Requirement Engineering for effectively Assessing and Prioritizing Emission Reduction Measures to achieve Net Zero in Enterprises

The transformation to Net Zero poses massive challenges for manufacturing companies. The decisive factor for a successful climate strategy is setting targets and achieving them through effective measures. While there are already guidelines for setting net zero goals (e.g. Science Based Targets initiative, SBTi), the one systematic, transparent and transferable framework for evaluating and prioritizing measures for reducing companies’ emissions has yet to emerge. To guide the planning and selection of measures in a more structured way, existing methodological approaches and concepts for evaluation and prioritization are analyzed. The paper shows which model requirements (MR) methods must fulfil to achieve the goal of a holistic reduction plan. The essential 14 MRs identified are: focus on climate protection; consideration of the entire impact system; quantitative evaluation of ecological, social and economic impacts; consideration of implementation prerequisites; consideration of company-specific conditions; consideration of reciprocal effects between measures; the focus on a sector-independent company level; transparency and customizability regarding model parameters; and consideration of dynamic values. A comparison with existing methods shows that no approach fulfils all identified MRs. The development of a model enabling companies to derive roadmaps for achieving respective goals is a central element regarding the desired Net Zero transition. Application 1