When the BEIS Secretary of State commissioned a review of the UK government’s net zero strategy in September, there were concerns it would mean a watering down of the government’s net zero ambitions. These prompted MP Chris Skidmore, the chair of the review, to reassure everyone that “This review is about turbocharging, catalysing net zero, delivering mechanisms by which we get to the targets that remain absolutely in place”.
At Kaluza our vision is to power a world where net zero is within everyone’s reach. Our plan to achieve this is called Mission Transition. It sets out our business goals, including our target to enable the avoidance of 10 million tonnes of CO2e by 2030 through the products and services we offer.
For us to deliver on Mission Transition, it is important that the government upholds its net zero commitments. In our response to the consultation we lobbied for the government to continue to set targets that give the industry confidence to invest in net zero innovations and technologies, while introducing supportive policies to achieve these targets.
In particular, we are appealing for more to be done to ensure that energy market reforms favour the provision of demand side flexibility over flexible generation, storage, or electricity grid reinforcements. The recently announced NG ESO Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) is a great step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to embed programmes like this in the UK energy market design and unlock the full value of demand side flexibility. Engaging customers and rewarding them for contributing to system flexibility will be essential for a cost-efficient, resilient and decarbonised energy system.
Kaluza is a software business, so the majority of our own carbon footprint comes from greenhouse gas emissions associated with purchased goods and services. We are therefore heavily reliant on our suppliers – particularly our cloud providers – to decarbonise their operations in order to meet our business target of becoming carbon negative by 2030. A firm net zero commitment from the government is needed to stimulate the decarbonisation of supply chains.
To summarise, we believe that net zero poses a unique opportunity to transform how we use energy. Businesses like Kaluza are ready to capture these opportunities in the UK and beyond, helping to accelerate decarbonisation globally. To support business growth, increase energy security and reduce costs for consumers, we at Kaluza strongly encourage the UK government to uphold and strengthen its net zero ambitions.
