Quick guide to climate strategy and CO2 reduction for businesses

In this guide, we will provide some suggestions, advice and recommendations on how your company can develop a climate strategy and work actively with CO2 reduction. It's important to point out that how climate strategies are created and implemented is highly individual. Therefore, there is no magic solution that all companies can benefit from. This guide is therefore more of a general guideline on how to start working with climate strategy and CO2 reduction. Working with climate strategies and sustainability is a continuous process and should never be considered finished. It's important to set goals and then keep working towards them.

This article is based on an excerpt from our whitepaper: A quick guide to climate strategy and carbon reduction.

Target CO2 emissions

The first step towards a climate strategy is to measure CO2 emissions from the company. A CO2 report divided into scope 1, 2 and 3 according to the GHG Protocol forms the basis for the strategy and reduction targets. A basic rule is to evaluate whether emissions can be reduced or optimized.

Learn more about carbon accounting: Everything you need to know about carbon accounting in 2024

Identify and implement strategies in scope 1, 2 and 3

Focus on actions in scope 1 (direct emissions), such as optimizing the car fleet and investing in electric cars. In scope 2 (indirect emissions), energy efficiency and switching to renewable energy sources can reduce emissions. In scope 3 (indirect emissions from external activities), it's important to collaborate with suppliers and optimize internal processes.

See more concrete reduction strategies in the full guide.

Increase data quality

Work with suppliers to improve data quality and develop future sustainability strategies. Stay up-to-date with the latest data from all parties involved. The better the data quality in carbon accounting, the better the basis for evaluating which emissions to reduce.

Circular economy and reduction

Circular economy is about utilizing products and minimizing material consumption by keeping products and materials in circulation for as long as possible to maximize their value and avoid waste.

Circularity is when a product's lifecycle is actively intervened in and optimized to make materials last longer and reduce the need for future extraction of virgin materials. Through circularity, products and materials can be utilized to a greater extent by being shared, reused, repaired and recycled rather than discarded or landfilled. Circular initiatives can thus reduce the need for new materials, which can contribute to reducing your company's or your partners' CO2e emissions in scope 3.

You can benefit from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which forms the basis for working with circular initiatives.

Motivation for working with sustainability

There can be many reasons for a company to work with sustainability. As the country stands today, almost all companies want to be sustainable and contribute to the green transition. When working with sustainability in your own industry, there are many ways to go. Typically, it's a good idea to communicate your sustainability efforts so that potential stakeholders and future job seekers in your company notice that you are actively working in this area. It can also put your company in a unique position in the industry to gain competitive advantage and attract talent.

Creating policies

It can be a good idea to draw up some concrete company policies to reduce your emissions. For example, a company policy could include a vegetarian canteen, rules for air travel and other transportation. These policies can be written into an employee handbook so that it becomes customary for all employees in the organization to comply with the climate policy and strategy. It is essential that the communication around the policy comes from the top of the organization and down through the company to ensure that it is implemented correctly and that as many employees as possible understand the message behind it and can comply with it in their everyday practices.

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