ReduceCarbonandCostswiththePowerofAIJanuary2021ByCharlotteDegot,SylvainDuranton,MichelFrédeau,andRichHutchinsonBostonConsultingGrouppartnerswithleadersinbusinessandsocietytotackletheirmostimportantchallengesandcapturetheirgreatestopportunities.BCGwasthepioneerinbusinessstrategywhenitwasfoundedin1963.Today,weworkcloselywithclientstoembraceatransformationalapproachaimedatbenefitingallstakeholders—empoweringorganizationstogrow,buildsustainablecompetitiveadvantage,anddrivepositivesocietalimpact.Ourdiverse,globalteamsbringdeepindustryandfunctionalexpertiseandarangeofperspectivesthatquestionthestatusquoandsparkchange.BCGdeliverssolutionsthroughleading-edgemanagementconsulting,technologyanddesign,andcorporateanddigitalventures.Weworkinauniquelycollaborativemodelacrossthefirmandthroughoutalllevelsoftheclientorganization,fueledbythegoalofhelpingourclientsthriveandenablingthemtomaketheworldabetterplace.BOSTONCONSULTINGGROUP1ForewordForbusinessesandgovernmentstoday,thereisperhapsnoth-ingmoreurgentthanfindingapathtonetzero.Thescienceisclear:inordertoavoidtheharmfuleffectsofclimatechange,greenhousegasemissionsmustbecutinhalfthisdecadeandwemustachievenetzeroby2050.That’sadifficulttask,butalsoahistoricopportunity.Countriesandcompaniesthatproactivelytakeactiononclimatechangeandembracethenet-zerotransitionareinthepositiontogainacompetitiveadvantageandavoidbeinglockedoutofresources,technolo-gies,andtalentintheshortrunwhileplayingavitalroleinsavingtheplanet.Achievingthiswillrequirecreativity,innova-tion,andcollaboration.BCGbelievesthatthiswillbeadefiningdecadeforclimateactionandwefeelitisourroletohelporganizationsfindsolutionsthatwillsparkthegreatestchangeandspeedupprogresstowardnetzero.Thefirmistheworldleaderinworkingwithgovernments,industries,sectors,andcompa-niestoimplementscaledtransformationsthatproduceapositiveimpact.Wehavethecapabilitiestosupportorgani-zationsinsectorswhereemissionabatementiseasiertoachieveorwhereemissionsaregreatestandthechallengeismoresubstantial.Withourexperience,foranytypeoforganization,wearewell-positionedtohelpdesignandimplementstrategiesthatbothfacilitatetheclimatetran-sitionandhelpbuildacompetitiveadvantageforclients.Whilemanyorganizationsaremakingsignificantpledgestoreducetheiremissionsfootprint,decisivemovestoquicklyreduceitarelesscommon.Thismayrepresentamissedopportunity,ascrucialsignstodaypointtotherealvalueofanet-zerostrategy.Customers,investors,andemployeesareincreasinglydemandingthatcompaniestheydobusinesswithorworkformakerealprogressoncuttingtheirnetcarbonemissions.Furthermore,pressurefrompolicymakersismounting.Asaresult,embeddingsolutionstothosechallengesintotheheartofacompany’sbusinessmodelcanyieldoutstandinglong-termvaluecreation.Andwhensocialimpactisprofitable,it’sscalable.It’sacyclethatbenefitsusall.Webelievethatcompaniesandgovernmentsneedtoaskthemselvesfourkeyquestionstodrivetheirnet-zerostrategies:•Whatdoesmymarket/countrylooklikeinanet-zeroworld?•Whatismymodelforsucceedinginthatmarket?•WhatchangesshouldImakenowtoprepareforsuc-cess?•Whataretheexternalmarketplace,regulator,andenvi-ronmentalconditionsthatIwillfaceinmovingtowardnetzero?Withinthisdocument,youwillfindarelevantBCGarticlefocusingonthenet-zerotransitionviewedthroughthelensoftechnologies,operations,andstrategiesandtherolethatBCGcanplayinhelpingcompaniesandgovern-mentsimpleme...