Four things businesses can do to combat climate change
Dismayed (but not surprised) by the latest climate news, Ākina CEO Louise Aitken and Engagement and Communications Director Ed Watson sat down to think about what businesses could focus on as they work out how to operate in a way that’s better for the planet.
The latest IPCC report to be released confirms what we have known for many years - the impact of climate change is already here and the window to stay within 1.5 degrees of warming is rapidly closing. As always with a system as vast as the climate, the science is incredibly complex – but here’s a great infographic from EnviroVisuals that sums up the key takeaways:
A visual summary of the latest IPCC Report from EnviroVisuals, shared with permission.
With the report described as a ‘code red for humanity’, the response from many was fear and a sense of being overwhelmed. But, we also read that there is hope – the report confirmed that IF we act now we can get global emissions to at least net-zero by 2050. But we must act now. “We” means everyone – governments, businesses, communities and individuals. Here are some ideas about things your business can focus on to help make positive change for a planet in peril:
1. Get to grips with the impact of your business on the climate
The good news is you don’t have to be a social enterprise to care about your impact. However, we’ve moved past the days of simply trying to minimise negative environmental impact, it’s not good enough to be “less bad” for the environment anymore. How can you make changes that are actually helping to improve the situation? This might seem hard, but change is possible!
Take a look at the business.govt.nz Climate Action Toolbox – which starts with a quick and easy quiz to determine which climate action areas your business should prioritise. Picking climate action areas most aligned with your activities will help ensure you’re taking meaningful action
At Ākina we track our emissions and offset them through Ekos certification. We offset more than the emissions we create, which makes Ākina climate-positive.
We’re not perfect, but this is a journey we’ve committed to and must re-commit to every year to renew our certification. We are also progressing our adoption of science-based targets, using a new streamlined target validation route created for small to medium sized businesses, like ours. With help from our friends at think-step we are getting our heads around Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and the tangible things we can do to reduce our emissions from our 2018 baseline.
2. Invest in making change
All businesses can make a difference, regardless of size. Whether you’re a small community enterprise or a larger corporate, the mechanisms for making change are similar;
how you operate,
the goods and services you buy,
where you’re investing your money, and
how you support and encourage your staff.
When it comes to how your workplace operates, consider energy and resource consumption as well as how you can better manage and minimize your waste. Using a composting service, minimising use of resources like paper and electricity, or switching to a renewable energy provider are all examples of actions you could take to operate more sustainably.
Have discussions about climate risks and climate action at board level. Getting buy-in and support at board level is a hugely important part of developing your business to one that is more climate-friendly.
Find a way to commit staff resources to carbon measurement, or ask the experts for help. This work needs to be thought about as part of your licence to operate, considering your emissions tracking and reduction to be as essential as your finances. If you’re new to this, don’t expect that it can happen on top of your daily operations. If you are not able to hire someone to do it all for you, there are a lot of resources available online to get you started (like these carbon calculators from Ekos, or these ones from Toitū).
Take a look at your supply chain. The social procurement movement is gathering steam, with supply chains increasingly being seen as a powerful way to make positive change. What businesses does your business buy from? Buying more locally will help reduce carbon miles , or better yet buy from businesses that are driven by purpose. Businesses who are carbon neutral or climate positive should be able to provide you with evidence of their certification - something to encourage when you next talk to your new or existing suppliers!
Check your workplace policies. As Covid-19 lockdowns have proven time and again, flexible working policies can help reduce emissions with the simple fact that commuting by car from the Kāpiti Coast into Wellington creates significantly more emissions than the commute from your bedroom to the dining room table! At Ākina our biggest source of emissions by far is air travel – even in the age of Zoom there may be opportunities to tighten up your travel policy to ensure that your people are only hitting the road, or taking to the skies when they absolutely have to. Even then, with zero emissions options like Zilch coming onto the market, there may be alternative transport options worth exploring.
3. Look out for your employees
As if Covid-19 wasn’t enough – climate anxiety is real and, along with stress caused by the pandemic, it’s affecting our mental health.
Chances are that many of your colleagues will be feeling as worried about the climate crisis as you are – if not more so. The IPCC report makes it clear that the timeframe for thinking about some of the more disastrous aspects of the crisis is shorter than we might have once believed, and we only have to look to events like the West Coast floods in July to know that the effects of climate change are being felt in our own backyard.
A common reaction is often a feeling of hopelessness. While that’s completely understandable, it would be better for our people to feel like they were part of an organisation making positive changes to protect Papatūanuku – which is surely better for employee engagement too.
What internal communications can you send around to your team so they know that their leadership is aware and thinking about how the business might adapt? Do you have a way for your team to suggest ideas or celebrate the positive changes they might be making in their personal lives?
It’s easy to feel like your small changes won’t amount to much, but remember you’re part of a movement for change, and workplaces have the power to build a sense of collective action. You have a ‘captive audience’ in your workforce and you can inspire them to take action. Take a moment to celebrate the positive changes that your organisation and people make! It makes a real difference.
When it comes to mental health there are heaps of great organisations out there that can offer support – including some great social enterprises like Mentemia and Co-Liberate (who recently launched a wellness gym in Wellington).
Find out more about climate anxiety and climate grief via these great resources and articles from Toitu.
4. Use your voice
Thinking outside of the change you can make directly, there is change you can inspire in others. As a business leader, it is important to share your journey to challenge and inspire others to act too. By telling your story, even if it is just about the first step you take, it could make it easier for someone else to start, for someone to connect with you to ask for help, or even to offer help to you.
You can use your voice to influence those around you - central and local government, suppliers, employees, investors.
At Ākina, we’re very proud to have recently joined the Climate Leaders Coalition, officially joining them after having been an early signatory on their 2019 statement. Check them out, or other groups like the Sustainable Business Council or the Sustainable Business Network to find opportunities to connect and amplify your voice. Think about how you might contribute your voice to upcoming conferences like the Climate Change and Business Conference in October.
Another opportunity is to speak directly to the Government. We’re lucky in Aotearoa New Zealand in that, compared to other countries, our politicians and decision makers are relatively accessible. Make use of mechanisms like select committees, public forums, submissions, and open letters - these are all important avenues to participate in to add your voice to the many others crying out for change.
Yes, massive systemic change is needed – but we also need to cement behaviour change at every level of society. That means our collective attitude should be that every positive action, however small, is worth taking and worth celebrating.
Just as we’ve seen with the collective action we continue to take to minimise the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s the same wairua that will help us meet the challenge of climate change.