EACs and Net-Zero Targets: A Summary

Thanks for following the series on EACs and their role in meeting interim 2030 net-zero targets!

Across this series we’ve covered:

✔️ What are Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs)

✔️ Why carbon intensity is becoming dominant mechanism

✔️ How the latest SBTi guidance is shaping corporate strategies

✔️ Why CFOs now care about optionality and liquidity

✔️ How EACs compliment supplier engagement programmes.

This final post brings those threads together in one place.

Companies face new pressure to decarbonise and need better tools to achieve their goals. Here we cover:

1. What are Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs)
2. Why Carbon Intensity certificates will become the dominant tool
3. How SBTi guidance is evolving
4. Why CFOs now care about optionality and liquidity

• Represent verified, auditable environmental attributes
• Decouple the environmental benefit from the physical asset
• Allow that benefit to be applied where it is most valuable

Why does that matter now?

• Because 2030 targets are close
• Supply chains are slow
• Expectations around credibility are rising
• EACs exist because physical transformation and target pressure are moving at different speeds

EACs create a bridge

SBTi guidance has changed the game. It increasingly favours solutions that are:

• In-value-chain
• Measurable against baselines
• Verifiable and auditable
• and capable of being scaled across Scope 3 categories

EACs allow companies to:

• Start reducing Scope 3 now
• Support low-carbon investment
• Meet audit, assurance and investor scrutiny

From a finance perspective, EACs introduce something net-zero has often lacked: operational control.

They provide:

• Predictability in planning
• Flexibility to adjust volumes year to year
• Reduced exposure to supplier delays
• Compatibility with budgeting and disclosure cycles

EACs offer CFOs managed exposure. As 2030 approaches EACs are being seen as part of corporate financial strategy.

Procurement sits at the sharp end of Scope 3. Teams are being asked to:

• Decarbonise categories
• Manage cost and availability
• Keep suppliers onside

EACs help by:

• Embedding carbon performance into procurement decisions
• Rewarding lower-carbon choices without forcing supplier replacement
• Supporting supplier engagement programmes which have uncertain timelines

The most underappreciated role of EACs is their ability to offer liquidity:

• Bridging short-term targets and long-term transformation
• Suppliers (where progress is uneven)
• Capital cycles (where investment timing matters)

They enable companies to:

• Make near-term progress
• Stay aligned with SBTi guidance
• Adapt as supply chains evolve

Delivering interim 2030 targets is about delivering success under real-world, short-term operational constraints.

EACs matter now because they:

• Align with evolving SBTi guidance
• Work inside Scope 3
• Meet CFO and procurement needs
• Are flexible enough to complement supplier engagement programmes

This is why we see EACs evolving from niche Scope 2 instruments, such as RECs into core net-zero infrastructure.

If you’d like to continue the conversation, particularly around carbon intensity and circular economy EACs, or Scope 3 delivery, get in touch. I’m always happy to compare notes.