8 Months to COP27: What Actions Should Companies Be Driving Today?

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is clear and damning: collectively, we aren’t doing enough, fast enough to avert mounting loss of life, biodiversity, and infrastructure on our warming planet. We must take more aggressive action now—today—to significantly slash greenhouse gas emissions and enable equitable climate resilience and adaptation.?

When the UN Climate Change Conference 2021 (COP26) concluded in Glasgow, Scotland, in November, nearly 200 countries agreed to accelerate climate action, keeping alive the hope of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5°Celsius. The world leaders agreed to return to COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt (November 7-18, 2022) having made stronger commitments, rooted in science, to help significantly phase down unabated coal power, halt and reverse deforestation, reduce methane emissions, speed the transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles, and address the funding of activities related to address impacts on vulnerable communities.

As COP26 President Alok Sharma said at the time, “The hard work starts now.” With less than 8 months until COP27 Egypt, here are some actions companies should be taking right now to put us on a course to halve emissions by 2030, achieve net zero before mid-century, and reach the 1.5°C target:

1.?Commit to science-based targets on a track to net zero

Companies must be bold and aggressive in their ambitions, consider where their business can have the greatest impact, and align their Scopes 1, 2 and 3 with a pathway to 1.5°C and net zero GHG emissions by mid-century or sooner. The Science Based Targets initiative can help guide companies on this journey, ensuring carbon emissions reduction targets are clearly defined, science-aligned, and effective.

HP was among the first 100 companies to have GHG emissions targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. Our 2025 Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions reduction goals have been validated by the SBTi, including classification of our Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions target as consistent with levels required to keep global warming to 1.5°C – bringing us closer to our 2040 climate goals to reach net zero emissions across our value chain.

2.?Operationalize environmental, social and governance (ESG)

To drive systemwide progress, companies must embed ESG into their business strategy and hold their leadership accountable for progress. ?

At HP, Sustainable Impact is at the core of our corporate strategy, and our executive leadership team, led by our President and CEO Enrique Lores, retains overall responsibility for Sustainable Impact. All members of our executive leadership team oversee Sustainable Impact targets relevant to their organizations and are evaluated annually against Sustainable Impact objectives, including climate change and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

3.?Empower employees, partners, and suppliers

Companies should look to mobilize action by engaging key stakeholders that can support their targets and—ideally—will set their own bold intentions.

HP employees, regardless of their role or title, are encouraged to set a sustainable impact goal in line with the Sustainable Impact strategy of their business unit or function as part of their annual goal setting process.

For more than a decade, HP has worked closely with suppliers to improve their environmental programs and report progress transparently. We use a Sustainability Scorecard to set clear expectations for improvement and evaluate our suppliers’ performance. Since 2021, we have asked our major supply chain partners to set a public, science-based target aligned with 1.5°C and to have them to validate their goals through SBTi—and starting this fiscal year, we’ve made this a requirement.

We also launched Amplify Impact , an industry-first partner assessment, resource and training program that invites channel partners to drive meaningful change and assess their own sustainability and social impact practices while tapping into HP’s extensive investments and initiatives. We recently announced the expansion of the program to over 40 countries.

4.?Collaborate with strategic and complementary partners

While no company has all the expertise and resources to drive the truly systemic change necessary to combat climate change, by aligning with key strategic partners, companies can address key material issues while significantly extending their reach and impact. ??

For example, HP recently announced an $80M partnership expansion with World Wildlife Fund to restore, protect, or improve the management of nearly 1 million acres of forest landscapes—that’s an area about five times the size of New York City. This builds on HP’s 2019 5-year, $12 million commitment to help WWF restore and conserve 200,000 acres of forest and develop science-based targets for forests.

With this partnership, HP becomes one of the first technology companies to counteract the risk of deforestation beyond its own supply chain, accounting for the impact on nature of all paper used in HP printers, regardless of brand.

5.?Report according to recognized standards

Tracking, assessing, and reporting sustainability progress can help underpin and inform a company’s strategy, risk assessment, and decision-making.

HP has been producing a public sustainability report for 20 years and was the first global IT company to publish its full carbon footprint and set carbon emissions reduction goals for its full value chain. With our 2020 Sustainable Impact Report , we have aligned our reporting with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. Due in large part to our transparency and accountability practices, HP was named on Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Company list for three consecutive years; CDP’s Climate, Water, and Forests A Lists, also for three years in a row; and the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for ten straight years.

Double down in 2022

The impacts of climate change are accelerating so must our actions. We must push ourselves and each other harder to achieve progress. To be bolder in our aspirations, connect further into our organizations, across our industries, and beyond our sectors, and to fundamentally transform business models and solutions to this existential threat that impacts us all.

When the world leaders gather in Egypt this November to share their progress and strengthened commitments, what commitments and progresses will your company share?????