Hear our experts discuss where we are in the evolution to net zero and what comes next, how businesses will evolve to meet future environmental goals, and which industry stakeholders play a role and how they can work together.
Featuring:
- Dan Andersson, Global Head of Sustainability, Advanced Materials | IMCD
- Katie Stiefermann, Global Marketing Manager & Sustainability Lead, Industrial Solutions | IMCD
Click above to watch our recent panel or keep scrolling to read a summary.
Around the world, businesses and governments are working towards various net-zero targets. Some are set for as soon as 2030 and others for 2050. But with some goals just a few years away, we must already consider what comes next to fully achieve circularity. So, what should we be doing now to move beyond net-zero? What is the ultimate goal? And how do we get there? Keep reading to find out.
Where we are today in the journey to net zero
To understand where we are going, we must first understand where we have been. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the origins of the sustainability conversation, tracing back even further to where it truly began.
The beginning: A profit-driven mindset
In the early days, businesses operated solely for ultimate profit, with no sustainable strategies in place. The focus was on short-term financial gain, with little to no consideration for long-term impacts on people or the planet. Simply put, there was no regard for the effects of business strategies on environmental or social well-being.
A glimmer of awareness
By the 1990s, businesses began to recognize the consequences of their decisions on the planet and its resources. This realization led to the emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Events like beach cleanups and city tree plantings became common, signalling a growing awareness of sustainability.
However, these actions did little to reverse the damage already done. During this period, businesses remained in what is called a net-negative phase. Net-negative refers to a harmful impact, where more damage is caused than good. In this case, the harm was directed at our planet and its resources.
Progress with intention
Today, we are still operating in a net-negative phase. However, sustainability is becoming a more prominent part of business strategies. Many companies now have a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) to lead these efforts.
Governments and corporations around the world are also making pledges to transition to the next phase: net zero. Net zero is the balance between the amount of greenhouse gases produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere. Some companies have already achieved net zero, representing a small but growing group of impact companies.
The rise of impact companies
Impact companies go beyond simply reducing harm. With fully integrated sustainable business strategies led by CEOs, they aim to balance positive and negative effects, achieving net-zero or even net-positive outcomes. Despite their efforts, widespread adoption of such practices has been slow. In 2016, a major milestone was reached with the Paris Agreement, where 196 countries committed to combating climate change. The goals were clear:
- Limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
- Reduce emissions by 45% by 2030.
- Achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Despite these commitments, progress has been insufficient. Instead of a 45% reduction in emissions by 2030, current projections show a 9% increase. This alarming trajectory underscores the urgency of accelerating sustainable action.
The question remains: how will we move from intention to meaningful progress, ensuring a livable future for generations to come?
Correcting the path to net zero
To address the challenges on our path to net zero, it’s essential to understand the role we all play, particularly in industries with significant emissions. Currently, the chemical industry is responsible for 8% of global industrial greenhouse gas emissions. While efforts are underway to decrease this figure, 77% of these emissions fall under Scope 3, making it a critical focus for change. Companies in this sector are actively seeking innovative ways to track, account for, and reduce carbon outputs across the entire value chain.
Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions generated throughout a company’s value chain, making them notoriously difficult to measure, including:
- Business travel
- Employee commutes
- Waste disposal
- Purchased goods and services
- Emissions from the goods a company produces
- End-of-life disposal of products
- Transportation and distribution
Given the complexity of these sources, Scope 3 is often referred to as a “black box.” However, since upwards of 80% of emissions for many industries fall under Scope 3, addressing this challenge is vital.
To make progress, industry collaboration and data sharing are essential. One promising approach is tracking a product’s carbon footprint and using this data to perform a life cycle analysis. This process evaluates emissions from cradle to gate—covering every stage from raw material extraction to a product's completion. While still in its early stages, this method offers significant potential for improving transparency, fostering collaboration, and building credibility. By better understanding the emissions linked to individual products, industries can take meaningful steps to drive down their overall carbon impact. Collaboration and innovation will be key as the chemical industry—and others—work to transform these early efforts into scalable, impactful solutions.
What comes after net zero
Net zero is not the ultimate goal of sustainability. While achieving net-zero emissions is a critical milestone, we must think further ahead to a future where we go beyond balancing harm and focus on regeneration. The next phase in sustainability is achieving nature net positive. Nature net positive refers to creating conditions where nature regenerates rather than declines—a concept often described as the halt and reverse approach. This means transforming our economy to work in harmony with nature, ensuring that our activities restore ecosystems instead of depleting them.
To achieve a nature net positive world, we need a fundamental shift in how businesses operate to focus on:
- Regeneration: Restoring natural ecosystems to a thriving state.
- Resilience: Building systems that can adapt and sustain under environmental pressures.
- Recirculation: Embracing circular economy principles to minimize waste and maximize resource use.
In this future, CEOs lead the charge, embedding sustainability across the entire organization, not limiting it to a single team or department. Achieving nature net positive requires a radical transformation of business models, where material and energy consumption moves into a degrowth phase, prioritizing efficiency and regeneration over endless expansion.
While today we are far from this vision, it’s essential to ground ourselves in what is possible. Nature net positive offers a hopeful and achievable goal—one that redefines success not by profit alone but by the health and resilience of the natural world we all depend on.
How we reach nature net positive
Experts predict that if we begin reducing our reliance on fossil fuels now and make more significant strides after 2030, carbon neutrality by 2050 is within reach. But achieving this ambitious goal requires transformative changes in how we think and operate—starting today.
Achieving carbon neutrality demands innovation across every aspect of business:
- Product selection: Choosing sustainable and energy-efficient materials.
- Supply chain strategies: Optimizing processes to reduce emissions and waste.
- Production systems: Implementing systems that prioritize resource efficiency and minimize environmental impact.
We must challenge the status quo, ask tough questions, and continuously seek ways to repurpose waste and maximize the use of resources. Furthermore, we must work together and utilise the power of collaboration. No single organization or sector can tackle this challenge alone. Success depends on building partnerships across:
- Industries: Sharing technologies and best practices.
- Governments: Establishing supportive policies and incentives.
- Academic institutions: Advancing research and innovation.
- NGOs: Driving community engagement and accountability.
Collaboration opens the door to new insights, technologies, and solutions that may have previously been overlooked.
Every action we take must consider its broader connections and impacts. Between environmental, social, and economic factors, we must:
- Evaluate the full life cycle of products and processes.
- Address potential unintended consequences to avoid setbacks.
- Identify leverage points for meaningful, positive change.
- Maintaining this holistic view ensures that we maximize the benefits of our efforts while minimizing harm.
At its core, achieving carbon neutrality requires us to see that we all play a role in this journey. By fostering innovation, embracing collaboration, and adopting a systems-wide perspective, we can meet the goals ahead and secure a sustainable future for generations to come.
Key takeaways
- While most are focused today on net-zero goals, we need to be simultaneously changing our thinking to eventually reach a nature net positive.
- We are not alone in the sustainability journey and we must act collectively, creatively and intentionally to reach our goals.
- The goals set ahead of us are achievable, and each of us can play a role in reaching them.
IMCD Industrial Solutions | Sustainable Solutions Program
IMCD is committed to breaking down complex sustainability topics to support you at every step of your sustainability journey; whether you’re at the start or looking to optimize your current efforts. Click here to learn more about our Sustainable Solutions program and explore the sustainable materials we offer in your area.