How EY Carbon is helping UK listed firms plan for net-zero

When UK chancellor Rishi Sunak declared at COP26 in November that the UK would become the world’s first net-zero aligned financial centre, there was a collective intake of breath from Britain’s biggest firms.

Because, by 2023, all British financial institutions and listed companies will be forced to publish their plans on how they will transition to net-zero, as the UK moves towards a net-zero economy by 2050.

While this is great news for the planet and for the trailblazing UK, the first G20 country to make it mandatory for firms to disclose their climate-related risks and opportunities, it is a huge challenge for businesses.

But not one that cannot be overcome, with a little help. 

EY Carbon – helping UK businesses prepare transition plans

To help firms face the challenge, EY has launched EY Carbon, a new sustainability offering designed to advise and support businesses as they prepare their transition plans, ahead of independent scrutiny and verification.

The consultancy giant, which is carbon negative in its own operations and on track to reach net-zero by 2025, is investing £100m into this new initiative with plans to recruit more than 1,300 professionals over the next three years. 

The EY Carbon team, currently made up of 250 dedicated sustainability professionals in the UK, including 12 partners, will help firms develop robust, ambitious plans while building longer-term sustainability strategies. As well as helping clients adapt their own operations, the team can help them to identify and unlock the business opportunities created by decarbonisation, ultimately helping them to protect and create long-term value for all their stakeholders.

“Businesses will need to move from purpose statements and pledges to the detailed transition plans that will lead to positive action being taken,” says Rob Doepel, EY’s newly appointed managing partner for sustainability and head of EY Carbon.

The new regulations also include tracking Scope 3 Emissions, both the emissions a business produces from its own operations and the indirect emissions that occur across its supply chain. This means firms will need to accurately track and record these.

It is also vital for businesses to have robust controls and assurance in place to mitigate the potential for greenwashing, enabling them to demonstrate the genuine strides they are making to minimise their impact on the environment.

And EY’s recently launched EY Carbon Hub, a net-zero transformation progress tracker, will help businesses plan, measure and execute on their transition to net zero.

EY Carbon can help clients execute plans at any point in their net-zero transformation journey with services including:

• Climate risk modelling
• Net-zero strategy and planning
• Access to financing
• Renewable energy supply
• Product and process innovation
• Operating model design and implementation
• Change management
• Non-financial reporting and disclosure

Find out more about EY Carbon.