Group 9_C | SDG 13: Climate Action

The Carbon War: Changing for Good of the Planet

Between 20 and 22 June 2012, world leaders converged at Rio de Janeiro to participate in the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20, to discuss the future of Sustainable Development and thus, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were born. SDGs are a group of 17 goals comprising 189 targets that reflect the commitment to finish what was started with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – tackling some of the most pressing challenges faced by countries and societies all across the globe. The Goal 13 of SDGs is about “taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”. There is a qualifier word used in framing this goal which highlights the gravitas that climate change holds vis-à-vis implications for society as a whole – “urgent”.

The most solemn characteristic of Climate Change is that it is a worldwide phenomenon to which no country is immune. There are indeed some which are more affected than others today, but no country remains unaffected. According to the UN Development Programme (UNDP), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are more than 50 per cent higher than in 1990. These GHGs cause Global Warming resulting in a long-lasting impact on Earth’s climate system. Climate Change incurs not just economic costs but also human costs. According to Stanford data, there is more than 50% likelihood that World’s per capita GDP will decline by more than 20% by 2100 because of climate change. The annual losses are estimated to go in hundreds of billions of dollars. In terms of human costs, climate-related disasters have caused the death of 1.3 million humans apart from leaving 4.4 billion injured. This is why there has been quite a lot of focus on action to combat climate change. The Paris Agreement of 2015 forms one of the most comprehensive global actions in this regard.

Source: Stanford

Warming of the Indian landscape

Climate change today impacts lives, societies, nations and incurs costs on citizens, and will do so even more tomorrow. Sea levels are rising, weather patterns are shifting, weather events are becoming increasingly intense, and emissions of GHGs are at their peak levels. The world's average surface temperature will reach 3 degrees centigrade this century unless timely corrective action is taken. It is expected that this change in temperature will make the monsoon more volatile in India. The Indian economy is agrarian, 60% of India's agriculture is rain-fed. Because of the changing climate, 15% of India's groundwater supplies have been exhausted, and a declining water table is suspected of hampering agriculture development. Whether it is floods in Kerala due to exceptionally high rainfall or farmers committing suicide due to drought, both find climate change at their heart. A temperature increase of one degree has a detrimental effect on crop productivity. This ultimately raises the pressure on our already pressurized resources at a time when the Indian population is increasing.

In addition, rising levels of GHGs caused by global warming are suspected to reduce the number of nutrients in crops such as rice and wheat, the primary sources of food for the bulk of the population, leaving people at risk of starvation, low immunity and raising the risk of seriously affecting the population. Heatwaves are a further feature of climate change, aside from the monsoons. In South Asia, heatwaves took 3,400 lives in 2015. According to a report by MIT in the US, heat waves that can kill even healthy people within hours are believed to hit India soon.

To become a healthier, more sustainable economy, creative solutions are needed that are affordable and scalable. Moving to renewable energy sources would help to cut emissions. An internal threat that does not honor national boundaries is climate change. In order to implement a low-carbon economy, it needs to be addressed at an international level.

The Corporate Awakening

Consumers and the government initiatives are calling on brands across categories expecting them to take greater responsibility for the environment. Globally, around 42% of the customers in the US and the UK confirm that they are more attracted to products and services that are using sustainable materials. It is well established that the businesses and organizations are taking bold and strong steps that would help in making a massive difference in the development of technologies and industries, supporting a low-carbon economy. Currently, supply chains across businesses are mature and established. It would require a considerable push from the industry leaders to make the low-carbon technologies more practical and cost-effective.

Amazon: The tech giant Amazon is committed to building a sustainable business. In 2019, The Climate Pledge was founded by the company that aims to make Amazon net-zero Carbon across the business segments by the year 2040. As an industry leader, Amazon is working on getting on board more and more companies in this initiative and helping achieve the terms of the Paris Agreement ten years before the target. It has made ambitious commitments to achieve 100% renewable energy and make all shipments net zero emissions by 2030. It is investing $2 Billion to support the development of technologies and services that reduce carbon emissions and help preserve the natural world. In addition to this, it has also invested $100 million in a reforestation project and climate mitigation initiatives.

RB: Following on the same lines, the FMCG giant, RB, commits to reduce the carbon emissions by 65% and shifting their power dependence completely to renewable resources. They also plan to be net Carbon neutral by the year 2040. The company has come a long way from its initial commitments that were made in the year 2012. They were able to achieve a 42% reduction in GHG emissions in their manufacturing practices and reduce the water usage by 37%. The company focuses on finding new and innovative ways to minimize the carbon footprint across all the processes involved - right from the procurement of the raw materials to the disposal of waste. The company is also invested in finding new renewable fuel options at competitive prices.

