Beyond Net Zero: The Practical Sustainability Moves That Will Matter Most in 2026

• Craig Morgan
• December 15, 2025
• Articles

Northmore Gordon’s Point of View as We Close Out 2025 

As 2025 draws to a close, one thing is clear: organisations don’t need more slogans — they need clearer priorities, better data, and practical steps that improve efficiency, resilience, and cost performance. 

Across Australia, governments have increased their focus on climate adaptation, energy transition, and long-term resilience: 

• The Federal Government is committed to achieving 82% renewable electricity by 2030 as part of a broader Net Zero Plan, and 6 x Sector plans. 

• NSW’s Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan 2025–2029 outlines 46 actions across infrastructure, transport, land use, water, health and economic planning. 

• Victoria’s Climate Change Strategy 2026–30 sets out significant investment and a whole-of-economy pathway. 

• Other states are moving similarly: building adaptation capacity, electrifying systems, and embedding climate risk into regulatory and planning frameworks. 

For businesses, this means the question is no longer “Should we act?” but “How do we act smartly, consistently and in a way that aligns with business strategy?” 

The organisations that succeed in 2026 won’t be the ones chasing shiny tech or the next grant. They’ll be the ones who make practical, high-value moves — the ones that compound. 

Below is Northmore Gordon’s point of view on what really matters. 

1. Efficiency first 

1. Develop a strategy for Certificates, funding and incentives  

1. Electrify where it makes sense for cost and efficiency 

1. Manage your carbon risk through your vwhole alue chain 

1. Use data-driven decisions 

1. Efficiency First — The Best ROI Still Comes From Operational Excellence 

Efficiency, the first fuel, remains the fastest, cheapest, least-regret step in any sustainability plan. 

Some things are simple and cheap! 

This is not new news in 2025, but it was a lesson re-learnt. 

Businesses re-discovered that many efficiency gains are operational, not just capital investments. 

This aligns with what we saw in our companion article, Quick Wins — What Actually Worked in 2025?, where the highest-value improvements came from: 

• Heat recovery 

• load shifting and sequencing 

• compressed-air leak reduction 

• boiler and steam system tuning 

• setpoint optimisation 

• better scheduling and behavioural adjustments 

• real-time monitoring enabling fast correction 

Why does this matter for 2026? Efficient systems drift. Controls get overridden. Settings change. Habits slip. 

Even “efficient” sites underperform after 12–24 months unless they are regularly reassessed.  We see this repeatedly. 

Energy Audits Still Matter! 

A good audit is not a compliance box. It is a diagnostic, produces an investment roadmap for deeper efficiency, and most importantly, is a reality check against assumptions. 

Data is money — when you can see it, you stop wasting it. 

Metering & Monitoring Matters More Than Ever!  

Energy audits based on data assure ROI on opportunities.  It’s no coincidence that NSW Government is providing grants for Metering and Monitoring plans and implementation.  Measuring electricity, gas, steam, hot/chilled water and air, informs where it is used efficiently and where it is being wasted, and where it can be reused or redirected. 

2. Certificates, Funding & Incentives Need Their Own Strategy — Not Last-Minute Scrambling 

In 2025, too many organisations still chased grants reactively or relied on vendors to “find them a rebate”. 

In 2026, the winners will do the opposite: they will build funding and certificates into their business planning cycle. 

Here’s the shift: 

• Use a framework, not chance. Northmore Gordon helps clients map VEECs, LGCs, ESCs, and grants into 12–36 month project or capital works pipelines so funding becomes predictable, not incidental. 

• Stop missing out. Build a structured process where your project pipeline is supported by VEECVictorian Energy Efficiency Certificate/LGC/ESC eligibility, and upcoming and known grants, and you are aware of government announcements before it happens. 

•  Let funding accelerate operational priorities. External funding from certificates and grants can bring forward a project that was marginal, or change priorities, or help take a large transformation leap instead of small steps. 

Integrating certificates and funding into your workflow is one of the biggest missed values we still see in the market. Fixing this can lift project ROI by 15–30%. 

3. Electrification — drive efficiency, cost reduction and carbon reduction together 

Electrification onto an increasingly renewable grid isn’t a trend anymore. It’s a transition. 

