Programmes fail when they try to be objective and ignore the subjective parts of real-world operations.
Sustaining a decarbonisation programme in a company takes a huge amount of effort.
You have to:
- Analyse the whole system, not just parts of it.
- Wrestle with uncertainties and feedback loops.
- Engage with stakeholders, not just count assets.
It takes years to develop a baseline, longer to get stakeholder buy-in for action, a decade to reap the benefits.
It’s also easy to derail a programme.
Progress can be set back a few years by a change of management, deferred legislation, or a different focus.
A decade ago, a sustainability director told me not to think of this work as a compliance exercise.
Think of it as a license to operate.
What you’re really building is the foundations for the long-term viability of your business.
Handcrafted insight 