We worked with a major international consulting firm that helps others decarbonize in the global race to net-zero emissions. The company advertises this capability and touts its goal of reaching net-zero climate impact from its business operations by 2030.

However, the firm hadn’t yet tackled its own business travel, a massive part of its carbon footprint, in a meaningful way, with employees only occasionally making sustainable travel choices. The firm also wanted to map the critical path through the CDP, an internationally accepted environmental reporting framework, to highlight its way to even faster net-zero achievement.

We used the SHIFT analysis and systems modeling to highlight areas of weakness where traveling employees could be cued and incentivized to travel more sustainably, including air and ground travel and lodging. We created internal communications templates through SHIFT thinking to redirect travel toward more sustainable options. And we mapped the internal procurement critical path through CDP to speed the company’s journey to net-zero emissions.

The firm retooled its mobile internal procurement app to make sustainable choices the default rather than hard-to-find options. It also launched an internal communications campaign about the new-and-improved mobile capability, including injecting humor in emails. And the firm found a straighter path through the CDP labyrinth to further reduce its carbon footprint.