Business Must Play a Central Role in Climate Action

The impacts of climate change are forcing the issue to the top of the global agenda for governments and businesses alike. Over the last several months, we’ve seen devastating climate events globally, from hurricanes, to record summer temperatures, to wildfires in my own home state of California, setting off alarms for both business and society alike. Staying neutral on this issue is no longer an option for leaders across the globe.

But as climate events continue, the world needs to rapidly move to tackling the problem with bold, innovative solutions. It’s become clear that fighting climate change requires agility, technology, and investment at scale, along with personal and systemic change.

Climate events pose a clear threat to the stability of our society, and therefore, to the viability of our businesses. As leaders, I believe it’s our responsibility to help our organizations and our communities step up to the challenge. It’s a good sign that government and private sector leaders engaged in meaningful discussions alongside this year’s UN General Assembly session to drive forward critical climate action ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November. I’m encouraged by businesses that are taking the lead on embracing their role in forging change.

There are clear opportunities to deepen the contributions businesses can make in collaboration with governments and other civic agencies. With the upcoming COP26, many of these conversations are expected to continue over the next several weeks, and business leaders must come to the table prepared and use their positions to address these global challenges.

Rising to the occasion

Protecting the environment continues to be a top concern for millennials as threats to their health, family welfare, and careers are more personal and imminent. The next generation has the power to and no doubt will hold business accountable.

Deloitte’s 2021 Millennial and Gen Z Survey found that 37% of millennials and 40% of Gen Zs believe more people will commit to acting on environmental and climate issues after the pandemic. However, approximately 60% of millennials and Gen Zs fear business’ commitment to helping combat climate change will be less of a priority as business leaders reckon with other challenges brought on by the pandemic. Business leaders are increasingly recognizing that addressing these challenges can proactively create strategic advantage and drive trust with shareholders, employees, and customers.

Paving a path forward

?We’re already seeing businesses take an increasingly central role in driving progress across the planet, but more can and should be done.

Responding to COVID-19 has proven that businesses have a degree of speed and agility that other entities like government and non-profits may not be built for, something that is crucial for addressing global issues both quickly and efficiently. The pandemic has confirmed that we can change more of our individual and collective behavior than we thought and very little is truly off limits. ?Businesses around the world were forced into a work-from-home experiment on a scale never seen before, and ultimately thrived. Other remote concepts like distance learning and telemedicine that had been around for some time quickly became a mainstream reality. This is a mindset that we must continue to nurture. From reducing carbon emissions to building more equitable enterprises, businesses must continue to make forward-looking, science-based climate commitments to address some of the biggest challenges facing the planet today.

Addressing climate change will not only protect our planet, it’s also a market making opportunity to innovate, create new value systems, and transform business models. Cultivating value for the broader community is a large part of what drives value for customers, employees and, ultimately, shareholders, making this focus a key differentiator for businesses when competing for these stakeholders.?

Within Deloitte, we’re continuing to examine and retool our operations to combat climate change and deliver on WorldClimate, the global strategy to accelerate our efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030. As part of this commitment, Deloitte has entered into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) agreements with several US airlines—American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines—which will cover a portion of Deloitte’s business travel. Through our SAF collaborations to date, we will be avoiding the emissions from approximately 5,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (equivalent to approximately 16,000 passengers flying one way from NYC to LA).

Additionally, we have launched a global climate learning program developed in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund to engage all Deloitte people around the world on the impacts of climate change, inform them about how Deloitte is responding to the climate crisis, and inspire Deloitte people to drive a conversation and action around positive climate choices. Our goal is to enable our more than 345,000 professionals to make positive climate choices at home and work and amplify these through their personal networks. We also launched #iAct, a global social campaign that prompts people to consider (and, of course, share!) actions they can take to address climate change.

So, what’s next? Businesses have been increasingly asked to positively impact society and the planet. No one business can do it alone and it’s crucial to take an ecosystems approach. Energized further by innovation and scientific and technological advances, many businesses are rising to the occasion. But there’s more that can be done. We have already profoundly shaped the present. We now have an extraordinary opportunity to also shape a better future, and our collective action can realize rapid, effective change on a planetary scale.

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