The industrial decarbonisation roadmap framework

What is inside

• Start with a defensible baselineYou cannot decarbonise what you have not measured. We set out how to build an energy and emissions baseline that holds up to scrutiny, with scope boundaries, data quality, and the load disaggregation that reveals where the carbon actually sits.
• Build the marginal abatement cost curve (MACC)A MACC ranks every measure by cost per tonne of CO2 avoided, turning a long list of ideas into a priority order. We explain how to build one that reflects your real utility prices and process constraints, not generic assumptions.
• Sequence in the right order: efficiency, then electrification, then supplyElectrifying an inefficient process locks in a larger electrical load than you need. We make the case for reducing demand first, electrifying heat next, and addressing supply and residual emissions last, and show why order changes the total cost.
• Connect the roadmap to capital planningA roadmap that ignores your investment cycle gets ignored. We show how to phase measures against asset replacement, production schedules, and available funding so the plan survives contact with the budget.
• Write a business case the board will fundCarbon alone rarely wins approval. We frame each phase in the language finance uses: payback, internal rate of return, risk reduction, and resilience, with carbon as a co-benefit rather than the only argument.
• Govern delivery and protect the savingsA roadmap is a living document. We cover the measurement, verification, and governance that keep a multi-year programme on track as energy prices, technology, and policy shift.