5.2 - Building the action plan

What are the essential elements to build an operational action plan?

The action plan is the operational roadmap of the Transition Plan. It brings together all the specific actions and measures that will be undertaken by the organisation following the completion of its carbon accounting. They shall be in line with theoverall objective that the organisation decides to adopt. In order for them to be achievable and understandable, their definition is framed as follows:

The different categories of actions

Actions can be classified in one or two of the following categories:

• Immediate actions : short-term actions enabling the launch of the Transition Plan and to motivate teams. These actions can be implemented without major difficulties and within a short timeframe;

• Priority actions : short- and medium-term actions that enable a strong reduction of its emissions, since they directly concern significant categories;

• Strategic actions : medium- and long-term actions concerning the organisation's overall strategy and business model and which therefore enable a strong reduction of the organisation's carbon and economic vulnerability;

• Process improvement action : actions enabling a step back from the Bilan Carbone® carried out. This may concern the evaluation of compliance with the principles of Bilan Carbone®, the improvement of data collection to gain in precision and reduce uncertainties, the increase in maturity level, and the consideration of feedback with regard to the Stakeholder engagement carried out by the organisation;

• Adaptation actions : short- and medium-term actions enabling adaptation to the consequences of climate change to ensure the resilience and survival of the organisation. They respond to the issues raised by theidentification of risks. These actions primarily concern the Intermediate and Advanced levels.

Every action shall aim to reduce or avoid GHG emissions and/or vulnerabilities, as well as to mobilise where possible a potential for progress such as sequestration. Each action depends on the organisation's sector of activity. It will therefore be more relevant and its impact greater, if it remains close to the organisation's core activity.

Steps for selecting the actions to be implemented

At first, a wide range of actions is studied. Afterwards, a collective decision shall be taken on the axes for reducing the organisation's footprint, which will guide the choice of types of actions to implement. Furthermore, the choice will often be guided by the balance between reducing the carbon footprint and other indicators (environmental, economic, social).

The steps to follow to choose the actions are presented below.

🔎 These steps are aligned with the Guide for the construction, implementation and monitoring of a transition plan of ADEME:

• Definition of axes or orientations for reduction, which are the major categories of the Transition Plan that will group together several actions on the same theme. The axes can correspond to the significant categories of the assessment. (for example: collaboration with its suppliers, responsible purchasing, internal work, Stakeholder engagement...) ;

• Identification of human, technical and financial necessary and/or available for the Transition Plan to be achievable;

• Definition of selection criteria for actions and their prioritisation (for example: quantification of the action's impact, the budget required, prerequisites for the implementation of the action...) ;

• Evaluation of the reduction actions with regard to the defined criteria and selection of those with the best results. This must be done while ensuring the organisation's overall emissions reduction objective by considering the emission reductions generated by the action but also the budget required to implement the action;

• Completion of the action sheets. Their content shall be defined below ;

• Validation of the reduction actions that will be implemented and of their action sheet by the Transition Plan leads.

When selecting actions, monitoring the actions implemented since the last assessment enables consolidation and ensures the continuity of existing relevant actions.

Some sources of inspiration for selecting reduction actions

⏳[WIP] A forthcoming resource shall be produced and made available to provide sources of inspiration publicly and transparently, by bringing together several existing action banks.

The definition of the action sheets

Each action is defined by an action sheet. These bring together the following information, which are mandatory (however additional information may be added):

1. Objectives and targets (sites and activities) of the action;

2. Quantified emission reduction potentials;

3. Project lead(s) of the action;

4. Detailed description of the action and of the stakeholder engagement;

5. Budget and provisional timetable for the action;

6. Indicators for implementation, monitoring and performance;

7. Potential facilitators and barriers to the action;

8. Action category(ies) (see here) ;

9. Nature of the action (see here) ;

10. Relevance of the action (see here) this only concerns mitigation actions.

Example of an action sheet: The example of action sheet below is given for information only and is composed of a mandatory core (information 1 to 10 above) to which additional information may be added:

• Action title; (free text)

• Its sub-steps; (free text)

• Detailed description of the action and of the stakeholder engagement; (free text)

• Resources required for its implementation; (free text)

• Additional information: (free text)

Figure 5.2: Example of action sheet Bilan Carbone®

Characterise the nature of the action

In a logic of transparency of the transition plan, the actions that compose it can be classified according to their nature:

• Physical actions: modifications to equipment and systems;

• Organisational actions: changes in organisational processes;

• Behavioural actions: changes in daily behaviours;

• Regulatory actions: modification of rules.

🔎 Classification compatible with the ADEME method Quanti GES.

