Net zero transformation

Targeted, tailored solutions to reduce carbon emissions

As climate change poses an increasing threat across the global economy, organisations are tasked with developing and implementing tangible transformation-based action plans to reduce emissions and work toward net zero.

Some organisations have been taking incremental action and finding quick wins. But to achieve the world’s net zero ambition, business leaders need to think strategically and truly shift their business models and their value ecosystems upstream and downstream. And they’ll need to do so quickly, as the regulatory environment necessitates rapid change. This is where PwC can help—identifying your most effective climate actions and bringing together real-world objectivity, with the right tech and data insights.

Opportunities for driving climate action

Making real progress towards net zero goals is going to need business transformation. This will mean transforming operations, products and services, working within supply chains and navigating complex transparency requirements.

The 2015 Paris Agreement has set the benchmark for limiting global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit); the next challenge lies in picking a starting point and developing an action plan that delivers compound value and not just incremental results. Most companies are simultaneously pursuing revenue growth, which creates an inherent challenge in finding a holistic solution: How do companies derive benefits for the business while meeting the expectations of regulators and the demands of stakeholders?

The effort, for your company, begins with understanding your own carbon footprint, that of your operations, products and services and of your supply chain upstream and downstream. This opens the door to thinking about opportunities for circularity, energy solutions and options for transformation.

Businesses thinking about how they can become climate compliant in the short-term should also consider how they can create real value from the long-term opportunity that climate change presents.

It’s not only about assessment and reporting. By pursuing transformation, organisations can rethink their sustainability practices from the ground up and shape their businesses to capture long-term value. Organisations that pinpoint the transformation they need, from investment to sustainable innovation, will be positioned for success as climate change continues to unfold.

An organisation’s carbon footprint extends outside its own four walls. Companies need to understand the climate risks along their entire value chain in order to truly assess their carbon footprint and set forth a plan to decarbonise.

The next stage is more challenging—working with vendors upstream and downstream to create incentives, metrics, knowledge, financial resources and opportunities to help them to decarbonise.

Companies are looking to tackle the complex challenges of value chain carbon neutrality and monitor downstream emissions from products, services, and investments. It’s vital that they drive competitive advantage that is truly theirs—spotting new wins and opportunities across their entire value chain.

An ever-changing regulatory ecosystem continues to put pressure on organisations to make transparent their efforts to reduce carbon emissions. They’re tasked with understanding the full scope of taxes and incentives, from the EU Green Deal to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Government action has come in the form of both regulation and incentives, and each can play a role in how businesses approach net zero. Regulation will impact cost while incentives help deliver a business case for a new strategy. Clear training and reporting can connect corporate actions to both regulatory imperatives while helping organisations capture opportunities for incentives.

Our scope of net zero transformation services

Maturity and baselining

An assessment of existing net zero initiatives and capabilities to understand the implications of science-based targets for a company’s growth strategy and operating model. Also includes an assessment of the organisation’s emissions. Both are critical to effectively engaging stakeholders and for making the strategic case for action.

With our breadth of knowledge and diverse expertise across domains, from tax to legal and regulatory, to supply chain, to IT, we provide our clients with the comprehensive assessment that they need.

Net zero strategy development

The creation of a bespoke net zero strategy, as part of a wider commercial strategy. This includes developing a holistic net zero vision, ambition and target; identifying and modelling (both carbon and cost) the decarbonisation levers; and developing an action-focused, enterprise-wide strategy bringing all these together.

As a first-mover in the space that has been providing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) support to clients for three decades, PwC has extensive experience helping businesses enhance growth potential through corporate sustainability strategies. We put that experience to work as we help you craft a strategy that is realistic, reportable and focused on sustained outcomes.  

Net zero transformation roadmap

The development of a bespoke roadmap which presents the net zero journey and sets the overall approach across levers to reduce emissions over the short, medium and long-term. It maps out the key activities required, cross-business workstreams for each, ownership and a clear timeline for each, and a robust governance structure, with clearly defined allocated members, roles and responsibilities to oversee the successful implementation of the whole transformation programme.

Transformation implementation

This involves executing on the roadmap by transforming the organisation’s operations to deliver on the net zero strategy. This can include all aspects of the business or deep dive into a few, including supply chain and procurement, operations and logistics, commercial approach, culture, data and technology, and back office function transformation.

When the processes are optimised, businesses will unlock better performance, enhance and align processes with their sustainability roadmap, thereby turning climate ambitions into tangible action that drives business value. The end result would manifest in quantifiable changes within the supply chain itself. When enough industry players start driving tangible actions to deliver real business value, industries will change, and we will see a slowdown in negative environmental impact.

Sustainability reporting

This stage comprises an assessment of your current ESG data and industry-specific support to meet disclosure regulations. This is followed by agile delivery through our in-house team to enable high quality net zero reporting—utilising our data and tech expertise.

We help you create holistic reporting systems that meet your ambitions, manage risk and create stakeholder trust. These systems scale and grow with you as you steer your business into the future.

Net zero transformation case studies

From the energy sector to manufacturing and more, PwC helps companies efficiently and cost-effectively navigate business transformation and pursue decarbonisation.

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Chris Temple

Chris Temple

Partner, Net Zero Transformation Leader, PwC United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)7715 704870

Jeremy Prepscius

Jeremy Prepscius

Asia Pacific Sustainability, Sustainable Supply Chains, Managing Director, PwC Hong Kong

Tel: +852 6331 6254

David Linich

David Linich

Sustainability, Principal, PwC US

Gunther Dütsch

Gunther Dütsch

Sustainability Services & Climate Risk, Partner, PwC Germany

Tel: +49 (0)40 63780

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