But it must be done with eyes open: 

• grid & connection capacity is not guaranteed 

• electrification loads must be modelled, not guessed 

• partial electrification may outperform full electric on ROI 

• network connection costs, network tariffs and certificate value can make or break payback 

• sequencing loads and load shapes matter  

• carbon emissions due to electrification may rise in the short term 

• don’t assume that the same gas capacity must be replaced – drive the opportunity for efficiency as well 

• biomethane supply through the grid could meet some thermal needs at lower cost 

2025 showed a clear shift: the smartest electrification projects weren’t “replace gas with electric”

They were modular, staged, monitored, and financially engineered through the right strategy that combines wholesale electricity market exposure, and optimisation of network tariff, certificates and grant funding, and engineering design. 

Case studies like MainStream Aquaculture highlighted a new reality: electrification is most successful when data, grid constraints and certificates are aligned from day one. 

4. Embedded Carbon & Supply-Chain Readiness — Start Small, Scale later 

State climate strategies, federal government regulations, the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and customer demand require more visibility on Scope 3 emissions. 

The message for business: 

• You don’t need perfection

• You need to start

Start with: 

• your top 10 suppliers or categories 

• major material or equipment inputs 

• upstream energy-intensive processes 

• logistics and transport exposures 

Many organisations overcomplicate this. You can start with spend-based or proxy data simply to identify where to focus. 

Once you know where your carbon liability is greatest, you can plan better to reduce risk, negotiate better, select smarter, and avoid unpleasant surprises in the years ahead. 

5. Data driven decisions — Because Guessing Isn’t a Strategy 

As policies tighten, certificate prices fluctuate, grants come and go, political parties change, and electrification accelerates, data is becoming the difference between businesses that advance and businesses that miss out. 

2025 reinforced this: 

• customer demand and product mixes change 

• “efficient” controls operate inefficiently 

• multiple teams report different emissions and energy data (ESG vs NGERS vs ASRSAustralian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS) - Australia's mandatory climate-related financial reporting rules started on 1 January 2025 and are being phased in across three reporting groups.) 

• meter-level insights catch waste that’s been hidden for years 

• visibility unlocks quick wins with no capex 

• validated data dramatically improves investment decisions 

Regular energy audits + metering & monitoring + proper energy data governance = competitive advantage. 

This is how leaders get ahead: 

• They assign ownership

• They set review cycles

• They track performance

• They catch drift early

• They use data to shape the 2026 capital plan, not guesswork

And critically — they use data to identify what to stop doing, not just what to start. 

2026 Mindset Shift: The Difference Between Leaders and Laggards 

Leaders: 

• Electrify what makes sense 

• Optimise what they already own 

• integrate bioenergyBiomass is plant or animal material used to produce electricity or heat. Examples include forestry by-products, crop waste, animal waste and food processing waste. Biomass is considered a renewable energy fuel if it comes from a sustainably managed source., energy efficiency and electrification into a thermal strategy 

• Integrate certificates and grant funding strategically 

• Reassess assumptions regularly 

• Use data to guide every major decision 

Laggards: 

• Chase grants reactively 

• Assume their systems are “fine” 

• Invest without modelling 

• Treat audits as a checkbox 

• Ignore drift in controls and operations 

• Assume electrifying everything is the right answer 

The gap is widening — and 2026 will amplify it. 

If You Only Do Four Things Before March 2026: 

1. Audit your site — not for compliance, for clarity. 

1. Build your certificate & funding strategy — don’t leave money unclaimed. 

1. Optimise what you already own — it’s where the fastest payback still lives. 

1. Plan your metering & monitoring – you can’t manage what you can’t measure 

Ready to Build Your 2026 Energy & Sustainability Plan? 

If you’d like help turning these priorities into a practical roadmap, we’re here to support you. 

Northmore Gordon works with organisations across Australia to build actionable strategies, deliver high-value audits, and design funding and certificate plans that maximise ROI and reduce risk. 

Whether you need to: 

• map out your 2026 energy and sustainability strategy, 

• complete a site-wide audit and uncover operational savings, 

• or integrate VEECs, ESCs, LGCs, grants or other funding into a structured project pipeline – we can help you plan with confidence. 

Get in touch with our team to talk through your goals for 2026 and how we can support your next steps. 

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