Companies of all stripes are grappling with the twin challenges of making good on their net zero pledges while they understand the physical risks that climate change poses for their assets, according to leading planning academic and sustainability consultant Dr Rocio Bona.
“This space is in a lot of turmoil now. With the 2015 Paris Agreement the targets were put in place and the government are making commitments to reducing emissions but now all the industries are figuring out how to do this. Half of the ASX 200 have net zero targets so now it’s about how to decarbonise, how to track their emissions and greenhouse gas inventories and how to unpack how to be net zero versus carbon neutral,” Dr Bona says.
“Across the board there is an uncertainty and not a clear understanding of what’s going on,” she adds.
Dr Bona says she expects the upcoming release of Western Australia’s emissions and climate policies to provide more certainty. But she adds that further uncertainty is likely with Australia under pressure to make currently voluntary reporting practices such as the Taskforce for Climate Disclosure mandatory as is already the case in the UK and Japan.
Dr Bona recently made the leap to consulting to join Perth-based sustainability consultancy Decarbonology.
With more than 20 years’ experience in the built environment spanning both public and private sectors in Australia, Canada, Mexico and Indonesia, Dr Bona was most recently based at Curtain University’s School of Design and the Built Environment. She will retain a link with the University in her new role so she can be abreast of the latest developments in research.
Decarbonology is a multidisciplinary consulting firm which helps clients in a variety of sectors tackle the full gamut of decarbonisation challenges from understanding their emissions profiles and industries, adopting carbon accounting and using offsets, including nature-based solutions. The three-year old firm’s clients are spread across the built environment, mining, agriculture, chemical and energy industries.