Characterise the relevance of the action

Mitigation actions (as opposed to adaptation actions or process improvement action) can also be classified by level of relevance :

• Maximum relevance - Reduction actions within the organisation’s core activity: the organisation is fully responsible for the action and its impacts;

• Reduction actions within the organisation’s value chain: the organisation can control the impacts of the action that are part of its value chain;

• Reduction actions outside the organisation’s value chain: the organisation is dependent and therefore cannot fully control the impacts of the action that are outside its value chain;

• Relative relevance - Avoidance actions: action driven by products and services distributed or sold by the organisation, which substitute a more carbon-intensive solution at end customers, to avoid emissions or, failing that, to reduce them;

• Avoidance financing actions: Financing actions for emission reduction projects outside the organisation’s value chain;

• Sequestration actions: action within the organisation’s field of activity, aiming to reduce GHGs in the air by increasing carbon sinks;

• Minimal relevance - Offsetting actions: when impacts could not be avoided, and through financing of GHG sequestration projects outside the organisation’s value chain.

It is important to favour the more relevant actions, and that offsetting, sequestration and avoidance actions remain minority.

Figure 5.2: Action relevance scale.

🌐 English version of this image.

Requirements related to the Action plan

Beginner level: criteria P1 and Q1

The transition plan contains immediate actions, priority actions and approach improvement actions for data collection. Some strategic actions may very well be included without this being a true roadmap.

The objectives of the actions are consistent with the overall objective of the transition plan, since they aim to achieve it. The overall emission reduction potential of the transition plan is quantitatively assessed, and the reductions expected from implementing the actions are qualitatively assessed, at minimum with a simple classification system: low, medium, high, and indicating their degree of relevance according to the scheme above.

Intermediate level: criterion P2 and Q2

The transition plan shall contain immediate, priority, strategic, adaptation and process improvement actions for data collection. Their objectives shall be consistent with the overall objective of the transition plan.

The expected emission reduction potentials from implementing the actions are quantified, at least for immediate and priority actions. The quantification corresponds to the calculation of differences between the emissions of the baseline scenario and the scenario where the action is implemented.

🔎 Different baseline scenarios are possible. (Source: method Quanti GES).

The baseline scenario used for the quantification is specified:

• Historical scenario: continuation of the current state. No implementation of the action and emissions continue to evolve as they did before the action was implemented

• Other scenarios: no implementation of the action and other factors have influenced the evolution of emissions (these may be other actions, but also organisational, behavioural, climatic changes...).

The emissions reduction objective of the actions, and the reduction potential this represents for the whole action plan, feed into the definition of the transition pathway of the organisation.

The effects of the actions are assessed qualitatively, in particular for actions that are not quantifiable. The information requested in the action sheets allow the action to be characterised, and notably its relevance.

Advanced level: criterion P3 and Q3

The transition plan shall contain significant and mutually consistent immediate, priority, strategic, adaptation and process improvement actions for data collection, also addressing certain avoided emissions.

The expected emission reduction potentials from implementing all immediate and priority actions are quantified. The reduction potentials of certain selected strategic actions are quantified when possible (the definition and quantification of strategic actions may be based on preexisting or complementary work, such as ACT-S or equivalent). The quantification corresponds to the calculation of differences between the emissions of the baseline scenario and the scenario where the action is implemented.

🔎 Different baseline scenarios are possible. (Source: method Quanti GES).

The baseline scenario used for the quantification is specified:

• Historical scenario: continuation of the current state. No implementation of the action and emissions continue to evolve as they did before the action was implemented

• Other scenarios: no implementation of the action and other factors have influenced the evolution of emissions (these may be other actions, but also organisational, behavioural, climatic changes...)

The emissions reduction objective of each action, and the reduction potential this represents for the whole action plan, feed into the definition or updating of the transition pathway of the organisation.

The effects of the actions are assessed qualitatively, in particular for actions that are not quantifiable. The information requested in the action sheets allow the action to be characterised, and notably its relevance. Other qualitative considerations are possible:

• Action contribution to risks and opportunities

• Action alignment with the low-carbon world

🔎 To express the Bilan Carbone® with an "analytical" reading, in coherence with the analytical carbon accounting, in addition to the information above, each action includes the relevant analytical dimensions.

If actions can correspond to several analytical dimensions: they shall be subdivided into several action sheets, identified on a single dimension so as to have only one associated responsible person. For example, to act at site level, creating an action sheet per site manager makes the action operational, involves only the managers of the sites concerned, while enabling the steering of aggregated actions across all sites.

This operational breakdown of the action for each responsible person (by internal analytical axis: team, activity, project…) and by external stakeholders (by external analytical axis: suppliers, customers) makes it possible to put emissions and actions into perspective for each analytical axis, and thus to monitor the results.

Concerning the “ process improvement actions ", specific actions for structuring analytical carbon accounting can be considered

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All information on the operational boundary is documented and Do you have a comprehension question?Consult the FAQ . The method is living and therefore likely to evolve (clarifications, additions): find the.