Post by account_disabled on Mar 6, 2024 4:12:24 GMT
Last year governments, local authorities, political parties and companies made dozens of 'climate emergency' declarations. But how can sustainability, CSR and energy professionals help their organizations respond to these statements with ambitious, impactful and lasting actions?
That was a key discussion point on the first day of Edie 's Sustainability Leaders Forum , where more than 300 attendees from across the sustainability field gathered for inspiration and practical advice to solve some of the world's biggest environmental challenges. .
wind turbines. 7 tips to make your organization net zero
During a panel discussion, expert speakers Chile Mobile Number List from Vattenfall, Interface, IFC, International Airlines Group (IAG) and Climate Care discussed how companies can deliver a coordinated and collective response to the climate emergency.
The panelists discussed the importance of transforming business models if necessary; press governments to adopt ambitious policies that provide long-term clarity; asking appropriate investors for support and considering any unintended social consequences to ensure a just transition.
But these are ultimately longer-term measures. The main question from the audience was: where should sustainability professionals start when embarking on a journey towards a big climate goal, be it net zero emissions, net negative emissions, or net positive impact?
Here, Edie summarizes some of the panelists' key advice on this topic.
1) Be patient
Interface chief sustainability officer Erin Meezan said colleagues often praised Interface's carbon return scheme and sought to replicate it within their own organisation, without acknowledging the "preliminary work".
The process of conceptualizing the scheme, gaining boardroom buy-in, finalizing and finally announcing took 18 months, he explained.
Knowing the fact that this was going to be a long process, planning inputs and leverage around the business opportunity for carbon negative products, is how we were able to get our CEO to publicly stand up and talk about reversing climate change.
2) Don't forget the human element
Part of the reason why Interface's process was so long, but that the scheme is now delivering transformative change for the company, is because Meezan and his team took a "human" approach to the C-suite, he explained.
She said:
How do we make space for leadership to ask the sustainability questions they think are really dumb? That's really critical... We had a small, very safe meeting with our CEO, other senior colleagues and environmental advisors, where we talked about the science of the climate and the path to solving it. We gained a lot of insight into the challenges behind closed doors from our colleagues.
3) Contextualize your big goals…
Vattenfall's big goal is to enable fossil-free living within a generation.
The company's vice president of corporate responsibility, Annika Ramskold, explained that this vision was developed with climate science in mind and in the context of the falling costs of low-carbon technologies such as wind, solar and energy. batteries.
“Acting because you have to” was also discouraged as this may be perceived by clients as greenwashing and a difficult task for colleagues.
She summarized:
With everything that is happening in the world pushing us to be carbon neutral or grid positive, you already have a good starting point from which to ask: "what will we need to do differently?".
Interface's Meezan agreed, emphasizing the importance of considering other sustainable business goals in goal setting.
"It's helpful to show your leadership team what market peers are doing, not to keep pace, but to identify gaps and how you can meaningfully fill them.
That was a key discussion point on the first day of Edie 's Sustainability Leaders Forum , where more than 300 attendees from across the sustainability field gathered for inspiration and practical advice to solve some of the world's biggest environmental challenges. .
wind turbines. 7 tips to make your organization net zero
During a panel discussion, expert speakers Chile Mobile Number List from Vattenfall, Interface, IFC, International Airlines Group (IAG) and Climate Care discussed how companies can deliver a coordinated and collective response to the climate emergency.
The panelists discussed the importance of transforming business models if necessary; press governments to adopt ambitious policies that provide long-term clarity; asking appropriate investors for support and considering any unintended social consequences to ensure a just transition.
But these are ultimately longer-term measures. The main question from the audience was: where should sustainability professionals start when embarking on a journey towards a big climate goal, be it net zero emissions, net negative emissions, or net positive impact?
Here, Edie summarizes some of the panelists' key advice on this topic.
1) Be patient
Interface chief sustainability officer Erin Meezan said colleagues often praised Interface's carbon return scheme and sought to replicate it within their own organisation, without acknowledging the "preliminary work".
The process of conceptualizing the scheme, gaining boardroom buy-in, finalizing and finally announcing took 18 months, he explained.
Knowing the fact that this was going to be a long process, planning inputs and leverage around the business opportunity for carbon negative products, is how we were able to get our CEO to publicly stand up and talk about reversing climate change.
2) Don't forget the human element
Part of the reason why Interface's process was so long, but that the scheme is now delivering transformative change for the company, is because Meezan and his team took a "human" approach to the C-suite, he explained.
She said:
How do we make space for leadership to ask the sustainability questions they think are really dumb? That's really critical... We had a small, very safe meeting with our CEO, other senior colleagues and environmental advisors, where we talked about the science of the climate and the path to solving it. We gained a lot of insight into the challenges behind closed doors from our colleagues.
3) Contextualize your big goals…
Vattenfall's big goal is to enable fossil-free living within a generation.
The company's vice president of corporate responsibility, Annika Ramskold, explained that this vision was developed with climate science in mind and in the context of the falling costs of low-carbon technologies such as wind, solar and energy. batteries.
“Acting because you have to” was also discouraged as this may be perceived by clients as greenwashing and a difficult task for colleagues.
She summarized:
With everything that is happening in the world pushing us to be carbon neutral or grid positive, you already have a good starting point from which to ask: "what will we need to do differently?".
Interface's Meezan agreed, emphasizing the importance of considering other sustainable business goals in goal setting.
"It's helpful to show your leadership team what market peers are doing, not to keep pace, but to identify gaps and how you can meaningfully fill them.