If you hang out in action-focused sustainability spaces often enough, you will run into the idea of decarbonization, an immediately eye-catching term considering carbon’s current reputation amongst climate change. However, it is more complex than just “remove all carbon” because, one, we need carbon to live, and, two, decarbonizing society is a major undertaking. In this post, I am going to give a basic overview of decarbonization concepts and ideas, in the hope that you will be able to take this information and begin improving your own business to make the environment better for us all.

Decarbonization is the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions beyond the Earth’s GHG budget. The “carbon” in decarbonization is generally understood to encompass all GHGs, from carbon dioxide to methane to nitrous oxide. Decarbonization is essential for stopping climate change, which will bring major negative impacts to our world and species. We have evolved for a specific atmospheric situation. An increase in extreme storms, wildfires, droughts, sea level rise, heat waves, insect outbreaks, and more are all a part of the resulting shifts from too many tons of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The energy budget is a useful way to imagine how our Earth systems experience energy. Our planet takes in a certain amount of energy from the sun via solar radiation. Some of that energy redirected back into space, and some is absorbed the land, water, and atmosphere. Whatever is not redirected or absorbed is radiated back out. Ideally, this balances out.

Climate change represents the imbalanced books of our energy budget. We currently are putting extra things into the atmosphere than can be absorbed by our systems. These particulates keep the solar radiation from being sent back out towards space. It is kept on Earth – hence the term ‘greenhouse gas emissions’. They act as the glass in a greenhouse does. Having more solar radiation kept in the climate system due to extra particulates is causing disruptions. For example, as more energy – heat – is absorbed by the water, our oceans expand, causing sea level rise. And this can loop. If the planet warms so much that ice caps melt, then the solar radiation previously reflected by the white-colored ice will now be absorbed by the dark-colored ground underneath.

To address climate change, we need to both stop putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and also reduce the GHGs that are currently there. Decarbonization is the former, and it is a major shift in how we consume and create energy. Climate change demands our response, and businesses are a part of that. Your business is a part of that. So let’s get to work.

First, we are going to improve operational efficiency. This is great because you can get a lot of financial value out of reducing or eliminating waste. We want to get as much out of every kilowatt as we can. Energy audits and energy saving measures can be done cheaply, as easy as making sure your HVAC filters and the freezer in the breakroom are kept on a maintenance schedule. If you are in an industrial setting, preventative maintenance is essential for energy and many other resources. You can also invest in some energy saving improvements, like programmable thermostats, up to date and more efficient machinery, and energy monitoring software to better understand and schedule your energy usage. Retrofit your building to reduce the amount of power needed to heat and cool it throughout the year. For expenses related to efficiency improvements, there may be grants or special loans available to incentivize business action. Operational efficiency is good for the environment and the business, and there is no reason to not do the work.

Now that we are using as little energy as possible, let’s switch where that energy comes from. This is going to mean electrification – so having as much of our energy come from technology using electricity produced without fossil fuels as possible – and low or zero carbon energy sources. The goal is to stop putting more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, so any continued use is directly counteracting that goal. There are many options that exist. You can speak to your utility to have your facility powered by renewable energy. You can invest in renewable energy producers, such as solar panels, both on and offsite. If you have a significant amount of diesel reliant assets, you can explore lower-carbon drop-in options for diesel tanks. There has been success with landfill methane capture for utilities. The options are there, and you can examine them for environmental, social, and financial value.

You have to be careful not to fall into Jevon’s Paradox, where the improved efficiency of energy leads to increased overall consumption. Just as financially responsible individuals watch for lifestyle creep when their incomes rise, so should businesses be aware of how increased efficiency does not give them a license to consume as if there are no consequences.

The options listed above – operational efficiency and electrification – are most often part of an approach focused on Scopes 1 and 2 of greenhouse gas emissions.

Scope 1 is the energy produced by the company, so your onsite propane tank and company truck. Scope 2 is the energy produced for your company. Often the utility bill is used as a shorthand in that case. However, a large amount of energy is produced outside of that, both up and down the value chain: employee commuting, the transportation of raw and finished materials, the end of life treatment of products, business travel, etc. You have varying levels of influence over the energy users in your Scope 3, so take stock of what you can and can’t impact and how you want to go about it. You can change sourcing decisions so the transportation of input materials is less energy-intensive. You can create an employee commuting program to encourage low-carbon movement. Ideally, every actor in the value chain is going to be taking action to decarbonize their own operations, so you can work with them and create systemic benefits.

Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, there would still be too much in the atmosphere. Our energy budget is still out of balance. Thus, there is a great amount of interest in solutions for these residual emissions, and your business can be a part of that solution, gaining business value both from being the source of answers yourself and from creating a more stable climate. The organization Project Drawdown has a robust Climate Solutions Library, where they explore the many different ways we can switch over our energy production and where that energy goes.

Throughout your decarbonization process, you should be tracking your impact. This should be holistic, including environmental, social, and financial impacts. You will want to know which actions saved you money immediately, which required upfront investment but paid off long term, and which are going to stay as a cost, and you should know what the pros and cons are for all the stakeholders involved. If you decide something is worth the upfront investment, does that mean that employee bonuses are lower that year? If you decide to not get a more energy efficient heating system, is the environment going to be able to recover? You will make better decisions with data, so collect and analyze what you can.

Total decarbonization will take a society-wide shift, including businesses. By acting today, you are able to take advantage of the business opportunities that exist right now while also setting yourself up for success in the future.