Are you committed, moderate or lagging behind? Companies facing climate change: from willingness to act to taking action!

📢 Article by Jules Plasencia, Founder of Yes for Planet

Today, companies have real environmental and social challenges. Climate change is accelerating because of human activity. In view of the recent consequences of global warming in France and around the world, it is now unthinkable to deny the reasons: we must ACT!

Global Climate Initiatives (GCI), the leader in 100% digital carbon assessment, is committed to helping these companies reduce the greenhouse gas emissions emitted by their activities.

A shared awareness

Following the last IPCC report in March 2022, scientific experts announced that we have three years to act before climate events get worse. The truth is that we don't have three years to reduce emissions but we are 30 YEARS late.

Companies do not take into consideration the fact that we are already well behind on our reduction actions and that we are heading towards a scenario above +1.5° C (temperature limit according to the IPCC report). To avoid catastrophic scenarios where we will exceed this limit, companies must react and know the orders of magnitude of CO2 emissions emitted in their activities. For this, the GHG assessment is the solution to make managers aware of which item they should reduce their carbon emissions.

Many companies are still waiting for the climate alarm to sound before taking action, even though it has been sounding for over 30 years. Not being aware of climate issues and the impact of one's activity leads to economic, social and environmental difficulties for one's company and its stakeholders.

"Whatever the country, experience shows that even if the risk is known, it is necessary to wait for the disaster to occur before preventive actions are taken" *

BonPote, Anne Brès, Claire Marc, Tout comprendre (ou presque) sur le climat, Paris: CNRS Editions, 2022

Towards raising the awareness of companies

The realization of a carbon footprint and the implementation of an action plan to reduce emissions depend above all on awareness-raising actions for the company's employees. Understanding the impact before acting is the key to success! This means engaging all stakeholders in the same project, i.e. working together to reduce carbon emissions.

To do this, you must use good communication practices and dialogue adapted to your interlocutors (refer to the article on the BonPote website: "Infographic: 10 good communication practices on the climate".). It is after having had a dialogue with your stakeholders that you can direct them to an awareness-raising workshop and CSR training. The more stakeholders are informed about climate issues, the more effective they will be in reducing their carbon emissions.

These awareness-raising actors are actively present on the territory:

• the Climate Fresco La Fresque du Climat: a non-profit association that runs fun workshops with maps to understand the causes and consequences of climate change. Complementary workshops are also offered by other associations working for the protection of the environment.
• CSR Consultants consultants: they are motivated and sensitive to environmental and social issues. They will be able to bring all the necessary help to carry out your projects thanks to their real expertise in Corporate Social Responsibility and their commitment to lead companies towards a sustainable activity and a sustainable future for all.

Now is the time to act!

What's up? Are you already committed or behind on your CSR actions? Do you feel ready to take on the challenges of climate change and improve the performance of your business? These are questions that remain unanswered for many companies as climate change and economic activity continue to worsen, which is not good for business. The longer we wait until the last moment to act, the longer it will be too late to solve the problems of business and our planet. We don't say it often enough but the solutions ALREADY EXIST. It is the carbon footprint that allows companies to know where they must act effectively to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. To do this, a reduction action plan must be launched to implement the "existing" solutions and monitor its progress. Internally, employees and managers will also have to adopt the right eco-actions to drastically reduce the carbon footprint.

So we ask you again: What will you do now? What are your environmental and social commitments to your company, your employees, your suppliers, your customers? Now that you know the reasons for taking action, start conducting your company's carbon footprint. Global Climate Initiatives ' Chartered Experts have all the necessary skills to accompany you in your decarbonization project and demystify your CSR approach.