Aurecon Board Sustainability Committee Advisor and Managing Director Energy, Resources and Water Paul Gleeson advised that targets would be achieved through risk-based decisions, balancing investment in emissions reduction measures versus offsets.

"Over time it is anticipated the need for offsets will reduce and while there is a clear opportunity here to reduce Aurecon’s emissions our commitment also signifies an opportunity to reduce emissions across industry," Mr Gleeson said.

Mr Gleeson knows the challenges of transitioning business models, assets and workforces having navigated the energy transition for governments and industry for more than a decade.

"Once a net zero emissions target is set, we need to remember that every asset and person in the energy and fuel ecosystem is playing a vital role in the transition regardless of whether they are on the new technology or the legacy technology."

"To help transition our clients’ business models, assets and workforces away from how they operate today industrially, to a zero emissions model, Aurecon needs to maximise the potential of this technology-driven transformation by enabling its own workforce to transition by developing new skills and capabilities," added Mr Gleeson.

As the Australian Financial Review’s Most Innovative Company for 2020, Aurecon Chief Executive Officer William Cox believes collaboration, innovation and technology are critical to achieve a 100 per cent net zero emissions future.

"At some point in the future, the world will be 100 percent net zero emissions, and the challenge is to map the fastest viable transition path. This is the opportunity we should all plan for," Mr Cox said.

"We are embarking on the largest all-industry task in history and we are fortunate to have the energy and resources to impact climate change and mitigate against its effects in the future as we propel towards carbon neutrality."

Aurecon’s commitment to setting Australian industry up for success in a decarbonised global economy is evidenced by its decision to join some of Australian industry’s biggest companies in support of the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative (Australian Industry ETI).

Focused on accelerating the impact of emissions reductions across hard-to-abate sectors the Australian Industry ETI focuses on five critical industries: iron and steel, aluminium, LNG, selected metals and chemicals, such as fertilisers.

What can we learn from the industries most exposed in the transition to net zero emissions

Decarbonising economies to combat the negative impacts of climate change is a complex journey. Economies will have to challenge energy, process, material and mobility decisions across every industry.

How are governments and industries positioned to chart their course in transitioning to net zero emissions? How are they responding to the impact of changing social values and stakeholder expectations? How will finance and investment decisions respond to this transition?

These questions are explored in the ‘What can we learn from the industries most exposed in the transition to net zero emissions’ paper and include five case studies that consider the learnings from the energy, resource and transport industries, those most exposed to the transition to net zero emissions.

Given the size of the challenge, energy, resources and transport industries transitioning to net zero emissions have a significant impact to make.

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