Practical decarbonisation: From endless studies to decisive action

Post Date: 11 November 2025
Read Time: 12 minutes

Energy Transition

The landscape for decarbonisation has never been more dynamic. On the one hand, COP30 is approaching, and the European Union’s CBAM is set to enter its definitive phase on January 1, 2026. On the other hand, political priorities shift, public sentiment around sustainability can swing, and even some major players have altered their positions in recent years. It’s easy to feel that the rules of the game are constantly changing and that any significant move carries risk.

Moving forward, companies that continue to pursue decarbonisation with a practical and business-oriented mindset will thrive, driven not only by targets and compliance but also by opportunities to create short - and long-term value, in the form of cost optimisation, risk mitigation, or a more competitive market position. As energy and emissions excellence experts, those are the conversations we have with our clients daily. Through examples from several leading companies, we have outlined five main practical moves that deliver measurable results today, while keeping options open for the future.

Cutting through the noise

One of the most common pitfalls we encounter in corporate decarbonisation is the cycle of endless analysis. The array of available technologies (e.g., energy efficiency, electric boilers, heat pumps, biofuels) and upcoming ones (e.g., hydrogen, CCUS) can be overwhelming. Faced with so many competing options, leadership teams often default to commissioning study after study, designed to ensure they don’t make the “wrong” decision. Each assessment provides valuable insights, but not a single conclusive answer that people hoped for. So, the question is raised again, a new study is scoped, and the cycle repeats. In the meantime, implementation stalls, and the window for meaningful progress narrows.

Front-running companies that are making real headway take a different approach. They recognise decarbonisation is a staged journey, not a one-off bet on the perfect future technology. Rather than seeking certainty across every possible future, they focus on the decisions that matter most for the next stage of their programme.

When a multinational in the food and beverage sector needed to decarbonise heat in one of its factories, the breakthrough came when they stopped trying to answer every long-term “what if” scenario in one sweep. After 15 years and countless studies, they finally designed a gated approach which allowed them to de-risk the investment decision progressively, clarified the main decision-making criteria, and launched a feasibility study focusing on the immediate scope at hand: which technology mix would best replace natural gas by 2030 at the lowest total cost of ownership. This approach enabled them to highlight the full potential of local biomethane production from biowaste that had previously been overlooked. By narrowing the aperture, the company was able to rebuild momentum and set the implementation in motion rather than waiting for a perfect answer that never arrives.

The lesson is simple but powerful: progress comes from focusing on the studies that are directly tied to the next business-critical decision, and ensuring those studies are robust enough to withstand scrutiny without leaving the door open to endless “what ifs”. Decarbonisation journeys succeed when each step is clearly defined, conclusive, and aligned with business value creation.

Designing dynamic programmes that thrive amid uncertainty

If there’s one thing that unites every person involved in the decarbonisation agenda, it’s the awareness that the future is uncertain. Energy prices fluctuate wildly, new technologies emerge unevenly, and the cost of carbon itself remains volatile and politically contested. In such a context, it’s easy for organisations to feel that big decisions must wait, that until the uncertainty clears, all they can do is watch and hope. But in reality, progress doesn’t come from waiting for certainty. It stems from designing programmes that allow for progression while staying flexible to shifts in the external landscape, as well as programmes that incorporate the costs of carbon exposure from the outset. Companies that create decision-making frameworks that not only shield them from future shocks but also reward lower-carbon choices build confidence that today’s decisions will remain competitive tomorrow, and that tomorrow’s decisions will be taken at the right time.

One global chemicals company illustrates this balance well. Their decarbonisation programme didn’t try to answer the unanswerable question of which low-carbon heat solution would dominate in 2035. Instead, the team focused on when each decision would matter. By mapping out asset end-of-life, site expansion plans, and major renovation milestones, they developed a programme that identified exactly which details needed to be monitored and by what date, informing each future investment decision. It was refreshing to observe how the board got clarity and relief: they didn’t need to choose their 2035 green heat molecule today, but they did need to ensure dual-fuel flexibility in a boiler replacement planned for 2028, and to keep tracking cost curves for bio-based and hydrogen solutions in the meantime.

The beauty of this approach is that it acknowledges uncertainty without being consumed by it. Instead of chasing the impossible goal of a perfect forecast, the company focused on building a dynamic transformation programme: one that remained open to market shifts but never lost sight of its critical decision points. For the teams involved in the decarbonisation agenda, this is a liberating message. There may be plenty of unknowns about the future, but there are very few problems with no solution. The winners will not be those who predict the future flawlessly, but those who ensure they are ready to make the right call, at the right time, from a short list of viable options.

Capturing business value through immediate action

Amid the uncertainty of long-term pathways, there are areas of decarbonisation that require no guesswork at all. Energy efficiency, process optimisation, and renewable sourcing are proven levers that deliver immediate reductions in both carbon emissions and operational costs. They are the low-hanging fruit of the transition, and companies that prioritise them not only move closer to their net zero goals but also strengthen their competitiveness in the present. Increasingly, these gains can be extended through advanced tools such as digital twins, which allow organisations to model operations in detail and uncover hidden efficiencies, making it possible to extract additional value from existing assets without major capital outlay.

