Collaboration is key, that’s why we’re powering together

The climate emergency and the need to secure more stable and affordable energy supplies have accelerated the transition to a low carbon future, and at SSE we believe that collaboration is key to achieving a fair and just net zero transition. That’s why we’re doing all we can to understand what action is needed to ensure the best possible impact on lowering emissions and supporting the natural environment.

Over the past six months, SSE has led a group of some of the world’s biggest and most sustainable companies to bolster the Powering Net Zero Pact, an initiative originally created as a legacy of COP26 to which SSE was a principal partner. The Pact saw a group of large scale companies come together with the shared promise to uphold a series of social, environmental, and corporate commitments to power the net zero transition.

The Powering Net Zero Pact brings together different companies across all tiers of the power sector – including civils, shipping, renewables, electrical engineering and others – that are committed to a fair and just transition to net zero carbon emissions. Together, signatories of the Pact operate across more than 100 countries, are responsible for the livelihoods of over 240,000 employees, and work with more than 120,000 suppliers globally.

Among the five ambitions of the Pact is the transition to a circular economy, with a commitment to setting waste reduction targets, incorporating circularity, increased resource efficiency and design out waste. SSE is proud to be a member of The Pact’s Circularity Working Group, working with 12 other member companies to ensure we lead decarbonisation through a functional circular economy. Over the past year, all members of the working group have collaborated to identify the main barriers to circularity in the power industry, and we will use the next 12 months to continue working together to challenge these barriers and build our common future without waste.

The Pact is designed to deliver real climate action that goes beyond just words, and in addition, the five key areas of ambition are underpinned by five shared commitments and five topics for collaboration, which together encourage the delivery of common ambitions for a sustainable future.

The five areas of ambition are: Achieve net zero carbon emissions; Protect and enhance the natural environment; Transition to a circular economy; Guarantee fair work and sustainable jobs; add value to local communities.  

The five shared commitments: Work towards science-based carbon targets, aligned to 1.5 degrees; Disclose wider environment metrics; Set waste reduction targets and incorporate circularity; Create a roadmap for net zero skills and guarantee fair work standards; Identify shared responsible developer, constructor and operator principles. 

The five topics for collaboration are: Quantification of scope 3 carbon emissions; Frameworks for achieving Biodiversity Net Gain; Innovative products and methods for reducing waste; Targeting human rights risk across global supply chains; Supporting competitive, local supply chains close to assets.  

While SSE Airtricity’s sustainability strategy is already aligned to the 17 UN sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Powering Net Zero Pact is also underpinned by a shared strategic approach with business strategies aligned to the UN’s SDGs, shared commitment to influence supply chains with sustainability requirements, along with an annual review of the Pact commitments and continued ambitious progress.

In May 2023, we are celebrating the first successful year of the Powering Net Zero Pact. To mark the occasion and up-hold its reporting commitments the Pact has launched its Year 1 Annual Report, outlining progress to date and future ambitions.

If your organisation wants to be involved in driving forward a just energy transition to net zero, then there are a few simple requirements for Powering Net Zero Pact signatories:

• You are involved in some part of the power sector (it doesn’t matter which part!);
• You meet all five of the shared commitments; and
• You are willing to participate in an action-focused working group for at least one of the five collaboration topics.

To get involved contact poweringnetzeropact@sse.com