5.2 - Construction of 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 organization following the completion of its carbon accounting. They must be in line with theoverall objective that the organization 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 to launch the transition plan and motivate teams. These actions can be implemented without major difficulties and within a short timeframe;
Priority actions : short- and medium-term actions that enable substantial emission reductions, since they directly concern significant categories;
Strategic actions : medium- and long-term actions concerning the organization's overall strategy and business model and which therefore help to significantly reduce the organization's carbon and economic vulnerability;
Process improvement actions : actions enabling a step back from the Bilan Carbone® carried out. This may concern the evaluation of compliance with the principles of the Bilan Carbone®, the improvement of data collection to gain in precision and reduce uncertainties, the increase in level of maturity, and taking into account feedback regarding the stakeholder engagement carried out by the organization;
Adaptation actions : short- and medium-term actions enabling adaptation to the consequences of climate change to ensure the organization's resilience and survival. They address the issues raised by therisk identification. These actions primarily concern the Standard and Advanced levels.
Every action must aim to reduce or avoid GHG emissions and/or vulnerabilities, as well as mobilize where possible a potential for progress such as sequestration. Each action depends on the organization's sector of activity. It will therefore be more relevant and its impact greater, if it remains close to the organization's core activity.
Steps for selecting actions to be implemented
Initially, a wide range of actions is studied. Subsequently, a collective decision must be taken on the axes for reducing the organization's footprint, which will guide the choice of the types of actions to be implemented. 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 building, implementing and monitoring a transition plan of ADEME:
Definition of axes or orientations for reduction, which are the major categories of the transition plan that will group several actions on the same theme. The axes may correspond to the significant categories of the assessment. (for example: collaboration with its suppliers, responsible procurement, internal work, stakeholder engagement...) ;
Identification of human, technical and financial needed and/or available for the transition plan to be feasible;
Definition of selection criteria for actions and their prioritization (for example: quantification of the action's impact, the required budget, prerequisites for implementing the action...) ;
Evaluation of reduction actions with regard to the defined criteria and selection of those with the best results. This must be done while ensuring the organization's overall emission reduction objective by considering the emission reductions generated by the action but also the budget necessary to implement the action;
Preparation of action sheets. Their content will 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 allows consolidation and ensures the continuity of relevant existing actions.
Definition of action sheets
Each action is defined by an action sheet. These gather the following information, which is mandatory (additional information may however be added):
Objectives and targets (sites and activities) of the action;
Potential emission reductions, quantified;
Action owner(s);
Detailed description of the action and the involvement of stakeholders;
Budget and provisional schedule of the action;
Indicators of implementation, monitoring and performance;
Facilitators and potential barriers to the action;
Category(ies) of the action (see here) ;
Nature of the action (see here) ;
Relevance of the action (see here) this only concerns mitigation actions.
Characterize the nature of the action
In the interest 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;
Organizational actions: changes in organizational processes;
Behavioral actions: changes in daily behaviors;
Regulatory actions: modification of rules.
🔎 Classification compatible with the ADEME method Quanti GES.
Characterize the relevance of the action
Mitigation actions (unlike adaptation or process improvement actions) can also be classified by level of relevance :
Maximum relevance - Reduction actions within the organization's core activity: the organization is fully responsible for the action and its impacts;
Reduction actions within the organization's value chain: the organization is dependent and therefore cannot fully control the impacts of the action that is part of its value chain;
Reduction actions outside the organization's value chain: the organization is dependent and therefore cannot fully control the impacts of the action that is outside its value chain;
Relative relevance - Avoidance actions: action resulting from products and services distributed or sold by the organization, which substitute a more carbon-intensive solution for end customers, to avoid emissions or failing that, reduce them;
Avoidance financing actions: Financing actions for emission reduction projects outside the organization's value chain;
Sequestration actions: action within the organization'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 organization's value chain.
It is important to prioritize more relevant actions, and that offsetting, sequestration and avoidance actions remain minority.
Requirements related to the Action Plan
🔎 To express the Bilan Carbone® with a so-called "analytical" reading, consistent with analytical carbon accounting, in addition to the above information, each action also includes the relevant analytical dimensions.
If actions can correspond to multiple analytical dimensions: they will be subdivided into multiple action sheets, identified on a single axis to have only one associated responsible person. For example, to act at the site level, creating an action sheet per site manager makes the action operational, involves only the managers of the sites concerned, while allowing aggregated management of actions at the scale of 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 into perspective for each analytical axis the emissions and the actions, and therefore to monitor the results.
Concerning the " process improvement actions ", specific actions for structuring analytical carbon accounting can be considered
Do you have a question about understanding? Consult the FAQ. The method is living and therefore likely to evolve (clarifications, additions): find the track of changes here.
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