WBCSD and Engie join forces to develop industrial decarbonisation principles

THE World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and sustainability consultancy Engie Impact are developing principles to decarbonise manufacturing.

Over the next six months, Engie and WBCSD will bring together experts for a series of net zero manufacturing masterclasses that will develop guidance on how to scale up decarbonisation.

Nicolas Lefevre-Marton, Engie’s Managing Director for Sustainability Solutions, said: “Decarbonisation challenges within the industrial sector are unique and require a holistic view across multiple decarbonisation levels. In addition, industrial footprints are often distributed across multiple sites and geographies adding further barriers to decarbonisation. This masterclass with WBCSD aims to help industrial companies achieve net zero and determine the right technical approach to decarbonisation while optimising economic outcomes.”

WBSCD’s members include the leaders of some of the world’s largest industrial companies, including ABB, BASF, BP, Holcim, Petronas, and P&G.

The first workshop looked at some of the key challenges for companies developing a net zero transformation strategy. This included the advice that companies need to shift away from focusing on quick wins that create an illusion of progress on sustainability and instead develop a longer-term plan that enables them to consider the implementation of emerging technologies.

It noted that companies should shift away from using return on investment as a guideline for investment which typically may only cover eight to ten years, and instead develop investment scenarios based on total cost of ownership that will enable companies to consider coming technologies including green hydrogen. Companies with a shorter-term outlook risk investments in technologies such as new gas-fired boilers that are more efficient than what they are using now, but will then lock them into burning fossil fuels for decades to come.

The partners noted that industrial decarbonisation remains one of the biggest global challenges in achieving net zero, with the industrial sector accounting for 34% of all direct and indirect emissions globally.

Future sessions will consider how to adopt renewable energy to reduce emissions and planning for emerging technologies including CCS.