According to the New Climate Institute’s 2022 report— the Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor, only 3 of 25 global companies surveyed are committing to deep decarbonisation across 90% of their full value chain emissions, whilst others are failing to change quickly enough.
The report analysed the firms’ publicly stated environmental strategies aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions in order to reach net-zero. This contentiously included emissions generated both ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ which are created by activity that is indirectly linked to a company. This includes those generated by contractors, logistics and even the electricity used by consumers to charge their devices.
As consumers and the workforce continue to mount pressure on businesses to do more in order to reduce their environmental impact, the study highlights that the organisations' 2030 targets are falling well short of the measures required in order to avoid the most damaging effects of climate change. The report concluded that if all strategies that are in place were implemented, it would reduce emissions by 40% and not the 100% implied by the ‘net-zero‘.
The Monitor noted that many of the businesses showed good practice examples for target setting and had implemented ways of reducing their emissions that other companies may look to in order to bring about their own ambitious targets. The report’s author—Thomas Day, noted that companies could further demonstrate their climate leadership by prioritising climate change objectives and engaging in constructive dialogue to share knowledge on good practices.
Tips for HR to enhance employer branding
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Cultivate a culture of purpose by empowering your people, giving them flexibility, space and trust to get the job done.
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Be authentic, be actionable, and be sincere - don't simply promote good causes for "likes" or exposure. Engage with causes and in activities that your organisation is passionate about.
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Revamp your office culture - Does everyone need to come to the office Monday - Friday, 9-5? Re-draw teams, re-design the work flow and the benefits your people value.
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Rethink the employee experience - Throw everything you knew pre-COVID out the window and start from scratch. Don't be afraid to innovate and push boundaries. No idea is too bold.
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Focus on sustainability - environmental concerns are high on employees agendas. Make sure your organisation lays out clearly defined environmental policies - commit to carbon neutrility, go green, ban single-use plastic, go paperless!
The report summarised that businesses will play a central role in the mitigation of climate change and that organisations should continue to innovate and commit to finding and scaling up solutions for deep decarbonisation.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
