Many businesses and organisations are publicly announcing targets to be net zero by a particular date, not just in their own operations, but including emissions upstream in their supply chains and downstream in their distribution networks. As such it is necessary to pass on these obligations through contracts to ensure targets are met.
The Chancery Lane Project, a collaborative effort of UK lawyers to develop new contracts and model laws to help fight climate change, has published a model clause that “back-to-backs” or aligns a business’s net zero target with its supply chain and business partners, thus enabling the business to achieve its target or take control to achieve it.
The model clause is available in the attached volume at page 29 (“Owen’s Clause”).