Next steps on your low-carbon journey

Businesses across the Middle East need a realistic approach to decarbonisation. Lisa Terry, Middle East climate change practice lead at Mott MacDonald, shares advice on how to convert ambitious net-zero targets into practical steps to cut emissions.

Nobody ever claimed that decarbonisation would be easy. Changing operating model, business processes and culture takes time to plan and implement effectively.

To demystify the transition to a low-carbon economy, we are hosting the first annual Carbon Crunch Middle East in November in Abu Dhabi.  The event will bring together senior leaders from across the built environment, infrastructure, water and energy sectors to discuss practical steps towards decarbonisation.

Low-carbon transition - Middle East companies need to make ambitious, strategic and well-considered decarbonisation plans

Organisations across the Middle East, and globally, are making progress: adopting low-carbon strategies and solutions, finding ways to manage transition risks and developing realistic pathways to net zero.

Sharing knowledge is critical to success. Each organisation faces its own set of challenges, but there is a lot to be gained by working collaboratively within the supply chain and across different sectors to overcome common technical, strategic, financial and cultural barriers to change.

Whatever stage you are at on your decarbonisation journey, sharing challenges and knowledge with industry peers can help you to stay on track.

Carbon accounting

Middle East companies will need to adopt more structured sustainability practices to comply with local climate legislation, which is responding to international commitments and frameworks.  For example, the UAE’s Federal Decree-Law on the Reduction of Climate Change Effects, effective from May 2025, will set annual targets for emissions in line with the national emissions pathway. It will require entities covered by the regulation to measure and report emissions or face a penalty.

Companies need to follow a credible method of calculating carbon emissions from the outset and be transparent about progress. It makes sense to follow best practice, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which provides internationally accepted guidance on measuring and managing carbon emissions.

One of the trickier elements is accounting for Scope 3 emissions relating to supply chain activities. It is an important starting point for analysing which emissions can and cannot be controlled directly. For example, can an organisation reduce the carbon intensity of the raw materials it buys or reduce transport emissions associated with the sale of its products?

Setting a carbon baseline

Large or small, all organisations need to develop a carbon baseline – an end-to-end view of existing emissions across all operations. It is an essential first step towards informed decisions about how to manage emissions effectively. Setting a carbon baseline helps to identify emissions hotspots that need to be prioritised and makes it possible to understand different decarbonisation options.

At Mott MacDonald, we have helped hundreds of clients around the world to understand their carbon baseline and set realistic decarbonisation targets across a variety of industries and infrastructure sectors.

Low-carbon strategy and targets

Businesses that develop a decarbonisation strategy and set targets that are tailored to fit their operations are in a much better position to cut emissions. This needs to include recommendations for reducing carbon emissions from direct processes, energy use and the supply chain by adopting new technologies and innovations.

Decarbonising heavy emitting industries, such as chemicals, steel, aluminium and cement, involves tough choices. A new technology, process or capital investment that makes sense for one company may not be the right path for another to take.

Our energy and climate specialists work together to map the impact of different energy supply scenarios on the decarbonisation trajectory of a business for each year to 2050, including an indication of energy costs. In the UAE, for example, we have modelled the expected trajectory of green hydrogen production and supply via the grid and can forecast the impact on an organisation’s decarbonisation path.

Embedding a carbon culture  

PAS 2080 certification is a global standard for carbon management in infrastructure and buildings. It aims to reduce carbon and cost across the whole value chain through more intelligent design, construction and use.

It also aims to embed carbon management within existing systems and processes and can demonstrate the business benefits of low-carbon strategies and solutions, not just the environmental and social benefits.

Behaviour change comes about when employees see how using less carbon can lead to lower costs, more efficient capital expenditure and better business performance in the short and longer term. This can build a carbon culture where everyone takes responsibility for reducing carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency.

Managing transition risks 

Approaches to decarbonisation are constantly evolving – long-term risks from changing markets, legislative requirements, technologies, materials and public attitudes need to be reviewed annually. Decarbonisation roadmaps need to be kept up to date so organisations can report accurately on progress and manage reputational risks.

From insight to action

With senior leaders at Carbon Crunch Middle East, we’ll be exploring how to plan and make the business case for ambitious, strategic and well-considered action on decarbonisation and climate risk.

Whatever challenges you are facing on your low-carbon journey, you are not alone. Get in touch for practical advice on the next steps.