Carbon neutrality, zero carbon footprint or net zero, all refer to the achievement of net-zero CO2 emissions by balancing the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere with an equivalent amount removed from the atmosphere, stored by plants, or by purchasing sufficient carbon credits.
The best way for organisations and individuals to become carbon neutral is to reduce or avoid emitting GHGs where possible, so that it is only necessary to offset those emissions that are unavoidable.
Carbon neutrality is generally achieved in one of 2 ways:
- Using purely renewable energy sources that don’t emit carbon dioxide (this is also known as a low carbon economy, decarbonised economy or post-carbon economy).
- Carbon offsetting, by paying third parties to capture and store 100% of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere – for example by planting trees – or by financing carbon projects that should lead to the prevention of future emissions, or by buying carbon credits, which, in practice, are rights to emit GHGs, of which there are a limited number on the emissions market. If these are bought, and these GHGs aren’t emitted, the amount of GHG emissions will be reduced by this amount. The practice of carbon offsetting has received some criticism.
In this context, technological tools and data science are hugely important in supporting entities along the path to achieving carbon neutrality. The development and use of carbon footprint calculation tools, intuitive methodologies and dashboards for decision making for the implementation of emission reduction measures, and platforms to streamline the purchase and sale of emissions allowances for offsetting, are key to achieving urgent and efficient sustainable transformation.