Net Zero

Net zero means cutting greenhouse-gas emissions as close to zero as possible and balancing any hard-to-eliminate residual with removals, so the net contribution to the atmosphere is zero. For industry it is a long-term target reached mainly through efficiency, electrification and fuel switching.

A credible net-zero plan prioritises real emission cuts — efficiency first, then electrification and low-carbon fuels — and reserves offsets or removals only for the genuinely hard-to-abate residual. For manufacturers the bulk of the journey is energy: using less, recovering heat, electrifying where possible and switching remaining fuels. Honest roadmaps are explicit about what is cheap and quick versus expensive and slow.

Related terms

Industrial Decarbonization · Carbon Footprint · Carbon Intensity · Industrial Heat Pump

Related guides

Where this applies

Switching a boiler from fossil fuel to biomass · Integrating an industrial heat pump · Electrifying process heat · Implementing an ISO 50001 energy management system · Adopting combined heat and power (CHP) · Adopting renewable power purchase agreements for Scope 2 · Transitioning to low-GWP refrigerants · Industrial Heat Pump vs Gas Boiler