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Last week, I ran the first in a series of training sessions/Mastermind groups for member of the NHS’s transplant community. As a non-medic, I was way out of my comfort zone for quite a bit of the session, which is where the Mastermind format comes in to its own, as I hand the cutty-squidgy-stitchy bits over to them and concentrate on what I know best.

But one of the things I focussed on in the training section was the actual definition of Net Zero. It’s one of those phrases that gets thrown around willy-nilly, but as I emphasise in my Net Zero for Business course, Net Zero does not mean Zero Carbon. It means “get as close to zero as possible, then invest in some form of carbon extraction for the rest.”

“As close as possible” is widely taken to mean a 90% carbon footprint reduction, following guidance from the Science-based Target Initiative (SBTi). However, I usually suggest that organisations do aim for zero when starting their strategic planning, but give themselves that 10% wiggle room in practice.

Why?

‘Zero’ is an incredibly powerful, inspiring target, in a way that “we’re going to reduce our carbon emissions by 2% every year.” never will be. It basically says “carbon is dead to us” and helps people to let go of the side of the swimming pool and strike out confidently. But, in practice, the last 10% of carbon reductions can be extremely difficult and/or expensive to abate, and we shouldn’t let that distract us from getting stuck into the ‘easier’ 90%. All carbon cuts count and earlier cuts count more than those later on, so ‘paralysis by analysis’ is just as much an enemy as disinterest.

The press often smirks at the fact that the UK Government’s 100% Clean Power by 2030 target actually allows for 5% of power to come from unabated gas, but it makes complete sense from a practical point of view. 100% Clean Power is the big, broad ambition, 5% the wiggle room.

Personally, I’d be delighted if we got to, say, 80% clean power by 2030; I’m not sure how the press would react to an impressive result that fell short of target. We need to beware the “perfection fallacy” which friends and enemies alike can fall into (eg when “We need more people to cycle to cut carbon emissions” is countered with “Not everybody can cycle” – so what?).

So if you have a Net Zero target, or intend to set one, make sure you understand what you mean by it. But don’t be afraid to aim for Zero Zero and allow yourself to fall a little short.