Archive Note

This publication is part of GRID-Arendal’s archive. Some information reflects the climate policy context, carbon neutrality practices and organisational commitments available at the time of original publication. It is retained for historical and reference value.

Overview

A Case for Climate Neutrality presents a collection of case studies from participants in UNEP’s Climate Neutral Network, or CN Net, launched in February 2008 to support the transition towards low carbon economies and societies. The publication highlights how governments, cities, companies, cultural events, sporting bodies and other organisations began measuring, reducing and offsetting their greenhouse gas emissions as part of early climate neutrality commitments.

The publication sets out climate neutrality as a practical process, first measuring emissions, then reducing them as far as possible, and finally using credible offsets for emissions that cannot yet be avoided. It also shows that there is no single route to climate neutrality. Each organisation profiled faced different choices about boundaries, supply chains, travel, energy use, procurement, communication and public trust.

Although the publication is linked to the 2008 launch of CN Net, the uploaded publication metadata states that it was published in November 2009 and revised and reprinted in June 2011. This should be checked against the publication page before final upload.

What You’ll Find

The publication includes case studies and examples from:

• Cities and regions, including Arendal and Aust-Agder in Norway, showing how local governments and business networks approached climate neutrality.
• Transport and logistics, including Deutsche Post DHL, Toyota Motor Europe, rail organisations and Nature Air, exploring emissions from mobility and freight.
• Food and drink companies, including Dole, Kaffehuset Friele, Antipodes Water and the New Zealand Wine Company, showing how climate footprints extend across production and distribution chains.
• Financial institutions, including Deutsche Bank, Nedbank and Co-operative Financial Services, highlighting the role of banks in reducing direct emissions and influencing wider investment choices.
• Culture, sport and events, including Live Earth, Greenfest, Hove Festival, Sochi 2014 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, showing how public-facing events can use their platforms to promote climate action.
• ICT, buildings and communications, including Dell, Atea, Skanska, BioRegional, News Limited, INOXIA and Brandlab, demonstrating how emissions can be reduced through technology, design, behaviour change and better communication.

The publication also includes practical reflections on emissions inventories, Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, energy efficiency, renewable energy, offset choices, staff engagement, supply chain influence and the credibility challenges surrounding climate neutrality claims.

Why It Matters

This publication captures an important moment in the evolution of climate action, when climate neutrality moved from a high-level ambition into practical strategies for organisations, cities and events.

Its value lies in the honesty of the case studies. The examples show that climate neutrality can create savings, motivate staff, build new markets and strengthen public engagement. They also show the difficulties involved, including how to define an emissions boundary, how to address indirect emissions, how to choose credible offsets, and how to communicate climate claims without overstating progress.

For GRID-Arendal’s archive, the publication documents early efforts to turn climate commitments into operational change. It remains useful as a reference point for understanding how organisations began to navigate the shift towards low carbon economies, and how lessons from those early experiences continue to inform climate communication and action today.