Integrate climate into your business strategy

It’s critical to get a picture of your current carbon footprint. This means you should evaluate your activities and assets to determine how much GHG emissions each one produces. Calculating your GHG emissions as well as auditing your waste or energy will help you to get a sense of where to start your journey. This is also a perfect time to write a clear statement of why climate action is important for your company.

The next step is to set a company-wide action plan to help you reach your carbon reduction goals. Consider what are your risks, opportunities and barriers to success. Your action plan should include:

• A manageable list of impactful projects
• A timeline for achieving each one
• The employee responsible for each project
• The metrics to gauge your progress (milestones and key performance indicators)
• A dashboard to monitor progress

Also, let your stakeholders (employees, supply chain, shareholders, clients) know about your ambitions. It’s key to raise awareness among your workforce, as your employees are your biggest ambassadors and will be key players in rolling out your action plan.

Continue to communicate and engage your stakeholders to make them aware of your achievements, best practices and new goals. Also, collaborate with other organizations and spread the word about how you’re taking the lead on fighting climate change.

It’s easy to start with high ambitions and get waylaid by day-to-day pressures. That’s why regular check-ins and a dashboard are essential for monitoring progress, resolve problems and taking corrective actions. Your climate dashboard is where you can track KPIs and set improvement targets. Problems will crop up so it’s important to remain agile and flexible.