Climate change is the stand-out sustainability issue for most companies.

Why climate change matters?

Just 2 degrees of global warming is expected to significantly disrupt the planet, from raising sea levels to extreme weather events and loss of biodiversity. This environmental harm will have knock-on social impacts, reducing food availability/affordability, displacement of people from their homes, reduce the availability of natural resources for human consumption, etc.

What causes climate change?

Climate change arises from the accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the Earth's atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the sun which leads to global warming. The Kyoto Protocol identified seven main greenhouse gasses that contribute to this - carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3). Activities that produce any of these contribute to climate change. 

 

Why should my company do something about carbon emissions?

Aside from the bigger picture, addressing  your GHG/carbon emissions will have some key of benefits:

• Impress business customers and investors. Impress business customers and investors. Your company’s business customers and investors are proportionately responsible for your carbon emissions, and have legislative and best practice pressure to report their emissions. Sharing your bespoke emission figures (read more on our services) adds value and impresses them. More importantly, as you reduce your emissions, they will also reduce theirs, further impressing them.

• Risk reduction. The lower your company’s emissions, the less vulnerable your business is to taxes and legislation in this space, and fluctuating fuel prices.

• Attract employees. Being a sustainable business widens the talent pool available to you. A study found that 65% of survey respondents said they were more likely to work for a company with strong environmental policies.

 

Given its importance, companies often choose to focus on carbon, first rather than taking a broader sustainability/ESG approach. If resources are limited this is often the right thing to do, although bare in mind there may be other ESG quick-wins you could consider.  
 

How should a company address climate change?

The basic process for addressing climate change is the same as for many other issues – measure, target and reduce. 
 

1. Measure. GHG emissions should be measured and reported following the guidance of the GHG Procotol. Start with measuring emissions for a representative financial year, i.e. one that represents your standard business operations and ideally, before you have implemented reduction initiatives. This will form your baseline for tracking progress.

2. Target. Examine the targets of key stakeholders (e.g. customers, investors and competitors), and best practice (e.g. Science-Based Target Initiative) to determine the expected aspiration level. Compare this to your GHG emissions data and what you think may be possible in order to define a realistic target. 

3. Reduce. Implement reduction measures to achieve the targeted reductions. Ensure you continue to measure and publicly report your GHG emissions each year to demonstrate the progress you are making.

 

When to start?

When it comes to measuring and reducing emissions, it's best to start sooner rather than later. The easiest ways to reduce GHG emissions, such as switching to renewable energy and adopting available technologies like electric cars, are typically implemented first. As these 'quick-wins' are achieved, further reductions become increasingly difficult and slower to implement. Your company’s scope 3 emissions are largely formed of proportional parts of other company’s emissions, so you want to start measuring them before they implement their quick-wins so that you can capitalise on their reductions.

How can Rawstone help

We offer a one-stop shop for company GHG/carbon emissions, supporting with measurement, targets and reduction plans, and showcasing these to your stakeholders. Get in touch for a discover call.

Explore our resources:

• What is the best tool for carbon footprint measurement?

• Practical tips for completing the Science-Based Target application.