Businesses can benefit greatly from the effectiveness of climate action and policies, and it is all a matter of cooperation and collaboration.
Climate action comes in many shapes and sizes, but if there is one thing that characterizes its effectiveness, that is cooperation. The more actors across society get together in the fight against climate change, the more the future of our planet seems to brighten up.
There is no denying collaboration and cooperation are essential to achieving climate objectives such as net zero carbon emissions, limiting global warming or protecting the world’s biodiversity. Only by joining forces at a global scale can we help protect the one thing that we all share in common.
Cooperation and business
Cooperation and business
Concepts like these two, cooperation and business, are very hard, if not impossible, to separate from one another. It is in fact hard to imagine a business where people won’t collaborate or work together towards a common goal. Almost by definition, that wouldn’t be called a business. But where are we going with this?
Well, if a business is based upon cooperation by definition, and the one thing that can make climate action thrive is the latter, then the solution is a no brainer: use business for good. For the good of the planet, society and the business itself.
And although as we said before, cooperation comes in all shapes and sizes, today we wanted to focus on the one shape that feels closer to home: stakeholder engagement.
Each stakeholder plays a crucial role in the success of the organization, but the latter greatly relies on the wellbeing of stakeholders themselves.
Stakeholder engagement
The business ecosystem is a complex yet collaborative environment, from employees to customers, shareholders or the community it operates in, it is important and necessary to fully comprehend and align business practices within the latter.
Each stakeholder plays a crucial role in the success of the organization, but the latter greatly relies on the wellbeing of the stakeholders themselves. Therefore, the importance of alignment and a comprehensive approach to business practices is the cornerstone of business success.
But in terms of climate action, this means a company should be fully aware of the impact such collaborators and parts of its corporate activities have on people and the planet. This means thinking long term and supporting stakeholders’ climate action opportunities and performance. But how can we make that happen? Here are a few examples:
1. Every job has climate action potential
The best way to begin incorporating climate activities into companies is to make them part of the job itself. Every job can be a climate active job if we set our minds to it. From sustainable financial decisions to daily tasks or HR-fostered climate education and onboardings. The planet and society’s future is a matter of many things, including our small actions in the workplace, and so we shoudl not just leave it to one specific department in the company to take complete care of it.
2. Give back to the community
Companies benefit from the communties they operate in, through potential consumers, workers, shareholders etc. In the same way community members benefit from companies as they gain job opportunities, goods and/or services. These interactions are only possible and healthy if the wellbeing of the community is ensured, and so companies have a responsibility to protect the people and environment in which they have the greatest impact. Not only does this help build trust, but is doverall creates a better society that can ensure the survival of the company.
3. Climate-competent leaders
Sustainability is rapidly making its way to corporate agendas, and so it seems essential that those in charge should be properly aware and competent in all things in regards of the business strategy, including climate action. Ensuring such competence inside corporate boards will ensure business are moving forward the best possible practices, not only in terms of the environment and society, but financially too.
4. Engage employees
The general public is often times more aware and concious of sustainable practices and climate responsibilities that corporate boards themselves. Their commitment can and should become a new leverage to push companies’ climate actions further. In fact, according to recent studies, employees believe companies should do more to include them in climate action strategies like cutting down carbon emissions, for example. There is a great opportunity here for companies to create better and closer collaboration with one of the most important stakeholders, employees.
Building a culture of sustainability
The workplace is probably not the first place that comes to mind when thinking about environmental and social action, but we are here to prove you wrong. The amount of time we spent working throughout our lives, and the power of bringing together so many people with all kinds of backgrounds is what makes the workplace the perfect place for taking action against the threat of climate change.
In DoGood we have developed a corporate government tool that helps establish ESG impact objectives for employees in regards to the sustainability strategy of the company. Through our technology we are able to activate and track employees’ impact, creating engagement that translates into improved ESG metrics, reputational value and an overall positive impact for the environment and society.
If you want to know more about how we work to create a positive social and environmental impact, click here.
