Having a ‘net-zero’ footprint refers to a business or nation achieving a state of net-zero environmental impact.
More recently, the net-zero concept has received mainstream attention in relation to carbon emissions: a business can be ‘net-zero’ either by balancing the amount of carbon they emit with carbon removal (often through carbon offsetting); or simply by eliminating those emissions altogether (often through energy efficiency and the transition to renewable energy or zero-carbon systems).
The concept of net-zero is by no means new – in fact, revered sustainable business leader John Elkington began pioneering the “zeronaughts” movement in the early 2010s. The concept can also be applied to resources and waste.
