Isabel DiVanna is an award-winning Director-level strategist, marketing and business development professional. She is currently Associate Director at The Carbon Trust leading new client acquisition across multi-million pound sectors.  Her clients are across various sectors, working to decarbonise in food manufacturing, energy, manufacturing and construction. She has previously held senior business development roles at Eunomia Research & Consulting and as Commercial Director at RenewableUK and EngineeringUK. Her specialism is strategic revenue growth of off-the-shelf as well as bespoke services and products, with a focus on sustainability as underpinning all forms of growth, including ESG compliance, leadership and reporting.

In an engaging Q/A session with Shaheen Shafique, Isabel shares her insights on the evolving landscape of sustainability and the future of corporate climate action. She discusses the development of extensive decarbonisation plans, the importance of policy frameworks, and the role of emerging technologies in accelerating the net-zero transition. She also sheds light on the significance of platforms like the London Climate Technology Show in fostering collaboration, innovation, and systemic thinking to achieve a sustainable future.

#Shaheen: What is your approach in the development of an extensive decarbonisation plan for governments, businesses or public sector organisations?

#Isabel: I can offer an example: as a former Executive Director at RenewableUK, I worked closely with Number 10, the CCC and of course the sector (which were en masse our members) to create the enablers of the delivery of the UK’s net zero strategy (launched at COP26). Scopes ½ are key to decarbonisation as they are within the control of organisations and government. What we did was work with policy enablers to create the statutes that bind us as an economy, and the market design groups to ensure the activities of renewables were funded in the short- to medium-term. This was key to the energy transition and required both investment in technology and change management (transitioning from oil and gas to renewables) as well as infrastructure (grid) and components across the value and supply chains. It also required up and cross skilling and linking UK green jobs to wider educational and vocational routes into the workplace. Our work at RenewableUK also extended to other countries as the UK is an example of best practice policy enablement in this area.

#Shaheen: How do you ensure that the Net Zero plans and strategies you develop are both economically viable and scalable for businesses and governments?

#Isabel: I can give a different example: at Carbon Trust, when we advise clients (and governments) about setting net-zero aligned targets and planning to meet them, we look at scenario analysis with great econometric detail – assessing controllables and uncontrollable in the decarbonisation journey. These can also be bolted into a marginal cost of abatement curve for each ‘hot priority’ area, so a company (or government) can make informed decisions about the suitability and cost efficiency of solutions. This could be for example installing solar panels, or PPAs for renewables. These often link to costs. But they can also look at market growth – for example the price of cocoa set to grow, and what alternatives in terms of product composition (ingredients) for a product may be available, and at what carbon and other costs (and therefore with what volumetric revenues once manufactured). This delicate study of scalability and viability is key and demonstrating the opportunities for both cost reduction and market growth is central to my approach (which I learned at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership as well as Said and Harvard Business School).

#Shaheen: With the progressing landscape of climate policies and technologies, how do you stay ahead of the curve to ensure your advice remains relevant and impactful?

#Isabel: I would say climate policies actually change slowly – actual policies change slowly, while the implementation (disclosures, reporting) seem to move quicker. I am a member of a number of alumni groups and learned groups and stay ahead through my own research as well as colleagues’ work, as we at The Carbon Trust advise on such matters.

#Shaheen: Moving forward, what emerging trends or technologies do you believe will significantly impact how organisations plan and execute their net zero transitions?

#Isabel: The energy transition is key and technology providers are well-placed to leverage it. This requires a significant rethinking of what we manufacture, construct / build and deliver today to consumers and businesses, and an adaptation of what currently exists to the needs of future technologies and products / services. AI and management of data will be vital to make sense of the vast amounts of evidence companies and governments need to cope with, as well as technologies that look at sustainable materials, designed for recyclability, that can capture carbon and transform it (as in CCUS technologies) and can power up transport (from aviation  to domestic vehicles) sustainably as well as creating proteins and foods without relying on dairy and livestock. The possibilities are limitless! From own operations and green cement to improved product portfolios, technology is everywhere as an enabler of the net zero transition.

#Shaheen: How do you see events like the London Climate Technology Show contributing to the journey of transition towards a net zero future and delivery strategies?

#Isabel: Sharing ideas and innovations across sectors is vital, and the Show is well renowned for bringing in various stakeholders who can think systemically about the transition and how to enable it, how to monetise it (as businesses and governments need this to be a just as well as reasonable transition) and now to work collaboratively to deliver it.