Why Fuel Switching Beats Cheque‑Writing
“Net Zero" can sound dry on a slide deck, but in the real world it looks like trucks, ships, forklifts and generators quietly doing their jobs with a very different kind of fuel in the tank. That is where renewable diesel gets interesting. Instead of treating climate targets as an abstract problem to be “offset away”, it turns everyday fuel decisions into visible and reportable emission cuts, that your board and customers can actually see.
From net zero "someday” to “one-day this week”
Most corporates now have a date stamped on climate action. Amazon has gone hard with its Climate Pledge commitment to reach net‑zero carbon by 2040 across its operations and value chain. More locally, Woolworths Group has locked in net‑zero 2050 goals and is reshaping its refrigerants, transport and logistics footprint to get there, while Rio Tinto is targeting a 50% cut in operational emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050 including trials to power some of its diesel fleet with renewable diesel. These are not fringe brands, they are the companies that move our resources, stock our pantry and deliver goods to our doors. The common thread is simple: real emissions reductions first, offsets as a last resort.
Some Australian companies have already been caught out by problems with offsets resulting in forced public apologies. This highlights the brand and regulatory risk of relying on “paper” reductions instead of genuine operational change – a risk that does not arise when you cut fossil diesel emissions directly by swapping to renewable diesel.
Renewable diesel vs carbon offsets: who’s really doing the work?
Offsets sound appealing: keep doing what you’re doing, then pay someone else to plant trees, protect forests or build clean energy somewhere else in the world (potentially.....). But offsets don’t change your underlying Scope 1, 2 or 3 numbers. Your Australian National Greenhouse Accounts based inventory still shows the full volume of fossil emissions from your diesel use. You’re simply claiming that those emissions are “balanced” by reductions or removals by someone else, somewhere else.
Regulators, investors and customers are getting smarter about this distinction. The emerging norm in net‑zero standards is slowly becoming:
Cut emissions in your own operations and value chain as deeply as possible.
Once these opportunities have been fully exhausted, use high‑integrity offsets to cover the genuine remainder.
Renewable diesel fits squarely into step one, and it's an easy step. Under Australia's standard Greenhouse accounting rules, Scope 1 emissions from renewable diesel are treated as zero, unlike regular fossil diesel where all tailpipe CO₂, plus the emissions from drilling, refining and transport push both Scope 1 and fuel‑related Scope 3 much higher.
When you swap fossil diesel for renewable diesel, you reduce the fossil carbon in your total business Scope 1 and relevant Scope 3 lines, immediately. Your auditors, your board and your stakeholders can see that change in the data straight away. Offsets, if you use them, become the final touch, not the foundation. In other words: fuel switching does actually beat cheque‑writing.
Be a preferred supplier in a net‑zero world!
Scope 3 emissions are especially challenging because companies have limited control over how their suppliers operate, yet those third-party activities make up the bulk of their climate footprint.
Amazon has singled out its highest‑emitting suppliers – together responsible for more than half of its Scope 3 footprint – and now expects them to set out clear plans to decarbonise their operations. This shifts real responsibility onto suppliers, while giving Amazon the data it needs to prioritise partners with credible, actionable emissions‑reduction roadmaps.
Across Australia, this kind of pressure on suppliers is only likely to grow. An increasing number of tenders are now asking bidders to disclose their emissions profile and climate strategy, and it is becoming more common for procurement teams to score responses based on demonstrated decarbonisation, not just price and capability. Australia's Mandatory Sustainability Reporting Requirements are pushing more companies into emissions reporting brackets, with Group 1 companies already reporting, and Group 2 companies needing to report for FY2026.
Choosing renewable diesel over an offsets‑heavy approach helps suppliers respond credibly to this shift: it immediately lowers operational emissions, shows up clearly in Scope 1 and relevant Scope 3 data, and proves they are taking tangible steps to decarbonise their fleets and equipment rather than outsourcing the problem on paper.