A decarbonisation plan is a list of interventions with costs attached.

A net-zero commitment without a costed pathway is a press release. We build the pathway first: which interventions, in what order, at what cost, against your actual baseline.

In short

Decarbonisation planning identifies specific interventions to reduce a company's greenhouse gas emissions — energy efficiency, fuel switching, renewable procurement, process change — and sequences them against cost and impact. Prakrti builds these plans from a verified emissions baseline for Indian manufacturers, distinguishing near-term operational changes from longer-term capital investment needed to approach net zero.

Start from the baseline, not the target

A net-zero target set before the emissions baseline exists is a guess. Decarbonisation planning has to start from a verified GHG inventory, because the interventions that matter depend entirely on where your emissions actually sit — a plant with a coal-heavy captive power source has a different first move than one already on grid electricity with a strong renewable mix.

How we sequence interventions

We separate interventions into three tiers: operational changes with limited capital cost — load scheduling, maintenance, efficiency measures — that can start within a reporting cycle; energy substitution — renewable power procurement, fuel switching — that needs capital planning but established technology; and process or technology change — the harder abatement for cement, steel, and chemicals — that needs longer lead times and often external financing or offtake arrangements.

Each intervention in the plan carries an estimated emissions reduction and an order-of-magnitude cost, so the plan can be defended to a board, a lender, or a buyer asking about your reduction trajectory, not just described in general terms.

A four-stage sequence diagram, drawn on one shared scale. Stage one, Measure: build the verified inventory. Its bar spans the full one hundred per cent of the footprint, because measuring attributes emissions but removes none. Stage two, Reduce: named levers against named streams — energy efficiency cuts Scope 1 by fifty-five per cent, renewable power cuts Scope 2 by ninety per cent, supplier engagement cuts Scope 3 by twenty-four per cent and process and materials change cuts it by a further sixty-eight per cent. This is the only stage that removes a tonne, and it leaves twenty-seven per cent of the baseline. Stage three, Residual: that same twenty-seven per cent, what real reduction cannot yet reach — process emissions, high-temperature heat, freight outside your control. Stage four, Offset: credible credits, retired against the residual only. It is drawn nested inside the residual stage rather than as a fourth equal option, and it is by far the smallest element in the diagram, because credits are sized to the residual and to nothing else. The order is load-bearing: offsetting before measuring and reducing buys a claim rather than a reduction, and it is the greenwashing failure mode this practice argues against. Percentages illustrative of a typical manufacturing profile — not Prakrti client data.

ORDER OF OPERATIONS

Measure, reduce, then price what is genuinely left.

Four stages on one scale. The sequence is the argument — each stage is only valid on the output of the one before it.

BAR LENGTH = SHARE OF THE MEASURED BASELINE · ALL FOUR STAGES ON ONE SCALE

  1. 01MEASUREBUILD THE INVENTORY100% ACCOUNTED

    Metered fuel, purchased power, supplier invoices and freight, attributed to Scope 1, 2 and 3. Measuring removes nothing — it tells you which tonnes are yours and where they sit.

  2. 02REDUCENAMED LEVERS, NAMED STREAMS27% REMAINS

    Energy efficiency on Scope 1, renewable power on Scope 2, supplier engagement and process change on Scope 3. This is the only stage that removes a tonne. Every cut traces to a line in the inventory.

    • −55%ENERGY EFFICIENCYON SCOPE 1
    • −90%RENEWABLE POWERON SCOPE 2
    • −24%SUPPLIER ENGAGEMENTON SCOPE 3
    • −68%PROCESS & MATERIALSON SCOPE 3
  3. 03RESIDUALWHAT REDUCTION CANNOT YET REACH27% OF BASELINE

    Process emissions, high-temperature heat, freight you do not control. Real, measured, and still there after the levers are pulled. This is the only quantity an offset may be sized against.

    APPLIED TO THE RESIDUAL ONLY

    04OFFSETCREDIBLE, RETIRED CREDITS≤ 27% OF BASELINE

    Credits sized to the residual and retired against it. A credit is a purchase, not a reduction — it is the last line of the sequence, never the first.

THE ORDER IS NOT INTERCHANGEABLE

Offsetting before measuring and reducing buys a claim rather than a reduction. Without an inventory there is no residual to size credits against, and without reduction the number being offset only grows. That sequence is the greenwashing failure mode — it is not this pathway.

Percentages illustrative of a typical manufacturing profile — not Prakrti client data.

Net zero and interim targets

For companies setting a net-zero or interim reduction target, the plan feeds directly into target-setting work — including alignment with SBTi's methodology if that is the intended route — so the target reflects what the roadmap can realistically deliver rather than a round number.

Common questions

What is the difference between carbon neutral and net zero?

Carbon neutral typically means offsetting emissions to a net balance of zero, often relying heavily on credits. Net zero, under frameworks such as SBTi, requires deep direct emissions reduction — generally 90 percent or more against a baseline — with only a small residual covered by removals, not offsets for avoided emissions.

How is a decarbonisation roadmap built?

It starts from a verified GHG inventory, identifies feasible reduction interventions specific to the company's processes and energy sources, and sequences them by cost, lead time, and impact, distinguishing near-term operational changes from longer-term capital investment.

Do we need a GHG inventory before decarbonisation planning?

Yes. Interventions are selected based on where emissions actually concentrate in your operations. Without a verified baseline, a reduction plan is working from assumptions rather than data.

How long does it take to reach net zero for a manufacturing company?

Timelines vary widely by sector and starting point; hard-to-abate sectors such as cement and steel typically need longer horizons because process emissions require technology change, not just energy substitution. The roadmap sets the realistic timeline for a specific company rather than assuming a standard one.

Get a decarbonisation roadmap built from your actual emissions data

Tell us your sector and energy mix. We will outline what a realistic reduction pathway looks like before we talk targets.

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