A leading automaker provides a clear example [1]. Faced with rising energy costs, ambitious decarbonisation targets and pressure from clients to reduce its carbon footprint, the company developed a global energy efficiency assessment programme that went beyond identifying incremental improvements. The action plan also examined how on-site generation through solar PV, combined with more innovative demand management, could alter the company’s energy profile. The results were transformative. Across the 60 sites that were onboarded, more than 300 projects were deployed; energy consumption dropped by 11%, emissions followed a similar trajectory and control over energy costs increased, easing pressure on operating margins in a highly competitive sector. By embedding these projects into core operations rather than treating them as side initiatives, the company created a dual win: measurable carbon reductions and tangible business value.

This kind of action demonstrates the practical mindset that sets the leaders of decarbonisation apart. Rather than getting caught in the endless debate over which long-term fuel or technology will dominate in 2035, they focus on what can be done today: the projects that reduce costs, improve resilience, and demonstrate momentum. For most companies, efficiency and renewable sourcing are not strategic gambles; they are business imperatives. The surprising thing is not that these projects work, but that more organisations haven’t yet seized them. For those who do, the gains are immediate, credible, and compounding.

Joining forces to extend resilience into the supply chain

Decarbonisation doesn’t stop at the factory gate. For many industrial players, the bulk of emissions and a significant share of business risk sit upstream with suppliers. With higher exposure to energy price volatility, increased regulatory pressure, costlier financing, and even in some cases, an increased reliance on offsets, the costs of goods and services from suppliers that fail to decarbonise in time are expected to increase. Not to mention the impact they’ll have by making the whole value chain’s decarbonisation commitments harder to meet; in other words, suppliers who lag quickly become cost and risk multipliers. Addressing supply chain emissions is not only about compliance; it is also about safeguarding competitiveness and cost predictability.

The good news is that action is possible, and collective initiatives are emerging to support sectoral value chains. In an earlier edition of the Digest, our colleagues presented “Energize”, a buyer-sponsored programme, which successfully signed two PPA cohorts, with the most recent one sourcing a total of 245 GWh per year in Spain for a 10-year term [2]. Such collaborative approaches to decarbonising the supply chain demonstrate that tackling upstream emissions doesn’t have to be an individual burden. By working together, companies can align their incentives, share knowledge, and pool resources to reduce costs, accelerate the adoption of technology, and mitigate investment risks.

The broader insight is clear: value-chain decarbonisation is not only achievable but also mutually beneficial, strengthening resilience, ensuring competitiveness, and creating opportunities that no single company could capture alone.

Unlocking investment through innovative financing

For many companies, the barrier to decarbonisation is not conviction but capital. Some of the most impactful solutions, such as biomass boilers, large-scale electrification projects, anaerobic digesters, or advanced flexibility systems, deliver clear business value over time; yet, they struggle to fit neatly into conventional corporate payback expectations. High upfront CAPEX, long payback horizons, and internal competition for investment capital often push these projects to the back of the queue, despite their ability to improve resilience, reduce emissions, and ultimately lower costs.

In one recent example, a leading industrial player in southern France partnered with an energy provider that financed, built, and now operates large-scale biomass boilers delivering over 100 GWh of green heat. Through their partnership, the industrial player avoided bearing the upfront investment. Instead, they directly purchase clean energy with a predictable fee per megawatt-hour and enjoy a massive reduction in carbon emissions, which is estimated to represent over 26,000 tCO2 per annum. This model enabled them to unlock a complex, capital-intensive project that would have likely stalled otherwise [3].

The lesson for people involved in the decarbonisation agenda is clear: cost and payback constraints should not be viewed as immovable obstacles. With the right financing models, including third-party ownership, concessional finance, transition bonds, or blended capital, it is possible to advance projects that both build business value and deliver measurable carbon reductions. The professionals making progress are those who know where to look for these solutions and are willing to bring external partners into the equation to unlock opportunities that would otherwise remain untapped.

The path to decarbonisation may be complex, but it is not out of reach

Every company starts from a different place: some have already experimented with third-party financing, while others are in the early stages of discussions with suppliers. At the same time, many still have untapped energy efficiency opportunities. What matters is not ticking every box at once, but building momentum by adding the next layer of action as capabilities grow.

Whether just starting out or already experimenting with advanced solutions, companies can accelerate progress by leaning on a series of well-tested building blocks:

Launching a transversal energy efficiency programme to cut consumption and operating costs immediately.
Defining a green electricity sourcing strategy, and launching procurement of energy attribute certificates (EACs), power purchase agreements (PPAs) and direct green electricity supply accordingly.
Embedding emissions into investment decisions through internal carbon pricing or equivalent.
Engaging critical suppliers to reduce upstream risks and strengthen resilience.
Exploring external financing mechanisms to unlock projects which would otherwise stall for lack of capital.

Taken together, these moves align with the “pragmatic approach to sustainability” stressed by our CEO in the previous article: they demonstrate that decarbonisation is not just a long-term ambition, but a source of business value today. The companies that act now will reduce emissions and build the resilience, cost advantage, and stakeholder trust needed to lead in tomorrow’s economy.

Advisory Digest

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References

[1] https://www.forvia.com/sites/default/files/2025-03/20250303%20FORVIA%20drives%20sustainability%20forward_Press%20release_EN_0.pdf

[2] https://cdn.sanity.io/files/b0ecix6u/production/5a0ed04e8ce91cdfacb5b4c7a524d23609e95e89.pdf

[3] https://www.lesechos.fr/thema/neutralite-carbone/airbus-chauffe-au-bois-son-grand-parc-industriel-toulousain-2130142