Transitioning net zero: From accounting to action
A target is not just a maths problem; it is a promise to build the environment required to make those reductions viable.
Corporate net zero plans often mistake bookkeeping for progress. A target is not just a maths problem; it is a promise to build the environment required to make those reductions viable. To bridge this gap, we must move beyond the internal ledger and categorise commitments by agency and economic reality. The below framework can support this.
The Framework: Agency and Feasibility
- Possible and Affordable: Core reductions within your direct span of control. These are the foundation of your plan.
- Possible but Unaffordable: Technologically ready but economically unviable without external market shifts. Action: Lead the policy push for carbon pricing or industrial incentives.
- Affordable but Outside Control: Financially feasible but hindered by external supply chain limits. Action: Aggregate market demand with peers to force industry-wide changes.
- Neither Possible nor Affordable: High-barrier systemic shifts. Action: Dedicate capital to collaborative infrastructure and coalition building.
Board accountability
The board must oversee these actions with the same rigor applied to financial statements. For conditional targets, success is measured by the effectiveness of your lobbying, the health of your partnerships, and the maturation of nascent markets. If your strategy relies on external change, your primary output is the acceleration of that change.
Purpose
Current corporate net-zero targets often conflate actions within a company's direct control with systemic shifts (policy, infrastructure, technology) that are external. This memorandum introduces a framework to distinguish between these, ensuring board oversight remains rigorous and impact-focused.
The Agency—Feasibility Framework
To ensure net-zero targets are robust, boards should categorise emissions-reduction pathways into four quadrants based on Corporate Agency (ability to control) and Economic Feasibility (ability to afford).
Strategic Examples for Board Oversight
| Quadrant | Definition | Real-world example | Board mandate |
| 1. Unconditional | Possible & Affordable | Transitioning distribution centres to 100% renewable energy via PPA | Monitor operational implementation and ROI |
| 2. Conditional: Policy | Possible but Unaffordable | Adopting green hydrogen steel production; facing "green premiums" | Direct executive lobbying for carbon pricing/industrial policy |
| 3. Conditional: Market | Affordable but Outside Control | Lack of low-emission shipping routes for global logistics | Approve "anchor demand" coalitions with peers to scale supply |
| 4. Fully Conditional | Neither Possible nor Affordable | Transitioning smallholder farming suppliers to regenerative practices | Oversee investment in sector-wide coalitions and infrastructure |
Key takeaways for board effectiveness
- Stop "excuse-making": Declaring a target "conditional" is not a loophole; it is a commitment to lead. If a target relies on external systemic change, the board must demand specific, time-bound objectives for how the company is driving those changes.
- Shift KPIs: Move beyond GHG inventory reporting. Evaluate executive performance on "world-building" metrics — such as the success of policy advocacy, the creation of industry coalitions, and the deployment of climate finance to de-risk new markets.
- Accountability: For conditional targets, accountability is measured by the effectiveness of interventions (e.g., "Did our lobbying successfully contribute to a CBAM?") rather than just year-over-year emissions reductions.
Recommended board discussion questions
- "Which of our net-zero goals are currently 'conditional' on systemic changes outside our control?"
- "Are our lobbying, procurement and investment budgets currently aligned with the systemic barriers preventing our conditional targets from becoming unconditional?"
- "How are we tracking the success of our market-building and policy-advocacy efforts?"
These reflections are written by Susan Hooper, Chapter Zero co-founder, board member and Senior Independent Director; Non-executive director, Uber; Non-executive director, ESG Lead, Chair of the Remuneration Committee, Moonpig; Non-executive director, Chair of the Remuneration Committee, Naked Wines.
This article reflects on an original piece by Robert Höglund & Claire Wigg (2026) Build the world your net zero target assumes: A framework for action over accounting.
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