A recent survey of over 500 Australian companies has revealed that businesses are struggling to meet Net Zero targets, with 42% of companies not taking any action to decarbonise and one in four businesses having no intention to reach Net Zero targets by 2050.
The survey findings have been unveiled in Schneider Electric’s ‘2024 Sustainability Index’, shining a spotlight on the everyday challenges businesses are facing to decarbonise.
While the majority of businesses recognise the need for Australia to meet carbon emissions reduction targets, less than one in five companies have an overarching decarbonisation roadmap or strategy in place, with smaller companies, in particular, struggling to know where to start.
With looming requirements to disclose decarbonisation strategies and targets set to come into effect from 2025, the Index underlines the importance of sharing knowledge and resources across industries in order to bridge the divide between companies who are well-progressed on their Net Zero journey and those who are yet to act.
The SA ZERO initiative, led by the Committee for Adelaide, aims to do just that.
Launched in 2023, SA ZERO is a landmark South Australian collaboration that brings together business, government and academia to help accelerate the state’s journey to zero-carbon and zero-waste.
Aligning with the Committee’s key pillar of ‘Environmental Leadership’, SA ZERO partners include BHP, the City of Adelaide, CSIRO, Flinders Port Holdings, Flinders University, the University of Adelaide and the RAA, each shaping the agenda, focus and outcomes of the Australian-first collaboration.
The cluster hosts regular workshops and events, enabling members to share learnings and address common challenges, including formulating and reviewing decarbonisation strategies, identifying solutions, and aligning carbon emissions and waste reduction targets and actions, with state, federal and global objectives.
With South Australia setting firm targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50% by 2030 from 2005 levels, on the road to Net Zero emissions by 2050, the cluster also helps to increase the pace and scale of decarbonisation and circularity across the state. Drawing from the collective wisdom of SA ZERO’s expertise, learnings and case studies are shared through public events, helping to spread insights and knowledge with the business sector and wider community to help guide and fast-track the transition to a low-carbon economy.
At a recent SA ZERO event, held in partnership with RAA, local organisations shared their innovative solutions to decarbonising fleet transport, while an upcoming workshop with BHP and CSIRO will help members to understand the importance of meaningful and ambitious Climate Transition Action Plans.
Flinders Port Holdings recently hosted the cluster for its bi-monthly workshop, providing a tour of the Flinders Adelaide Container Terminal and a deep-dive into the company’s sustainability journey to-date, moving from baselining emissions to setting science-based targets and funding initiatives under a robust climate-action-plan.
It’s this kind of knowledge-sharing that will help cut down the decarbonisation divide and assist more businesses to plan, act, monitor and share their decarbonisation journey.
Climate change presents a substantial risk to the South Australian economy and our people, but it is also an opportunity. Industry participation in the global decarbonisation economy is vital for innovation, global market access, job creation, investment attraction, wealth creation, and restoration of the natural environment.
The legislating of Australia’s emissions reduction targets, South Australia’s declaration of a climate emergency and the state’s leadership in the circular economy will drive our collective response. At the end of the day, it will come down to individual businesses and consumers to deliver the outcomes needed.
To find out more about the Committee for Adelaide’s SA Zero initiative, visit: www.committeeforadelaide.org.au/sa-zero
Sam Dighton
CEO, Committee for Adelaide
