Understanding the terminology of carbon in buildings
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By Dave Archer Business Manager - Influenced Sales
Do you understand what your clients are looking for?
Carbon reduction is now a major driver of corporate policymaking. Global businesses and brands are stepping up with environmental goals, putting ‘carbon’ at the top of the agenda. With this comes an ever-growing wave of new corporate terminology: embodied carbon, Net Zero, Scopes 1, 2 and 3, offsetting and more. It’s becoming increasingly important to understand what these terms mean because it’s crucial to understand exactly what clients are aiming for. One example of this is the use of the terms ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘Net Zero’. While they look similar, there are important differences.
"When it comes to carbon neutral and net zero, it's not really a case of which is 'better'."
Dave Archer
What is carbon neutral?
The Carbon Trust explains that ‘carbon neutral’ is defined by the PAS 2060 standard from BSI which sets out requirements for measurement, reduction and offsetting. BSI describes carbon neutrality as: “Not adding new greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere. Where emissions continue, they must be offset by absorbing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere.”
It’s important to note that ‘carbon neutral’ can refer to a defined part of a business such as a specific product or service, rather than the whole organisation. This means that carbon neutrality does not have to include the whole organisation or its supply chains.
Defining net zero
The term ‘net zero’ is more rigidly defined in terms of what it includes. An organisation aiming to be truly net zero must include all direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. This means that it must reduce its absolute emissions across every part of its business, including supply chains.
The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) provides the framework for organisations to implement a net zero target. This supports the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5oC. As an example, Mitsubishi Electric’s Environmental Sustainability Vision 2050 sets its net zero 2050 target in line with the SBTi.
The company has also gone further and earlier this year, announced that it would make all offices and manufacturing sites net zero by 2030.