Net Zero Roadmap for UK Manufacturers: A Guide to ESOS & Energy Monitoring

For UK manufacturers, food producers, and logistics firms, reducing emissions is a key requirement for reducing risk, cutting costs, and staying competitive in a market where pressure is coming from regulators, investors, and clients.

Building a net zero roadmap requires clarity on where you are now, what’s worth tackling first, and how to engage your team with the right data and direction.

Whether you’re responding to rising Scope 3 expectations from customers, preparing for ESOS Phase 4, or aiming to cut costs across multiple sites, this guide will help you develop a roadmap that delivers, both practically and commercially.

Step 1: Establish Your Baseline

To make any real progress, you need a clear picture of where you’re starting from. That means gathering data on Scope 1 (direct), Scope 2 (indirect), and where feasible, Scope 3 (value chain) emissions. For high-consumption businesses, annual totals won’t cut it.

While some businesses already use Energy Monitoring Systems (EMS) to break down usage in detail, many do not. If you’re not yet using an EMS, start with the best data you can access, ideally broken down by site, process, or business unit. Begin with half-hourly meter data and invoices per site, this is often enough to identify major inefficiencies.

A system like Tritility’s Energy Metrics can later help you monitor performance at a more granular level. Businesses using EMS typically identify 10–15% in avoidable energy consumption within the first six months (source: Carbon Trust).

Swire, a global offshore logistics and storage company with over 50 global sites, saved £300,000 in the first year by combining smart procurement strategies with same-day insights from Energy Metrics. Through site-by-site monitoring, the team identified abnormal usage patterns in one warehouse, made targeted operational changes, and significantly reduced avoidable energy waste.

As Dave Christie, Swire’s Continuous Improvement Manager, put it: “The benefits of having the data through Energy Metrics have allowed us to make informed decisions. The first-year benefit to the business will be £300,000.”

Similarly, APS Group, operating six large-scale tomato production sites with over 56 hectares of glasshouse space, gained insights into energy overuse by installing submetering on individual production lines. This revealed inefficiencies in chiller operation, which were then optimised based on time-of-day tariffs and usage needs, delivering measurable savings. “

“Over the past couple of years, new opportunities have opened for us to look at exactly where we were using our energy. We put specific meters on each line and found we were overusing chillers… Tritility has been a game changer.” – Darren Oatley, Plant & Facilities Manager.

Many businesses are still trying to quantify Scope 3 emissions, and struggling. As Ian Wheeler of Optimum Medical explained in our recent YouTube interview: “It’s no longer just about what you’re planning to do, it’s how you’re collecting Scope 3 data and what you’re doing with it. And that data can be really labour-intensive to gather and clean.” – Ian Wheeler, Optimum Medical (watch interview)

If you’re unsure where to begin with Scope 3, the UK Government has published guidance on measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions.

Step 2: Set Clear, Credible Targets

Once you know your starting point, the next step is to define where you’re heading. Targets should reflect your operational reality, and they must be measurable. This could include reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by a specific percentage within a fixed timeframe, or switching entirely to REGO-backed electricity.

Don’t aim for perfection on day one. A phased approach with check-ins every 12 months will give you flexibility and credibility. Crucially, these targets should be signed off by both operational and financial stakeholders to ensure they’re taken seriously across the business.

Step 3: Identify High-Impact Projects

Your roadmap doesn’t need to include everything at once. In fact, trying to do too much too soon is a fast track to failure.

Use the downloadable roadmap builder to prioritise projects based on:

• Cost and payback period
• Feasibility and disruption risk
• Carbon savings (absolute or intensity-based)
• Operational alignment (e.g. production windows, site constraints)

Common first-wave projects include:

• Replacing outdated lighting or heating systems
• Switching to REGO-backed or fully renewable electricity
• Trialling EVs for logistics or on-site fleets
• Installing EMS tools to better track performance and uncover cost-saving opportunities

If capital is a barrier, investigate the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) or regional energy efficiency grants, which can subsidise equipment upgrades and monitoring technologies.

Step 4: Create an Action Plan That Gets Done, Not Just Approved

A plan without delivery is just paperwork. Each intervention should be mapped out with clarity: what needs doing, who’s responsible, and when it needs to happen. Whether it’s a capital upgrade or behavioural change, it must be achievable within your team’s capacity.

As ESOS Lead Assessor, Duncan Wigley, explained in a recent episode of our Powering Production podcast: “Phase 3 of ESOS has fundamentally changed expectations. Now, you’re not just reporting — you’re accountable for implementing energy-saving actions and updating the Environment Agency every year until 2027.”

While not all businesses are driven by regulation, this mindset shift is useful. Treat your roadmap as a live strategy document, not a static report. Align it with budget cycles and performance reviews so it doesn’t end up in a drawer.

👉 Consider using the roadmap in quarterly ops meetings to hold departments accountable and show progress to leadership.

Step 5: Monitor and Adapt Quarterly

Energy strategies rarely survive contact with the real world. Your usage patterns will shift, due to seasonality, staffing, or operational changes, so regular reviews are vital.

Set quarterly reviews that evaluate progress, highlight blockers, and identify new opportunities. Where EMS tools are in place, use them to guide your decisions. Where they’re not, make reviewing energy data and stakeholder feedback part of your process.

When something isn’t working, adapt. A roadmap that’s flexible is far more valuable than one that’s perfect on paper.

Download the Net Zero Roadmap Builder

To support your planning, we’ve developed a downloadable tool designed for both operational teams and senior leadership. Use this tool to prepare for ESOS updates, secure internal buy-in, and track progress against your emissions and cost reduction goals.

📥 Download the Net Zero Roadmap Builder

Want to talk to someone about your net zero journey? Get in touch with us today.