Global companies must address climate change
Punit Renjen, CEO of Deloitte Global, is of the opinion that global businesses must make measurable progress when it comes to tackling climate change. In a commentary for CNN Business, he writes that hundreds of companies are committing to 100% renewable energy and “the tech sector in particular has been leading this shift, with a number of companies already reaching their 100% goal.” Renjen emphasizes that companies need to look carefully at the financial risks climate change can impose on their businesses globally, and state that information publicly.
IZA World of Labor author Marie Connolly also believes that the impacts of climate change will be felt globally as people’s well-being and allocation of time will be affected. “By its very nature, climate change will bring temperatures and other weather elements outside of their current ranges, making inference difficult. Moreover, societies can, and will have to, adapt to their new realities. Understanding this adaptation is crucial to be able to distinguish the short-term effects of climate change from its longer-term ones,” she writes in her article. In addition, “[d]eveloping economies will likely have fewer resources to invest in adaptive strategies, with potentially substantial consequences for increasing inequality.”
The World Economic Forum's Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics are one of the initiatives through which companies report on their impact on climate change. Businesses can thus increase their accountability. From this month, Deloitte has also started rolling out a new climate-learning program, in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), for its 330,000 employees worldwide. It will aim to inform Deloitte’s staff about how the organization is responding as well as encourage employees to take action. “By building a workforce of climate advocates and a culture of climate action, we will create a network of support for a transition to sustainable business models with far-reaching influence,” Renjen writes.
Read Marie Connolly’s article Climate change and the allocation of time.