Third of the UK’s largest businesses make net-zero commitments

Third of the UK’s largest businesses make net-zero commitments

Apr 15, 2021

A third of the biggest businesses in the UK have made commitments to eliminate their contribution to climate change by 2050 or sooner.

The race to net zero

Businesses are leading the way in the world’s transition to a low carbon economy, with 30 of the UK’s FTSE 100 companies signing up to the United Nation’s Race to Zero campaign. This campaign is the largest global alliance committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest – backed by science-based targets.

Pledges to the campaign have doubled over the last five months, with companies including AstraZeneca, Barratts, BT Group, Rolls-Royce, Sainsbury’s, Unilever and Vodafone all committing to net-zero goals – representing a total market capital of £650 billion. Businesses ranging from all sectors including transport, technology and finance have joined more than 2,000 companies globally that have joined the Race to Zero campaign.

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “UK businesses are already leading the way in cutting carbon emissions and building back greener – it is fantastic to see so many of our biggest companies already pledging to reach net-zero… But more can be done and so today I am calling on more fantastic British companies to step up, follow suit and pledge to join the fight against climate change.”

Government measures

The government is also putting in place measures that encourage businesses to reduce their emissions, including appointing Andrew Griffith as Net-Zero Business Champion last year to spur companies to set ambitious climate targets. He has since written to every UK FTSE 100 company, engaged directly with 77 of their chairman and CEOs and presented to thousands of businesses at virtual events across the UK.

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “Businesses wield incredible influence to drive change across society and the economy – we need to harness this power to fight climate change”.

Our net-zero pledge

We recognise the urgent need to make net-zero a reality, so as part of Centrica we’ve committed to reaching net-zero by 2045. Alongside this, we’ve committed to helping businesses reach net-zero by 2050. Find out more about what net-zero means and the pathway your business can take to become sustainable below.

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Balancing planet and profit during unprecedented market volatility

06 Jul, 2022

Balancing planet and profit during unprecedented market volatility

Why are energy prices high compared to a year ago?

By Vander Caceres • 14 Jun, 2022

Wholesale energy prices have experienced unprecedented levels of volatility since the end of summer 2021, with both day ahead/spot and future contracts surging to all-time highs. In the last couple of months, prices have decreased but still remain high compared to a year ago. This period of high energy prices is expected to continue for the foreseeable future (see next section). Energy prices have surged for a number of reasons: A global increase in gas demand following the ease or end of Covid-related restrictions throughout 2021. After the pandemic, economies across the world started to recover. Asian countries like China saw their imports of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) increase. This resulted in lower LNG shipments to the UK and Europe. On the supply side, the Covid-19 lockdowns pushed some maintenance work from 2020 into 2021 at a time when demand was recovering. In 2021, gas production hit a record low of 363TWh, 47TWh below the previous record low in 2013. Low production was the result of an extensive summer maintenance schedule which saw shutdowns at several major terminals, as well as the Forties Pipeline System which serves a significant proportion of UK gas and oil production. A lack of wind in the summer resulted in higher demand for conventional power. European gas storage in 2021 and Q1’22 remained far below previous years and it’s unclear how these are going to be replenished in the summer given the concerns around supply including the potential suspension of Russian gas flows due to sanctions. The 1,234km offshore Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was designed to double the flow of gas between Russia and Germany (and by extension the rest of Europe) has been abandoned following the invasion of Ukraine. Gas storage in the UK is extremely minimal with capacity at less than 2% of the UK’s annual demand, compared with 22% for other European countries. Whilst the UK is not heavily reliant on gas coming from Russia, it sources almost half it’s gas supply from Europe. Hence, wholesale gas and power prices in the UK are now subject to knock-on-effects from the conflict in Ukraine.

What does volatility mean for your journey to net zero?

20 May, 2022

Amidst rising energy costs, digitalisation, growing pressure from stakeholders and increasing regulation, organisations may struggle to define their pathway to a low-carbon future. What can you do to protect your business’ net zero plans from the challenges of volatility? Disruption and volatility are putting organisations under pressure. Digitalisation and new technology developments continue to challenge existing business models. Its increasing dependence on energy and encouraging businesses to drive change to secure competitive advantage. And as customers, employees and shareholders look to engage with companies who understand the importance of decarbonisation, pressure is mounting to prioritise sustainability.

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