BCG: BCG partners with The World Economic Forum on Net Zero Challenge, and has remained a Carbon Neutral company through a combination of internal emissions reduction projects and purchase of carbon credits. It leverages its technological expertise to support de-carbonization goals of its clients and help them gain a competitive advantage in a low-carbon economy . BCG has invested ~ $300 million in climate and environment consulting projects in 2019. The company launched the Center for Climate Action and brought together the firm’s climate thought leadership, expertise and tools. It helps client companies to recognize and realize a path to reducing emissions in a most cost effective way.

Flipkart: It has reduced the use of single use plastic in its supply chain by 50% and has also pledged to move to 100% recyclable plastics by March 2021. The company has also introduced EVs in its last mile delivery network and pledged 100% switch to EVs by 2030. It also held its first ever Virtual Sustainability action summit in June 2020 to discuss and recognize the best business practices to realize the sustainability goals of Flipkart.

Government: Government also plays a major role by making policies and regulations which mandate organizations to be more environment-friendly. Bharat stage emission standards were introduced to regulate the pollution emitted by cars and two-wheelers in 1991 for petroleum vehicles and later in 1992 for diesel vehicles. Progressively stringent norms have been rolled out since then and the related industries are continuously evolving its operations to satisfy the parameters laid down. Automobiles companies have modified the engines of the vehicles manufactured, and oil companies have also brought significant changes in their production process to ensure that fuel produced is complying with these standards.

The companies, organizations and the governments around the world are now aware, and also recognize the threats and challenges posed by climate change to the planet and its inhabitants. Climate Change is a significant issue for everyone. The more prominent companies should take initiatives to make sure that this becomes an industry-wide phenomenon, and more and more companies are involved. Considering the consumer side, consumers are now more willing to spend on sustainable products, and around 57% of the customers agreed to pay more for sustainable products. The consumers want to feel associated with the brands that they use, and this is something that is pushing the companies even more to acknowledge and take vocal and considerable actions in this aspect.

Reversing the ticking time-bomb

The resources are depleting rapidly and there is an increasing need of taking steps in the right direction so as to stop this exploitation and move towards the goals of sustainability. The governments and organizations should shift their focus from the economic factors to the social and environmental factors and take the necessary steps to curb the effects of climate change. They should first start by identifying these issues and then understanding them to their very core. This should be followed by discussions with the various stakeholders, both internal and external and working on these issues to reach a solution. The initial steps can include measuring the carbon footprint of the company and then developing an action plan in order to combat and reduce these emissions at all levels of the production. This can be done by the Government making strict rules and regulations and companies framing policies to reduce the wastages and optimize the processes. Moreover, they can set objectives such as reducing energy consumption, raising awareness among the people, employees and choosing to adopt the best practices. It is very important for all the stakeholders to be patient and persistent in their efforts of bringing about these changes as these processes are slow in nature and it takes a good amount of time before any of their effects are seen. The big firms and developed countries should come forward and take this initiative of making this difference. The companies should act responsibly, look for ways to improve, seek for excellence, put people first and build on the model of success for all.

The companies can design their action plan that helps them strike a balance between their profitability goals and climate commitments. The initial cost of the switch is high but it allows firms to switch to a more sustainable model that will help them stay competitive in the world that is becoming more efficient and technologically sophisticated. To integrate the climate action commitment with the firm’s goals it is important that the cost of climate deterioration and other externalities be considered while doing the cost benefit analysis of the projects. This move will not only allow firms to critically analyse the projects but also allow them to allocate their resources more effectively. The companies should sign the climate pledge and agree on orderly reporting, where the measures and reports are made on the greenhouse gas emissions regularly. The signatories are expected to implement strategies and create path-breaking innovations on the lines of efficiency improvements, material reduction, renewable energy and Carbon emissions strategies. The changes in processes implemented under should be permanent, and be implemented on a considerable scale.

The companies and governments should now start looking at meeting the goals of sustainability and climate action as their greatest opportunity. The consumers today are more aware and attracted than ever towards the products and organizations who are committed to these goals and working for the betterment of the society as a whole. These practices not only enable people to place more trust on the brands but also helps in improving their business performance. By following the current practices, organizations are exploiting their own resources and putting their existence in danger. Hence, time has come that the companies extensively start working towards adopting the best policies and realize the fact that the key to sustain their success is to align themselves with the goals of sustainability. The companies, government and other stakeholders need to come together and take a combined action to realize the World Climate Action goals and move towards a more sustainable and efficient world.

References:

Search This Blog

XLRI Students' Blog on Corporate Sustainability

Group 9_C | SDG 13: Climate Action

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SDG 5: Gender Equality

Group 7_A | SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Group4_C | SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities