Inside industrial decarbonisation: What I’m seeing beyond the media noise
Every European Sustainable Development Week highlights the same recurring issue: moving from promises on paper to progress on the ground. If you follow the news cycle, you’re likely to think industrial decarbonisation, specifically, is stalling. Political back and forth. Economic pressures. Market volatility. And that the transition is just too complex to stay the course.
But as attention-grabbing as those headlines are, they miss something essential. In industry, we’re trained to cut through the noise: to spot blind spots, to listen to the system, and above all, to stay focused on what it takes to get things done. You keep your ears close to the ground, and closer still to the machinery.
And when you do that, a different reality emerges. Built on what is actually happening in the field and inside the companies already making progress, often quietly, often step by step, but pretty much for real.
As the European Sustainable Development Week begins, the OpinionWay survey commissioned by Equans reveals both the barriers…and opportunities.
Industrial decarbonisation: a ground-level view
Across Europe, industrial emissions have already dropped by 35% since 1990, which is a significant achievement considering that industry accounts for nearly 40% of global emissions once energy use is included. Today, a strong majority of industrial leaders acknowledge that decarbonisation is compatible with their business models, and many have already begun implementing solutions. Most believe it’s achievable with the technologies available today even if too few have moved to full deployment stage.
That is not inaction or theoretical ambition. That is real-world progress gaining traction across sectors and borders, with countries like the UK and the Netherlands taking the lead and others like France moving at a slower pace.
But the stakes are high, and the challenge is huge. In Europe, industrial emissions must fall another 30% in the next five years to stay on track with climate goals. Momentum is real, but urgency has to drive it further.
Find out what 1300 industrial leaders say about the energy transition, and what’s next :
How do we sustain this momentum?
What is driving the shift is, first and foremost, leadership conviction grounded in the awareness that environmental performance is no longer a trade-off against economic performance. In many cases, they reinforce each other over time. Regulatory pressure is also compelling action. In the end, it is not one factor, but a convergence: clearer roadmaps, more mature technologies, and increasingly viable business models.
When you look closely, you find that what’s stalling momentum isn’t failure to commit, it’s friction: technical and administrative complexity and outdated financial frameworks that keep too many viable projects stuck on paper and harder to fund, instead of moving at the speed and scale required.
Many decarbonisation solutions with a high potential are already proven and profitable:
- Smart energy control systems in buildings can cut energy use by up to 30%
- Waste heat recovery delivers energy savings of more than 20%
- Solar PV provides affordable solutions, with known payback times and limited volatility
Yet adoption remains much slower than it could be. In France, only 156% of buildings have full energy control systems, for example. Nearly a third of decision-makers cite complexity as their top barrier. Others point to the scale of investment required, and many highlight inconsistent policy signals that fuel risk aversion among executives and investors alike.
These are solvable issues, but they will not solve themselves. Which is why at Equans we launched Carbon Shift in 2024, an end-to-end offer designed to help companies diagnose, prioritise, finance, and implement their decarbonisation strategy. Because knowing what to do is not enough; what matters is making it doable despite bureaucratic complexity, investment hurdles, or operational constraints.
Adapting financing to SME and territories' realities
Financing is often the missing piece. If we want to accelerate, we need to rethink financing models, not around ideal conditions, but around the constraints and priorities companies are actually managing.
That means finding ways to de-risk investment through technical performance guarantees, turnkey solutions that are quick to implement, and ready-to-finance projects specifically focused on the energy transition. It is not always about massive investments. Sometimes it is about making the first steps possible and repeatable, with solutions scaled for medium-sized projects that align with the needs of SMEs and local public actors
That’s the rationale behind instruments like Elinvest, intended to remove upfront investment barriers and tailor financial models to industrial realities. These are not one-offs or pilots. They are targeted tools for scaling what is already working.
Designing a socially just transition from day one
But technology and capital alone will not get us there. To be viable, the transition must be inclusive, not just in principle, but in design. It has to be maintainable, accessible, and aligned with the people and communities who will live and work within it.
Today, fewer than 40% of industrial leaders feel their workforce is fully equipped for the transition. When asked what would help, they point to training, supplier support, and tailored financing models as top enablers.
We cannot afford to treat social impact as merely an afterthought. A just transition is not a communication pillar. It is an operational requirement. At Equans, we are building that in from the start:
- Energy efficiency that minimises operational disruptions while improving access to essential services in more vulnerable communities
- Electrification and mobility solutions aligned with local needs, with a strong focus on inclusion and territorial equity
- Community programmes backed-up by the Equans Foundation that integrate local jobs, workforce engagement, and upskilling, including apprenticeships, reskilling pathways, and training that open up energy transition opportunities to all
Our teams across Europe and beyond are engaging in conversations and actions to highlight what the energy transition really means: the stakes, challenges, and broader impact on people’s lives and livelihoods.
We are not at a stoplight, we are at a crossroads
Perhaps this is the biggest shift that needs to happen now. Not in a race for flawless strategies, but in a pragmatic effort to scale things that work, technically, financially, and socially.
What we need now is not more talk. It’s the courage to align what we already know with what we choose to do. Because when we talk about return on investment today, it’s not just about energy savings. It’s also about adaptability, sovereignty, long-term competitiveness, and the trust of the people involved in making these transitions succeed.
And when implementing concrete projects, we also strive for resilience, trust, and shared value, we do not just build a low-carbon future. We build one that is worth working for.
Companies are ready to move. The question is no longer if; It's how fast we can remove the obstacles and match their ambition with support that is clear, practical, and grounded in reality.
How is Equans helping SMEs turn decarbonisation strategies into scalable solutions ?
