Emission reduction strategies and negative emission solutions-pathways, drivers, and challenges

Abstract

Corporate carbon neutrality (CCN) is a growing initiative that businesses are pursuing to combat climate change by lowering carbon emissions. Companies' commitment, decisions, and actions to achieve carbon neutrality goals significantly impact communities and economies in the long run. Accordingly, gaining a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the dynamics of achieving carbon neutrality at the firm level, encompassing both emission reduction strategies and the negative emission solutions they implement, is progressively becoming pivotal. This study used inductive and qualitative research approaches to collect data using open-ended essays from forty-eight managers working in the transportation, energy, manufacturing, and construction (TEMC) industry. It employed the Gioia approach due to its ability to facilitate the acquisition of insights and the development of theory based on evidence. The focus was on the organizational factors and constraints that either aided or obstructed the achievement of the CCN goals. The study contributes to early firm-centered research on multinational enterprises (MNEs) by unraveling the critical underlying mechanisms that cause firm-level heterogeneous performance in achieving carbon neutrality through implementing 'negative emissions solutions.' It has been found that firms prefer carbon sink projects as a convenient and efficient natural climate solution because they contribute significantly to carbon sequestration. The study identified incorporating carbon neutrality into the organization's vision as a significant milestone. Similarly, three primary motives for firms to achieve carbon neutrality are value proposition, technological viability, and financial feasibility. Financing is an organization's main barrier in adopting carbon capture and storage technologies. Companies have indicated internal issues, including financial reservations, operational concerns, governance concerns, and technological and human problems while implementing negative emission solutions and reductions.