2023 marked the primary 12 months that carbon emissions declined within the U.S. for the reason that COVID period — however they don’t seem to be falling quick sufficient, and they’re nonetheless rising globally. So how can we pace decarbonization and obtain the “transition” from fossil fuels agreed to eventually 12 months’s COP28 assembly? One key group that may assist pace local weather progress is sustainability professionals — and all workers who’re working to advance sustainability efforts at their workplaces. Along with their necessary work on decarbonizing operations, sustainability professionals can and will use their affect to maneuver corporations to advocate for sturdy local weather coverage — one of the crucial necessary levers in creating significant systemic change. Local weather professionals have an important function to play in accelerating progress.
The excellent news is that the ranks of the sustainability occupation are swelling quickly, and it’s a broad cadre that reaches far wider than simply essentially the most seen roles corresponding to chief sustainability officer. Many of those professionals are setting formidable targets and doing terrific work in decreasing emissions in operations — and they’re the primary to know that assembly company targets would require daring and binding public coverage that permits the change we’d like. Everyone knows that public coverage is without doubt one of the greatest and highest leverage alternatives to scale back emissions at pace and scale. That’s the place sustainability professionals’ function as catalysts is available in.
So far, GreenBiz chairman and co-founder Joel Makower just lately instructed us in an interview, “All of us — these inside corporations and people exterior — spend an excessive amount of time celebrating incremental change in an period the place audacious step-change is required.” He asserts that “we have to make sure that corporations align their sustainability commitments and achievements with their coverage stances.” So simply precisely how do sustainability professionals assist make that occur?
Step one is talking out concerning the very important significance of public coverage to addressing the local weather disaster, as one in all us (Invoice) did in his current remarks on the GreenBiz 24 convention (made with the assistance of AI know-how to generate speech from a “clone” of his voice, given his incapability to talk due to ALS). Greater than 480 present and former sustainability professionals quickly responded by signing a joint assertion urging corporations to “again coverage motion on the pace and scale required to fulfill our world targets and avert the worst outcomes.” The LEAD Assertion, nonetheless open to signatures, units out 4 particular steps corporations ought to take to align their coverage targets with their local weather aims:
- Go away obstructing commerce associations;
- Elevate local weather coverage as an organization precedence;
- Advocate publicly for efficient binding local weather insurance policies; and
- Display actual dedication to the collective motion wanted to attain the simply and equitable transition from fossil fuels agreed on at COP28.
We’ve written right here concerning the large local weather coverage obstruction posed by the Chamber of Commerce and different commerce associations, and the disconnect when pro-climate corporations proceed to ship them membership dues. Firms should, as Step 1, weaken this obstruction by leaving these commerce associations and counter their damaging affect by main by public statements in help of local weather coverage progress at each flip. Sustainability leaders may be a part of bringing corporations into alignment on commerce associations, and mustn’t draw back from the problem.
Along with distancing themselves from obstructing commerce associations, corporations should, as Step 2, play a way more proactive function on local weather coverage at this vital turning level. (Notice: Steps 1 and a pair of needn’t — and mustn’t — be sequential. They need to be pursued in parallel.) For a street map to approaching coverage alternatives, sustainability leaders can try nice instruments such because the Ceres Coverage Outlook 2024. It highlights an “spectacular array of current coverage victories, which we should combat to protect in 2024 and past.” Ceres factors out that “this isn’t the time to lose sight of the local weather and sustainability dangers that threaten company efficiency and the whole financial system. As a substitute, the private and non-private sectors should redouble our shared effort.”
When climate-forward corporations step up extra successfully within the coverage area — as Apple, Google, Salesforce and Microsoft just lately did within the combat for a robust local weather disclosure regulation in California — it will possibly make all of the distinction for coverage progress. The local weather coverage agenda for subsequent 12 months is filled with actions which might be important to construct on the spectacular clear power momentum of the Inflation Discount Act and shield that historic invoice from a number of repeal makes an attempt. We’d like corporations — not simply sustainability professionals, however CEOs, different executives, workers, lobbyists — to indicate up and be part of the combat.
Along with their work on decarbonizing operations, sustainability professionals can and will use their affect to maneuver corporations to advocate for sturdy local weather coverage — one of the crucial necessary levers in creating significant systemic change.
In the event that they converse up, sustainability professionals can play a key function in getting corporations to step up on local weather coverage. They’ve devoted their careers to combating local weather change, and a rising quantity are saying out loud that they imagine that every one corporations should leverage their energy and affect to speed up local weather coverage progress. Alone, this could possibly be a troublesome message, however the group of local weather professionals can elevate a robust voice collectively. For those who’ve been quiet or on the sidelines, or not actively advocating for local weather coverage progress — now’s the time to step up and lift your voice for significant coverage motion and help.
Listed below are 3 ways to study extra and take motion:
- Signal onto the LEAD Assertion and be part of the rising group of sustainability professionals “including their voices to the refrain calling for corporations to have interaction forcefully and responsibly with public coverage to speed up local weather motion.”
- Evaluation the Ceres Coverage Outlook for 2024 and decide to elevating as many of those priorities as potential this 12 months.
- Assess your organization’s commerce affiliation relationships and start talking as much as counter the rampant commerce affiliation obstruction of local weather coverage progress, particularly by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A key difficulty to keep watch over this quarter is the chamber’s stance on the forthcoming SEC disclosure guidelines. Be sure that your organization is on the correct aspect of historical past in relation to sturdy local weather guidelines — and guarantee your organization speaks up when the chamber and different commerce associations are blocking local weather coverage progress.
