Decarbonization Basics - Current State Assessment

Video Transcript

Transcript has been edited for clarity

Hi, I'm Efosa Uwaifo a Sustainability Solutions Manager at ENGIE Impact. In this video on The Fundamentals of Corporate Decarbonization series, I'm going to explain what the Current State Assessment looks like, and why it should be one of the first steps an organization takes on its decarbonization journey.

A Current State Assessment evaluates materiality, and organizational capabilities, and overlays that to stakeholder interviews and more to get valuable data that provides a holistic understanding of an organization's current state. This assessment helps establish baselines and benchmarks so the organization can craft a clear, data-informed path forward. A few common action items for a Current State Assessment include the following.

First, you want to perform initial inventories to assess which sides you'll be able to implement sustainability changes for. Secondly, you want to analyze your organization's current capabilities, overall strengths and areas for investment. Also, you want to research industry trends and standards, as well as utilize publicly available data to establish peer benchmarking. You also want to evaluate the flexibility, resilience, and performance of the organization. And finally, you want to assess these findings to inform your targets, and then align your emission goals with your corporate strategy.

With the initial assessments in hand, organizations can develop science-aligned targets, but here's the key - you must perform a reconciliation exercise against existing corporate goals to ensure that your emissions targets are aligned with your overall organizational efforts. When your existing efforts are aligned seamlessly with your emissions targets, you can create complementary benchmarks and key performance indicators. This strengthens the established efforts and reinforces their importance. However, if there is a conflict between the emissions target and strategic business objectives, adjustments need to be made. In this case, you should prioritize the established science-based decarbonization goals. It's crucial to ensure that our efforts are aligned with what the science tells us is necessary.

Effective plans always start with a baseline. I hope this explanation helps you understand the importance of conducting a current state assessment early on in your decarbonization journey. For a deeper dive into the fundamentals of decarbonization please explore other videos in the series. Thank you for watching.