Net-Zero Ambition Assessment Tool (NZAAT)
Comparison of Net-Zero Ambition Disclosure Frameworks
Some frameworks are used by organizations to plan, assess and report on their progress towards net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, or sooner. (e.g., CDP, UN’s Race to Zero, SBTi, Canada’s Net-Zero Challenge). Primarily, these frameworks are designed for use by large organizations. However, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) comprise over 99% of the companies on the planet. We need an SME-friendly net-zero self-assessment tool: Net-Zero Ambition Assessment Tool (NZAAT).
This free, open-source spreadsheet / table compares how the above mainstream net-zero assessment frameworks used by large companies assesses organizational commitment to net-zero GHG targets. NZAAT is designed to cover the same questions in an SME-friendly way.
Net-zero Ambition Assessment Tool (NZAAT)
Resource extraction and production of new goods are responsible for 45% of global GHG emissions. Repairing and refurbishing products can cut global GHG emissions by 39%. Net-zero ambition and circular design ambition are symbiotic. That’s why Net-Zero Ambition Assessment Tool (NZAAT) assesses both.
NZAAT is a generic, SME-friendly self-assessment tool that meets all the above criteria. It is comprehensive and is based on questions asked by other questionnaires that assess a company’s commitment to net-zero targets (see the Comparison – Net-Zero Questionnaires, above). It uses only multiple-choice questions to score the organization’s commitment to, and progress toward, science-based net-zero targets and to circularity. It also suggests over three dozen actions that would reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions.
The free Excel version of the tool is downloadable here . It is an open-source tool, so feel free to tailor it to better suit your purposes, translate it into other languages, change question weightings, change scoring formulas, use it as a base for an online app, integrate elements of it into your current tools, etc.
Note: Do not try to use this Excel workbook in Google Sheets. Unfortunately, all checkboxes are stripped out by Google Sheets, so formatting and many calculations don’t work.
Feedback: The tool is being continuously improved. Your suggestions are welcome. Please send your ideas to bobwillard@sustainabilityadvantage.com. Thanks.
Comparison of potential online equivalents of NZAAT
NZAAT is a good Excel-based, SME-friendly, supplier GHG questionnaire. However, an online, digitized equivalent of NZAAT is required if it were to be used with hundreds or thousands of suppliers. I have done a side-by-side comparison of how six online supplier GHG questionnaires provided by CDP, Cority, EcoVadis, Persefoni, Salesforce, and Sphera meets 24 desired criteria for an online, rapidly-scalable version of NZAAT. The comparison uses a bid appraisal-like format to facilitate selection of the offering that best meets a particular buyer’s needs. The comparison is available here.
NZAAT slides
The Master – Assessment Frameworks slide deck is one of the six slide decks available to Master Slide Decks subscribers. Because NZAAT was created to assess a company’s net-zero and circularity ambitions, its overview is in that deck.
