Net Zero: What It Really Takes

The Illusion of Progress

Just 7% of global companies are actually on track to meet their Net Zero commitments. For the rest, the ambition is there — but the infrastructure to deliver is missing.

Why? Because too many companies treat Net Zero as a communications exercise rather than a data-driven operating model.

What Companies Get Wrong About Net Zero

Offsetting Instead of Reducing.

Many organisations still lean heavily on carbon offsets rather than tackling core emissions. Offsets have a role to play, but relying on them alone is like paying for indulgences without reforming the system. Stakeholders — from regulators to customers — are increasingly skeptical of offset-heavy strategies.

Carbon as a Siloed Metric Net Zero strategies often sit in sustainability teams, disconnected from finance, operations, or procurement. This creates a dangerous gap: carbon performance is reported annually, but operational decisions that drive emissions are made daily.

Data Gaps and Lagging Indicators Carbon data is often outdated, fragmented, and based on estimates. Without integrated systems, businesses rely on backward-looking reporting rather than forward-looking management. This makes it impossible to identify levers for real change.

The Reality of What It Really Takes

True Net Zero requires systemic transformation — and the backbone of that transformation is data. Three fundamentals are non-negotiable:

• Comprehensive Carbon Accounting Covering Scope 1, 2, and 3, with auditable methodologies aligned to global standards (GHG Protocol, ISSB, CSRD).
• Integration Across Functions Linking emissions data to finance, operations, procurement, HR, and supply chain so that carbon becomes a decision-making variable alongside cost, quality, and risk.
• Real-Time Visibility & Scenario Planning Companies need dashboards and predictive models that allow them to test Net Zero pathways, stress-test strategies, and course-correct before external auditors, regulators, or investors point out the gaps.

The Role of Technology in Net Zero Execution

Without digital infrastructure, Net Zero commitments collapse under their own weight. That’s where tools like Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, Microsoft Fabric, and visualistion tools like Power BI come in.

Cloud for Sustainability automates carbon accounting, consolidating emissions data from across the organisation.

Fabric creates unified ESG data lakes that integrate financial, operational, and supplier datasets — the missing link for full visibility.

Power BI translates that complexity into dynamic dashboards and predictive insights, turning carbon data into a management tool rather than a reporting afterthought.

At 4Sight, we use these technologies to build Net Zero operating systems: real-time, auditable, and fully embedded into business workflows.

Conclusion

Net Zero is not a PR exercise. It’s a rewiring of business around a new unit of performance: carbon. The companies that will thrive in the next decade are those that treat Net Zero not as an obligation, but as a competitive advantage — enabled by technology, sustained by data, and validated by outcomes.

Join us a 4Sight to enable your Net Zero Readiness, we can help you benchmark your current maturity, identify gaps, and build a digital-first roadmap to true Net Zero.

To explore how 4Sight can accelerate your Net Zero journey, reach out to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.