Supporting your
net zero journey
The climate emergency poses a real challenge to all of us. Companies will need to adapt and
adopt sustainable practices to survive. Knowing where to start can prove a challenge.
The EXTEND project is here to support you on your journey to becoming more sustainable by providing free expert guidance and knowledge of all the pathways available.
EXTEND addresses the challenges around life extension and repurposing of assets. It focusses primarily on engaging SMEs who traditionally have had some or little involvement and supporting their journey from opportunity identification to technical capability demonstration. This will be carried out with a focus on reducing the carbon footprint and adopting business models more in alignment with a circular economy approach, more innovative and engaged in new supply chains while at the same time helping to prepare companies to respond to new and growing markets.
What is Net Zero?
Net Zero is the state in which a system’s (activity, business, economy) emissions have an equivalent CO2 level of Zero. This is the result of balancing emissions of greenhouse gases with CO2 removal from the atmosphere.
As it is not practical to remove CO2 at the level it is currently being emitted, significant reductions in greenhouse gases are required for ‘Net Zero’.
What are greenhouse gases?
CO2 is not the only gas which helps trap heat in the atmosphere (like a greenhouse). Others such as methane also have an impact that can be considered in equivalence to CO2.
What does Net Zero mean for me?
The Paris protocols require governments to introduce binding targets to achieve Net Zero. In Scotland the legislation sets 2045 as the date to achieve this.
Businesses have a significant role to play in this endeavour. Waste reduction, smarter product/service design and renewable energy use have a large part to play in business. This can make the business more efficient and more profitable.
At this stage government is using grant support (e.g. to move towards renewable heat for buildings, programmes such as ‘EXTEND’) to progress these goals. Government procurement is increasingly looking at progress to Net Zero as a qualifier for government contracts.
How long have I got?
In Scotland, the end goal is net Zero of all greenhouse gases by 2045. This presents a huge change in ways of doing business in a short time. A high proportion of CO2 emissions of a product or service are fixed during the design phase. 24 years to the target date represents only 1 or 2 life-cycles of a typical product.
To succeed, businesses need to start now. EXTEND is here to help.
The 2045 net zero carbon emission target can only be achieved if industry embraces the transition from product sales driven business models to ones based on maximising the value of assets.
The Low Carbon Challenge Fund projects are part-funded by the 2014-2020 European Regional Development Fund part of the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Program.
The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Program.
