Future of Our Planet — Leading Corporations and their Sustainability Goals:
What are the Sustainable development goals?
In 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, promoting peace and sustainable growth worldwide. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 is about making “cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.” Though SDG 11 is primarily focused on government action, the initiatives identified need the Fortune 500 companies to implement strategies across various fields and industries. As people worldwide have become increasingly exposed to the impacts of our climate crisis, the entities with perhaps the most power to stop the crisis — corporations produce just about everything we buy, use, and throw away and play an outsized role in driving global climate change.
We need to understand the contribution of these companies towards climate change. A recently published report identified that 100 energy companies have been responsible for 71% of all industrial emissions since human-driven climate change was officially recognized.
Therefore, major corporations must reduce their contributions as quickly as possible drastically. However, a recent study found that 90% of executives believe sustainability to be important, but only 60% incorporate it in their business. Strategy. Many companies have set greenhouse gas reduction targets, but most of those targets fail to include the emissions associated with the entire life cycle of a given corporation’s products. This is important because when a company makes a product, that product requires raw materials that created their own emissions during harvest, extraction, refining, etc. (known as upstream emissions). When a consumer uses that product, further emissions come from its use and eventual disposal (known as downstream emissions). Failing to account for or address these emissions means that the vast majority of greenhouse gases attributable to corporations and their products fall outside of well-publicized corporate climate commitments.
How one of the world’s largest energy companies is leading the way toward a sustainable future for our planet:
Executing an impactful sustainability strategy requires strong partnerships between key industry players, governments, and investors. Take Schneider Electric (the world’s second-largest energy company) as an example of a major corporation contributing toward sustainability. In their 2020 sustainability report, 120 million metric tons of CO2 were saved on their customers' end due to their offers. In addition, they have also developed the EcoXpert™ Partner program — a global community of Schneider-trained and certified consultant engineers that provide local expertise in building automation, power solutions, and energy efficiency.
What can other companies learn from their strategies?
Measuring and reporting emissions is a great first step. More importantly, ensuring the accuracy of this measurement and transparent reporting is key. But at the end of the day, any “science-based target” must be a target that applies to all of the emissions a corporation’s activities and products are creating — not just those emitted while a product is being made in a factory.
Government and individual actions are vital to addressing climate change, but corporations, with their outsized influence and power in today’s world, have an even larger role to play. They can drive policy change, shape consumer preferences, and rapidly respond to climate change necessities at a scale and pace beyond any other political or private entity.
In conclusion, meaningful corporate action is not only necessary as climate change accelerates by the day, but it is also a global obligation. As some of the entities most responsible for putting us in the crisis we’re in today, it’s time for companies to take full responsibility for their climate footprints.
