The science is unambiguous and the threat of climate breakdown undeniable but talking about Net Zero publicly has stopped being useful for companies (if it ever was).
That does not mean companies can ignore it. They cannot just drop their science-based targets and give up.
In fact, the opposite is true: businesses that address sustainability with a relentless focus on their customers will find there is a virtuous circle between growth and their decarbonisation journey.
Let me explain.
At FOUR32, in partnership with Euromonitor International, we have shown that sustainability claims drive sales. If you don’t believe me, just watch the webinar: https://lnkd.in/dr46NKcf.
Marketing teams that don’t think about this are missing out on sales growth.
Interestingly, the thing that customers really care about are not abstract concepts like Net Zero, but rather immediate outcomes like clean rivers or clean air.
Nature, in all its wonderous beauty.
Once companies have cleaned up their energy use (I will write about this next week) then their biggest impacts are often on nature, be it the chemicals in their products, the unrecyclable plastic in their packaging, or the river pollution from pesticides and fertiliser used to grow food.
The key is to understand that these impacts also contribute to a company’s climate impact. All that carbon released making the chemicals in my product, or the plastic wrapped around my sandwich.
As said before, the financial reporting world is sharpening its focus on sustainability. Nature is coming into the remit of the ISSB, who are developing nature standards to sit alongside the climate standards. Too often politicians say nature gets in the way of growth. They are wrong and should talk to the finance community to really understand what’s going on.
For companies that get this right, there is a tremendous opportunity. Understand your impacts on nature, find the opportunities to address this, tell your customers, drive sales, please your investors, and ready yourself for future reporting requirements. The virtuous circle reveals itself.
Of course, it’s complex, but we enjoy complexity. Do reach out if you want to discuss any of this in more detail.