Offering an alternative to corporate net zero and carbon neutrality claims, Net Zero Initiative focuses on giving companies the tools to contribute fairly to the only carbon neutrality target that makes sense: net zero at a global scale.
Net Zero Initiative is a project led by consulting company Carbone 4. It is supported by the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME), the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, and twenty-one major companies.
In 2021-2022, Net Zero Initiative collaborated with over 50 climate change organisations to build together the "10 Net Zero Initiative Principles for Ambitious Corporate Climate Strategy".
The signatories call on their own clients, companies of all sizes and sectors, to adopt these principles in order to build a climate strategy that meets the global net zero challenge.
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In order to limit the temperature increase to +1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial period, climate science calls for a balance between global anthropogenic CO2 emissions and removals by 2050 at the latest. This balance is called global carbon neutrality, or "zero net emissions".
In France, the National Low Carbon Strategy (SNBC) aims to achieve the same balance between emissions and removals in the country by 2050.
To achieve net zero, societies need both to reduce emissions and increase carbon sinks.
Companies must maximize their contribution to reducing global emissions and increasing global carbon sinks by acting on three levers in parallel:
A : La réduction de leur empreinte directe et indirecte
B : L'évitement d'émissions grâce à leurs produits / services et leurs financements
C : L'absorption de CO2 dans et en-dehors de leur chaîne de valeur
The NZI approach is firmly rooted in the latest advances in climate science and the latest work of academia, think tanks and international institutions. The project can rely on a panel of high-level experts since its creation.
« Giving everyone the keys to building a robust carbon neutrality approach is essential. In addition to the drastic reduction of its emissions, this also requires clear, transparent and separate communication on all the action levers implemented in its approach. NZI is working in this direction: clarifying the fair contribution of each company on each of its action pillars to achieve global carbon neutrality. »
« The fight against climate change will require electricity, a vector for energy efficiency and decarbonization, to play a central role. Our climate trajectory, with its short- and medium-term objectives, will make EDF a decisive player in a carbon-neutral society by 2050: it is proof of our determination to act. The work carried out with NZI on the notion of avoided emissions is an essential link to ensure that all players speak the same language. »
« At Mobivia, we decided a year ago to structure our low-carbon trajectory using the "NZI" methodology, which is particularly relevant and adapted to the automotive and mobility sectors. It is therefore quite natural that we wanted to join the NZI 2021 work, in order to contribute to the co-construction of robust, objective, standardized and shared reference systems »
« As a global leader in sustainable mobility solutions, the energy transition and decarbonization of transport are at the heart of everything we do at Alstom. We are committed to carbon neutrality and support the NZI initiative to accelerate joint action in the transport sector and address the challenges of global warming. »
« Making our contribution to the fight against climate change is one of Somfy Group's strategic priorities.
In addition to reducing our own emissions, one of our action levers focuses on the emissions avoided in buildings thanks to our solutions.
We feel it is necessary to be involved in NZI in order to share a rigorous and objective methodology. »
« The mobility startups we support on a daily basis provide answers to the fight against climate change. Participating to NZI is essential for us in order to collectively establish reference methods concerning avoided emissions. This will allow us to objectively assess the impact of the solutions we support. »
« In 2016, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Group became the first listed real estate company to take into account the expanded scope of indirect carbon emissions related to construction, visitor and employee transportation, and tenant energy consumption. Today, our GHG reduction targets have been approved by SBTi and are aligned with a 1.5°C trajectory. With the NZI 2021 work, we want to go further in our fight against climate change by working on both our avoided emissions and carbon sinks. »
Some companies have already started to implement a full Net Zero Initiative strategy, by adopting a clear distinction between reductions, avoidances and removals, by setting targets and monitoring the three pillars in parallel, by choosing to claim their "contribution" rather than "offsetting", or by refusing to claim individual "carbon neutrality".
NZI is an initiative developed by Carbone 4, a consulting firm specialized in low-carbon strategies and adaptation to climate change. Carbone 4 assists its clients in developing robust and reliable climate strategies, based on the recommendations of the Net Zero Initiative and the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME).
