulatory conditions in the markets in which it operates

• Its continuing financial sustainability and future value adjusted for likely future carbon costs.  

This triangulation model recognises there are choices and trade-offs to be made and that a pure Net Zero is not necessarily the ultimate goal for every organisation. 

Decisions taken, based on these choices and trade-offs, and their subsequent implementation are certain to pose challenges for the competences and capabilities of the organisation’s People, as well as the organisation’s capacity for innovation that will be required for the necessary transformation to succeed. 

This EFQM Net Zero Lens questionnaire is designed to help you identify those challenges and walk you through the considerations in moving from where you are now to where you might decide you want to be.

What are you waiting for?

What is the relationship between Sustainable Development, your EESG strategy and a Net Zero action plan?

We have already identified that, for EFQM, Sustainable Development equates to development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

The three main goals of Sustainable Development are to improve the economic, environmental and social situation for everyone. Each of these goals are linked.

Economic activity satisfies people’s wants and needs; this needs to be done with respect for our fragile environment, all while striving for a fair and just society for everyone.

Investors are increasingly evaluating organisations’ economic, environmental, social, and governance (EESG), performance, looking at EESG metrics more than ever before and investing more in organisations that can demonstrate a commitment to long-term improvement in all these areas.

The COP26 discussions in Glasgow set new targets for climate action and limits on carbon emissions so there is an increasingly bright spotlight, globally, on Sustainable Development and Climate Action, of which Net Zero is a major thrust.

So, regardless of the size of your organisation or whether your organisation is public, private or third sector, developing a Net Zero action plan should be a central part of your EESG strategy.

Developing a Net Zero action plan as part of your EESG strategy supports your organisation’s Sustainable Development objectives, which in turn demonstrates a real commitment to confront the global challenges we are all facing.

By linking these strands together, you are creating a virtuous circle.

What are you waiting for?

Footnote:

EFQM has also produced a Sustainable Development Goals Lens and a Circular Economy Lens, https://www.efqm.org/lens-series/circular-economy both of which, alongside the NZ Lens, can help your organisation deliver its EESG strategy and further reinforce the organisation’s Sustainable Development virtuous circle .