Decarbonization

Companies are facing intense pressure to remove carbon from their operations, manufacturing, product designs, and supply chains. Government policies, such as the US Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the European Green Deal, offer meaningful incentives for large-scale decarbonization—conferring significant advantages for companies that act now, along with the potential for significant green growth.

At BCG, we take a highly sector- and company-specific approach to decarbonization, since each organization’s operating environment, assets, and regulatory constraints are unique. We help companies reduce the carbon intensity of their operations and activities across the full value chain, and we identify new business opportunities that can deliver powerful revenue streams.

We focus on a variety of high-impact decarbonization methods, including:

• Net Zero Strategy. Leading companies are proving that net zero decarbonization is a business opportunity that can bring sustainable competitive advantage. They aren’t just creating more value; they’re changing the game in their industries by showing the way to a profitable, decarbonized future. 
• Low-Carbon Hydrogen and E-Fuels.  By 2025, an estimated 380 million tons per year of decarbonized hydrogen and other low-carbon fuels will be required to limit global warming. To meet future demand, companies must overcome hurdles related to cost, infrastructure, supply chains, and feedstocks.  
• Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS). CCUS is both a decarbonization solution and a growth opportunity. The world can reach the levels of CCUS deployment needed to help reach net zero emissions by 2050 without breaking the bank, but it will require stakeholders across the value chain to be far more proactive.  
• Bioenergy and Biofuels. The bioenergy and biofuels markets are a promising and fast-moving piece of an organization’s decarbonization strategy. All stakeholders need to take a sustainability-first approach along the entire value chain, rethinking feedstock cultivation, harvesting, and pricing. 
• Sustainable Operations. Companies can apply decarbonization methods through sustainable operations to reduce emissions across the product life cycle, increase sustainability in procurement and supply chain, enhance operational efficiency, and transition to the circular economy. 

We also help clients deploy forward-thinking decarbonization methods and low-carbon solutions in renewable electricity, distributed energy, energy storage and batteries, carbon removal, green building technologies and renewable heat, green building materials and construction, and nature-based solutions.