KEEPING THE MOMENTUM
The push for Net Zero operations has been disrupted by the pandemic. However, even
if investment is frozen, there are still things manufacturers can do to make sustainability
a key part of their recovery – including taking a look at the behaviour behind Net Zero
In recent years, a key target for individuals,
companies and entire nations has been Net
Zero. Last year, the UK became the first major
economy to pass legislation to reduce the UK’s
net emissions of greenhouse gases by 100%
relative to 1990 levels by 2050, making us a ‘net
zero’ emitter.
Businesses across the country saw the benefits,
with carbon footprints, sustainability and waste
reduction the words on everyone’s lips. But then
came the pandemic, and focus turned to short-term
survival. As a result, a lot of the momentum around
Net Zero has been lost.
“COVID has added a significant bump in the
road to Net Zero,” says Dr Mark Burrows, technical
energy solutions manager at npower Business
Solutions. “Most manufacturers are preparing to
weather the recession and have hunkered down. As
a result, they are changing towards low or no-cost
solutions – squeezing assets to the maximum, using
data, looking at people and behaviour rather than
investing in new equipment or carbon reduction.”
The push towards Net Zero must remain at
the forefront of manufacturers’ minds. But, with
budgets tight and boardrooms wary of taking risks,
Burrows says that this will be easier said than done.
“The pandemic has shown that we can’t just
use capital to change things,” he says. “At the
moment, companies are putting cash away to ride
out the recession. There’s more than one way to
take the agenda forward. I advocate businesses to
look at more innovative and interesting ways to
commercialise opportunities. There’s also a bad
habit of looking at single technology streams – a
focus on solar PV and nothing else, for example.
It’s not going to work. All that’ll happen is you
pick off the easy things, which often have the
lowest payback. Everything else, which has a huge
reward, just gets kicked down the road. There will
be a big stop in inertia in four or
five years’ time when all of the
easier stuff, with a short-term
payback, has been achieved
and the longer-term projects,
such as renewables or energy
storage, haven’t been invested
in, because nobody has thought
about combining the short and
long term. If you have a shortterm
win as part of a longer-term
strategy, it’ll suddenly look a lot
more appealing to invest in.”
A change in mindset
The specific changes in
behaviour that are needed across
an organisation for a Net Zero
push to take hold have given rise
to a scientific methodology that
is now being taught at a Masters’
Level in universities, and is being
implemented by npower itself.
Called Carbon Psychology, it
enables managers to understand
complex behavioural constructs
at all levels of the workforce
– from the boardroom to the
shopfloor. This is done by
breaking down behavioural
outcomes – for example,
best practice, habit, mindset
and culture – into constructs
which can be activated and
manipulated in ways that
influence energy-saving
behaviour. These underlying
drivers determine the way that
people behave and the practices
they decide to establish and
repeat (see diagrams, left and
right for a basic representation of
the Carbon Psycology process).
“Behaviour change is the
hardest element of Net Zero –
making people care about the
impact their job can have and
empowering them to make a
change,” explains Burrows. “It’s
often the overlooked action; too
NET ZERO SEPTEMBER 2020
often, companies like technology
and raw data that points to
reduced emissions or less waste
and an ROI that they can derisk.
Behaviour is an unknown
entity, but the companies that
understand its importance are
often the ones at the top of the
charts when it comes to Net
Zero targets.
“All too often when trying to
implement a behaviour change,
people try and recreate what
they’ve been taught or what
they’ve done elsewhere, when
it may not be relevant for that
factory or that organisation. We
advocate that any organisation
wanting to look at behaviour
change 100% should do, as the
impact can be massive – but only
if it’s done the right way. You
must understand your workforce
before you start implementing
any change.”
As a sign of how seriously this
concept is being taken, npower
employs a team of psychologists
to help manufacturers
implement changes. They
undertake a qualitative and
quantitative analysis of
behaviour, which is used to
develop a behaviour-change plan.
Post-pandemic focus
The road to Net Zero is a long
one, and, as Burrows says, will
take coordinated long-term
planning from companies and
government to achieve. The
signs are, however, that Net
Zero is a key driver for future
government policy in the
aftermath of the downturn.
Project Birch is the
government’s scheme to
bailout companies struggling
to survive the pandemic. The
terms of the scheme say that
BY CHRIS BECK
Understanding the
behavioural
characteristics on
your site
Bespoke, targeted
interventions to influence
and change behaviours
Maximise the impact of
efficiency initiatives and
delivery low-cost savings
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