- The cost of achieving net zero is estimated at between 0.5% and 0.6% of GDP through to 2050, in the UK, with investment growing from £10bn in 2020 to £50bn in 2050
- From 1990 to 2022 UK emissions dropped by 53 %. The target by 2030 is a further 43 % fall in emissions
- Emissions rose 4% in 2021 compared to 2020 as economy recovers from Covid-19
- In order to meet Net Zero expectations, Capital spending on physical assets for energy and land use systems is estimated to be c.$275bn cumulative, or $9bn p.a.; equivalent to c 50% of global corporate profits, 25% of total tax revenue, 7% of consumer spending
The key challenge is not whether to go for net zero by 2025 but how? The economic situation – emerging from the Covid 19 pandemic, the UK cost of living crisis, the impact of the Russia/Ukraine conflict, rising fuel and food prices, the low value of sterling against the dollar – means that climate change is not the only challenge to be addressed and complicates the Net Zero imperative. So how are companies going to deliver against their Net Zero objectives? That is what the event aimed to understand more about. Do companies intend to change their business models, embrace new technologies, or embed sustainability into their operations. Which way will they go to unlock value and make a transition to a green economy? And how fast are they prepared to go?
We caught up with Larry Zentner, Managing Director, UK, HTEC Group, to talk to him about the event, collaboration between HTEC and Vitol and lessons learned from the event.
Connect with Larry Zentner
H: Who organized the event?
L: “The event was sponsored by HTEC and Vitol together. We have been working for the last six months to build an electric charge point business to help large businesses electrify their fleets of vans and trucks. This part of the e-mobility market is still very new, market penetration is maybe 1% or 2%. There is huge potential. Larger commercial vehicles are more complicated than cars for a variety of reason: battery size, electricity consumption, routes, fleet size and variety, time requirements, depot restrictions, power management, and much more. And that is what Vitol and HTEC are trying to solve. We started from a blank sheet of paper on the 1st of January this year and started by helping Vitol to understand the parameters of the business they wanted to build, the costs of creating that business, and the critical steps they would need to take along the way. It’s a very ambitious objective of Vitol, to build a market leading business from scratch. Vitol describe HTEC as a ‘software powerhouse’ and they trusted us to help them on their journey.”
H: What were the relevant issues and areas covered at the event?
L: “We discussed vehicle fleet electrification, supply chain optimization, changing consumer behaviours, ESG supplier screening and traceability, partnership with eco NGOs and think tanks and universities, renewable energy sources, waste and recycling, energy efficiency, ethical investment, digitization, supporting customers and suppliers within the supply chain.” These are all different ways that Net Zero can be achieved, and each company had its own unique focus and relative priorities for each of these areas.
H: How is HTEC contributing to Net Zero?
L: “We have a long-standing history of helping clients achieve sustainability goals. From delivering impact in the life cycle of large-scale solar plants to helping maritime companies operate their fleets more sustainably, HTEC has a deep domain experience and expertise in building green solutions that will contribute to greener future and enable companies win this net zero race. For instance, HTEC Group has helped Stena Bulk develop a complete Orbit platform solution which allows our client not only to see the big picture and extract value from data, but also manage more vessels with the same staff yielding reduction of tens of thousands of CO2 emissions, not to mention increased ROI in the millions. Each time we help a client develop systems that improve yield or enhance operations we are contributing to the Net Zero challenge. “
H: Which companies attended the event?
L: “A diverse mix of people from the energy industry, from offices and refurbishments, retail estates, finance and investment, consulting, insurance, research houses, manufacturing, public policy gathered to discuss and share the commonality and the divergence and gain a common energy and desire around Net Zero. There were 21 CEOS, CTOs, and other business leaders from organisations including Advanced Propulsion Center (APC), Aura Futures, Cloud NC, CRSI, Eon, Ernst & Young, Fabian Women’s Network, HTEC Group, Vitol, Johnson Matthey, Lease Plan, LV, McLaren, Ocado, Peel Hunt, Vantage Healthcare, and West Hill Capital.” Many of the guests are current clients or target clients.
H: What are the lessons learned?
L: “One of the lessons from the event is that businesses’ efforts need to be accelerated at a much higher degree. We need to create 43% reduction by 2030 which is only eight years away. In other words, we must achieve in 8 years what we have achieved in 32 years. We can already see some big improvements, but there is still much to be done. It is a really tough challenge, much tougher than people are giving a credit for. The second lesson is that this responsibility falls on everybody, on consumers, produces of energy, renewable industry, mobility. But leaders have the dominant responsibility – although they have made their commitments to Net Zero, they have not possibly understood that they must lead the way and go faster than everybody else. The sense of urgency is the biggest insight from the event as well as having to think very creatively about how to go about it. It is not just about carrying on, we need to start taking real action. We must be innovative and use a combination of smart business models and new technologies as well as ways of optimizing businesses in a much more radical way than we have done it so far.”
