Companies commit to net zero emissions
UNDER pressure to show “credible action” on climate change, competition among Australia’s biggest emitting industries will make buying groceries, boarding a plane or heating a home more sustainable without a bigger price-tag for customers.
Now major companies in Australia are committed to net zero emissions by 2050, scrutiny has turned to how they plan to get there, including setting meaningful interim targets.
Sustainable corporate lead at Climateworks, Wei Sue, said large companies taking a “leading role” setting emissions targets not only generated greater competition, but also gave smaller businesses “confidence” to follow.
Challenges remain for some sectors, such as steel production where technology to make the industry more green is not yet at maturity, but in other areas such as electricity production the abundance of renewable options has significantly boosted the viability of reaching net zero.
Ms Sue said even industries with strong interim targets have had to recalibrate to remain in line with the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finding that global temperatures must not exceed 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, rather than the initial 2C target.
“The devil’s in the detail here as those interim targets can look quite different depending on whether its aligned with 1.5C or 2C modelling,” she said.
Ms Sue said larger companies also had greater buying power than individual consumers and could therefore find cost-effective ways to reduce downstream emissions. Supermarkets in particular have the scale to help consumers be more environmentally conscious.
Woolworths supermarkets, which make up about 1 per cent of Australia’s entire electricity consumption, are aiming to be “net positive” by 2050, meaning they would remove more carbon from the atmosphere than they create. Woolworths Group chief sustainability officer Alex Holt said the company was aiming to run on 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025 through investment in “all new builds”, rather than taking existing wind and solar out of the grid.
Ms Holt said the company was careful to ensure food and everyday essentials did not increase in cost, but noted weekly customer surveys consistently showed
sustainability was a significant consideration for shoppers. “Plastic reduction, sourcing locally and less food waste are among a number of different things we’re doing … to help customers make sustainable choices,” she said.
Australians are also voting with their feet when it comes to carbon-neutral travel, with Qantas now operating one of the largest carbon offsetting programs in the global aviation industry. Qantas Group chief sustainability officer Andrew Parker said airlines had a “responsibility” to cut emissions.
“Even though we have been flying a lot less, we’ve actually seen the same proportion of customers rs choosing to offset their domestic travel during the pandemic — showing that hat this issue remains top of mind nd for people,” he said. .
The resources sector r is also weighing up future e opportunities, with Adelaide-based oil and gas producer Santos seeking g to become a major player er in the carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry.
The company has run a pilot program at its $US165 million
Moomba CCS project and intends to finalise future plans later this year.