What is a low-carbon transition approach?

Roles and definitions of the low-carbon transition.

Role of organisations and the need for low-carbon transition

Organisations, like all stakeholders in society (local authorities, states, individuals), have a role to play in anticipating the low-carbon transition:

• To limit the organisation's impacts on climate change (estimate its impacts in order to reduce them)

• To limit the impacts of climate change on the organisation (reduce its dependence on fossil fuels or carbon; reduce its vulnerability to physical risks; anticipate barriers targeting carbon-intensive activities and the cost of inaction; develop its place in tomorrow's world and its compatibility with a low-carbon world)

This effort falls within the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) framework, in which an ever-growing number of actors are engaging. It addresses the many societal challenges while also considering other impact indicators.

Role of carbon accounting

Carbon accounting is a structuring tool for engaging the first step of a low-carbon transition approach: it involves identifying sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to reduce them. Once emissions are known, an organisation can declare them — this is called reporting — and build a transition plan in response.

These actions can follow two complementary approaches: mitigation (limiting the organisation's impacts on climate change) and adaptation (limiting the impacts of climate change on the organisation).

In conclusion, the carbon indicator thus accounted for is an activity indicator that enables:

• Internal decision-making: in order to "count in order to act" (identify priorities, know where and how to act). It serves the management of GHG emissions and the monitoring of actions. The carbon indicator is then part of a Triple bottom line (TBL or 3BL) approach that aims to couple the economic, social and environmental performance of the organisation.

• External publication: for regulatory or voluntary reporting, as well as to transparently demonstrate its actions and commitments to its stakeholders.

Note that carbon accounting is not a measurement but a calculation. It is not rigorously scientific but "science-based". It is an inherently uncertain assessment, but sufficient to take action and reduce GHG emissions.

Role of low-carbon transition approaches

Low-carbon transition approaches advance organisations along their transition pathway. These approaches, in general, follow a structured process with several key steps, presented in a "transition pathway" below.

Account ➡️ Plan and act ➡️ Evaluate

🌐 English version of this image.

• Analyse the current situation: the first step is carbon accounting, motivated by a stakeholder request, a regulatory obligation to quantify GHG emissions, or a willingness to engage in the fight against climate change. It enables a strategic analysis of the organisation and in particular of its dependencies and vulnerabilities with respect to fossil fuels and the transition of our society towards a low-carbon model. The engagement of internal and external stakeholders is crucial during this step, in order to share the newly acquired knowledge, make the consequences of the status quo visible to all parties and motivate as many people as possible to act.

• Build the transition plan: for carbon accounting to be both useful and usable, it must necessarily lead to the development of a transition plan. Concretely, this is a roadmap that details how the organisation plans to reduce its emissions and improve its resilience to climate and transition risks. The transition plan includes reduction objectives, a transition strategy and the construction of an action programme.

• Implement the actions: The implementation of actions is the key step in the process. All other steps must enable a real, effective and smooth execution of the planned actions. This step is unique to each organisation, and requires an approach specific to each one to ensure its success.

• Evaluate the transition plan: in a logic of continuous improvement, monitoring the implementation of actions allows their results to be analysed, and therefore the reduction of the organisation's emissions to be managed. More broadly, this evaluation verifies the credibility of achieving the objectives set by the organisation.

• This transition pathway is not linear. In a logic of a progression cycle, carbon accounting intervenes recurrently to manage the reduction of emissions, and if necessary, to adapt the transition plan and the strategy to ensure constant decarbonisation.

Each organisation adapts this pathway to its profile and maturity, thereby ensuring its own transition towards a low-carbon model.

🔎 A panorama of the different transition pathways allows an understanding of the different tools and methods available.

🌐 English version of this image.

To go further: These introductory elements are an essential prerequisite for a Bilan Carbone® approach. They must be known, understood and mastered by the stakeholders involved and will be addressed in the Engagement step. They are further detailed in the awareness and outreach resources on the issues.

---

Do you have a question about the content? Consult the FAQ. The method is a living document and therefore subject to change (clarifications, additions): find the change log here.