A Guide to Achieving Net Zero Emissions

The We Mean Business Coalition's "4 As of Climate Leadership" framework provides a strategic guide for companies to achieve net-zero emissions. It emphasizes setting science-based targets (Ambition), integrating climate goals into core business operations and supply chains (Action), aligning corporate lobbying with climate targets (Advocacy), and maintaining transparent ESG reporting (Accountability).

• To achieve the goal of halving global emissions by 2030, companies should adopt science-based targets following the Net Zero Corporate Standard, which includes five to ten-year targets for rapid emissions reductions across value chains. Some companies, such as JLL, Scania, and PepsiCo, have committed to reaching net zero by 2040 via the Climate Pledge.
• Carbon offsets should be used as a tool to increase ambition rather than a replacement for internal emissions reductions. High-quality offsets, such as those focusing on wetland restoration or reducing deforestation, are recommended as additions to science-aligned reduction efforts.
• Companies in the food, land, and agriculture sectors are required by Science Based Targets initiative guidance to remove ecosystem degradation and tropical deforestation from their supply chains by 2025. Nestlé is cited as an example of a company using satellite monitoring and supply chain mapping to ensure commodities like soy, sugar, palm oil, meat, and pulp & paper are deforestation-free.
• Effective climate action requires aligning all corporate activities, including public affairs and lobbying, with stated climate goals. The document notes that some companies' sustainability teams may have science-based targets while their public affairs teams lobby for lighter regulations; Volvo addressed this by leaving the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) due to climate misalignment.
• Transparent ESG reporting is essential for attracting investment in low-carbon services and managing carbon risk. For instance, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) used CDP data to find that 75% of the emissions in its Global Public Equities Portfolio came from only 340 of its 10,000 companies.
• A just transition is necessary for high-carbon industries to avoid disrupting staff and communities. SSE, a UK electricity infrastructure company, implemented a strategy that resulted in two-thirds of the control room staff at the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm in Scotland being former oil and gas workers.

APA

Mendiluce, M. (2022). A Guide to Achieving Net Zero Emissions. We Mean Business Coalition. https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/a-guide-to-achieving-net-zero-emissions/

Chicago

Mendiluce, María. A Guide to Achieving Net Zero Emissions. We Mean Business Coalition, 2022. https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/a-guide-to-achieving-net-zero-emissions/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mendiluce |first1=María |title=A Guide to Achieving Net Zero Emissions |publisher=We Mean Business Coalition |date=11 November 2022 |url=https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/a-guide-to-achieving-net-zero-emissions/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mendiluce2022guide, author = {Mendiluce, María}, title = {{A Guide to Achieving Net Zero Emissions}}, institution = {We Mean Business Coalition}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/a-guide-to-achieving-net-zero-emissions/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }