Imagine a traveler setting off for an unfamiliar destination without a map or GPS to follow. Or a scientist without any data to verify their observations. Each is determined to succeed, but without relevant and reliable information to guide the way, both are likely to flounder and fail. In the fight against climate change, the same problem has plagued the private sector’s embrace of net zero emissions, but that is about to change.
To understand the problem, consider an imaginary firm that seeks to dramatically reduce its emissions by 2030. It owns stakes in a car company, clothing brand, hospital chain, and grocery delivery app – and it invests in many other companies.
Its total emissions include those from its own operations, such as heating and cooling its corporate offices, as well as the emissions of all the companies it owns and invests in – and their supply chains and delivery networks, until their impact on clients and citizens.