Need For Corporates To Renew Action And Efforts To Prevent Climate Change
Sustainability has become a key focus area and there is now a general consensus that green future is a prosperous future. However, global concerns such as climate change, water scarcity, extinction of species, among others, continue to worsen.
And the near dismal situation underscores the urgent need to reinvigorate our efforts to ‘act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably)’ to save our planet. Invest In Our Planet – the theme for Earth Day 2022 – is a clarion call to build a healthy planet for our future generations.
More action needed
Corporates can play a big role in driving sustainable development. Building a more inclusive and sustainable world is not an option, but an imperative for all, especially corporates.
Changing the way we do business is essential to addressing the challenges of environmental degradation. Green manufacturing and sustainable policies have nudged corporates to evolve in ways that was unimaginable in the past.
Mounting evidence shows that investors are corelating better ESG performance with better financial performance. In 2019, 90 per cent of S&P 500 firms published sustainability reports, up from only 20 per cent in 2011.
While the developments extend hope, there is disconcerting news. The corporate world has not been moving fast enough on emissions reductions to meet the 1.5-degree target set by the Paris Accord. In the six years since the landmark agreement, the percentage of companies on course with their emissions reductions targets had actually regressed at least in two markets. In 2015, 29 per cent of German companies were aligned with the 2050 climate target, dropping only slightly to 28 per cent in 2021. In India, alignment dropped from 25% to 24%, whilst in Britain (.FTSE), the figure remained the same, at 21 per cent.
The monthly peak amount of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere reached 414.8 parts per million (ppm) in 2019, the highest level in human history and likely the highest level in the past 3 million years. And this portends trouble for the entire world and puts a big question mark on the survival of human species.
Every action counts
The contribution of businesses, regardless of their industry or size, will be key to the achievement of SDGs. Corporates have the onerous responsibility of aligning their businesses with the SDGs to help their countries achieve the global development goals. New technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and IoT, among others, can contribute significantly towards achieving the goals.
This Earth Day is the perfect time for each one of us to find ways and means to stave off the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Every small step counts and each step can add to the collective effort and help avert the disaster that stares at us.
