Overview
We’ve been setting and delivering carbon reduction targets for over a decade using robust processes and practices to ensure they drive progress.
We create and maintain comprehensive models to forecast our future emissions and shape our climate targets and associated implementation strategies.
As part of this we simulate different scenarios to evaluate potential investments and divestments we might undertake, leading to a central case with alternative scenarios. We also forecast our future customer emissions. This, however, is a much more complex task as external factors affecting consumer behaviour are numerous and varied, resulting in multiple feasible scenarios.
Our updated Planet targets:
2040
A net zero Centrica (50% GHG reduction by 2032)
2050
Net zero customer (28% GHG intensity reduction by 2030)
In 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released their latest report (AR6), which revealed that global emissions remained on the rise and that 'mitigation pathways to limit warming to 1.5°C and 2°C, would require deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in emissions’. Urgent action is needed and consequently, we fully support the ambitious national climate targets across our key markets, in pursuit of the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
With this context and our ongoing discussions with key stakeholders, we continuously review our targets to determine if more ambitious and rapid changes are feasible. During this period, our transition plans for major assets have progressed significantly as we work on strategies to decarbonise or repurpose them for a low carbon economy. We now believe that committing to faster decarbonisation is both achievable and necessary. As a result, we’re bringing our net zero target for our business forward by five years to 2040 - a full decade ahead of the global 1.5°C goal. Additionally, we’re advancing our interim target from 2034 to 2032 whilst increasing the reduction goal from 40% to 50% (base year:2019).
By encompassing all of our scope 1&2 and customer scope 3 emissions, our carbon reduction targets cover 97% of our value chain emissions and we are making good progress on the remaining 3%.
Centrica (Scope 1 & 2) emissions projections and targets
At the same time, we’ve re-evaluated our customer emissions target. Our assessment found that due to the ongoing slow progress in critical external factors like policy framework development and technology cost reductions that affect demand for low carbon services and solutions, our current target remained sufficiently stretching in its ambition. We are committed to help our customers be net zero by 2050 with a 28% reduction in GHG intensity by 2030 (base year: 2019).
We’re making strong progress in developing market-leading customer propositions that are helping customers become more sustainable and are targeting our advocacy to bring forward the necessary policy conditions needed for net zero, so we hope to be able to accelerate our target in the future.
Customer (Scope 3) emissions pathways and targets
Delivery of our targets is driven by our Climate Ambitions which we’ve updated and now span every part of the value chain in which we operate – from increasing the number of customers using our Hive platform, to rolling out our zero emission vehicle-fleet. Our ambitions are subject to significant dependencies that are beyond our immediate control, although we take proactive action to influence them and drive progress.
In line with best practice, achieving our targets will primarily be delivered through carbon abatement rather than offsetting.
Climate Transition Plan
We’ve been able to go further and faster in our latest Climate Transition Plan than ever before. We plan to advance delivery against our net zero targets with a new suite of enhanced Climate Ambitions – from achieving 20,000 heat pump sales a year and 5 million Hive connected devices by 2030, to forming a joint venture to build Europe’s first ammonia-fired power station in Ireland.
