Exploring approaches to ESG and the road to Net Zero at the Big Zero Show 2024

With 40 Net Zero Content Sessions, 50 Exhibition Stands and over 1.5k industry professionals in attendance, members from the OnlineDIRECT team had a lot to take in at the 2024 Big Zero Show.

Taking the short trip across to Coventry were Tina and Joe from our Additional Services team, along with Dan, Hannah, and Alex from the Bespoke Sales and New Business teams. 

As well as catching up with past colleagues and peers, there was also plenty of time to take in some of the talks and speak to vendors about new technologies and solutions on offer aimed at helping businesses move forwards on their Net Zero journeys.  

Mission Zero: The UK’s Net Zero journey so far 

The day started out with a talk from Rt Hon Chris Skidmore – the Energy Minister responsible for signing the UK’s net zero commitment into law in 2019, and author of the 2023 Mission Zero report, who shared his take on the UK’s efforts so far.  

With Labour taking a landslide victory in the General Election just a few days after this talk, it’ll be interesting to see if and how GB Energy delivers on some of these initiatives. 

Decarbonisation decision-making 

Carbon removal is an important element in any net zero strategy, and corporate businesses doing their bit to reduce levels of carbon produced was something that Drax stressed in their talk, presented by Commercial Director, Angela Hepworth. 

Currently the most common method of carbon removal is the planting of new trees to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere – in a process called afforestation. However, Drax’s focus on high-integrity carbon removals champions a process called BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage), which sees CO2 being stored underground and mineralised to become rock. 

(We’ll be taking a closer look at all of the carbon removal options currently on offer from suppliers over the next few months – keep your eyes out for updates if this is something you’re interested in learning more about.) 

Your choice of EV Charging matters 

Another highlight for our team was a talk by pub and hotel group Fuller, Smith & Turner’s journey on their road to net zero in which Director of Sustainability, Ollie Rosevear, spoke about the approaches they were taking. One of which was around the different EV chargers they’d installed and the reasons for this.  

Rosevear further explained how he is working with partners to create sustainable beef as part of their wider ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) strategy, and the difficulties they are facing when it comes to convincing franchises to follow the Group’s path.  

The solution being the heavy amount of education and showing how these changes could actually present benefits beyond “just reaching net zero” such as increased customer numbers and better customer experience. 

“It was also interesting to hear more broadly about sustainability: I didn’t realise there was so much that can actually be ‘sustainable’ – beef, for example, which really shocked me!” – Hannah O’Connell (New Business Account Manager)

The role of water in the Net Zero journey 

Water is also an important factor when it comes to net zero, despite often being forgotten about due to gas/electric reduction and renewable energy taking the spotlight.   

Anne Connor, BDM at WaterPlus, provided the opportunity to learn about sustainable water practices in her talk around why “you can’t go Net Zero without water”. 

One of the most effective methods and opportunities is to conduct a water audit that measures and collects data on a business’ water consumption to make sure there are no leaks or other water wastage.  

Businesses with data logger devices fitted stopped 1billion litres of water wastage and made savings of £4million over a 17-month period, and of the audits completed by WaterPlus in 2023, the average business saving was 36%.  43% of customers providing regular meter reads reported positive benefits to doing so. 

 Contact our Water Team to find out more about how we can support you through our relationship with WaterPlus. 

MHHS: Still much misunderstood 

Another talk that struck a chord with all of our attendees was the presentation from energy data specialist Stark’s Head of Policy, James Murphy, explaining how the market-wide half hourly settlement that’s coming into effect in 2025 will affect Net Zero journeys, its benefits, and the actions you must take to stay in control.  

MHHS is the biggest change in the energy industry for over 30 years, and finding a data partner that works for you (as a customer) is critical as visibility of energy usage data will be key to reducing use.  

“One of the most interesting talks I attended at the show, was around MHHS. Although there was lots of information in the talk, what struck me was that no one currently knows how the meters will be distinguished.” – Hannah O’Connell 

 The MHHS programme will see all electricity meters switch over to half-hourly (HH) settlement by October 2026, a move which means 30million NHH meters (and all unmetered supplies) will need move to the new settlement model. Profile Class and Measurement Classes are to be replaced, MOP and DADC’s are to disappear, and existing contracts will be updated with new terminology and service levels. 

Successes so far are largely found in businesses which have already made a start on their Net Zero/Sustainability/Carbon Reduction journey.  For wider uptake, there needs to be a focus on the ROI and investment opportunities, rather than the high initial, upfront capital expense. 

Take a deeper dive into MHHS with Stark 

We’ll be exploring these themes in more detail in our Introduction to MHHS webinar, next month. Check back soon for more details and registration.