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PTDecarbonization Roadmap: concept and strategic value
Climate change is among the main challenges of the 21st century for companies, governments and civil society. This thesis is reinforced by data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which chose 2024 as the hottest year on record and the first to reach 1.5°C of warming compared to the pre-industrial period. This increase was accompanied by the intensification of extreme weather events around the world.
In financial terms, natural disasters generated losses of 368 billion dollars worldwide in 2024, 14% above the 21st century average, according to the report “Climate and Catastrophe Insight”, published by Aon in 2025. In addition to representing financial losses for companies, climate change threatens the existence of certain businesses in the short, medium, and long term. Therefore, to avoid worsening this crisis, companies and governments need to join forces in the transition to a Net-Zero economy. A strategic way to address this situation is to develop a Decarbonization Roadmap.
What is a Decarbonization Roadmap?
A Decarbonization Roadmap lists the steps a company must take to reduce its emissions over time. In general, the plan includes a diagnosis of emission sources, reduction targets, priority actions, deadlines, necessary investments, and performance indicators. As an example of possible actions, the Roadmap of a transportation and logistics company will probably include among the possible actions the replacement of diesel-powered trucks with a fleet powered by renewable fuels and/or electricity. A construction company can use less carbon-intensive inputs in its works, reuse waste, retrofit buildings or build buildings with greater energy efficiency.
Strategic value
In short, the Roadmap is a way of transforming intentions into tangible actions. The plan provides visibility to senior management, identifies steps, projects and costs necessary to implement an effective decarbonization strategy. This initiative also contributes to meeting decarbonization goals and advancing the score and maturity of organizations in reports and standards such as CDP and IFRS. In this way, companies can gain a competitive advantage and achieve a leadership role in the sector.
At WayCarbon, we have already developed Roadmaps for organizations in various sectors of the economy. In terms of maturity, we have observed that large companies in the mining and retail sectors are more advanced in their decarbonization strategies. Segments such as agriculture, on the other hand, face greater obstacles due to the complexity of measuring emissions (mainly Scope 3) and the fragmentation of the value chain. Aware that each industry has its own characteristics and is at different stages of the decarbonization journey, our approach involves customized strategies that take into account the reality and challenges of each business.
