Last year’s business energy challenges
In the last year, businesses have had a long list of problems to tackle – from rising energy prices, interest rates and inflation; to navigating their eligibility for support through schemes like the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) and Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS).
Promising energy transition
But the mood among businesses surveyed is optimistic and there’s a strong focus on delivering net zero strategies. However, the wider business context is still tough. Many organisations continue to struggle in the current economic climate, and some organisations hesitate to take firm steps on the path to net zero.
Learnings from our net zero survey findings
Rather than stow away energy transition plans for a distant future, what steps can be taken to overcome the risks faced today, and new challenges on the horizon? We surveyed 300 businesses to find out how they are planning to overcome net zero risks and accelerate their net zero plans.
GHG reporting – 68% of businesses say Scope 1 and 2 reporting is part of their net zero plans. But few are thinking about Scope 3 emissions – focus here needs to grow.
Stakeholder pressure – Organisations are being held to account: 35% of organisations say they are increasingly under pressure to take environmental action.
Greenwashing – Greenwashing was identified as a risk that’s influencing the net zero energy strategy of 60% of organisations. Transparency is critical.
Funding – With interest rates remaining high, access to funds for the energy transition continues to pose a challenge for 43% of organisations.
Accelerating commercial net zero plans
To hedge against the rising cost of CO2 emissions, our research found that organisations are already:
- switching from coal to biomass or natural gas (29%)
- shifting to clean energy supply contracts (20%)
- building onsite renewable generation (17%)
But our research also found that many important net zero initiatives remain in the pipeline. For example, just one-fifth of businesses say they have already shifted to clean energy supply contracts. This is an important opportunity that’s not to be missed.
Our research also found that hydrogen-based solutions still feel a long way off for many companies. Most organisations say that a lack of technology maturity is holding hydrogen back. But the idea that the technology is not ready is a myth — and it is stopping too many organisations from acting.
