Hi @MPBianchetti - the World Benchmarking Alliance has designed a methodology to assess influential companies on their performance and contribution to a just transition. Through thorough multi-stakeholder consultation, we have designed 6 indicators to assess the fundamentals of performance/contribution on the following 6 areas: Social dialogue and stakeholder engagement, just transition planning, green and decent job creation, retaining and/or up-skilling workers, social protection and advocacy. Check out the draft methodology here
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A2: to manage the impacts on people of climate change and to measure actions, there is the need for businesses to look at their impacts and actions holistically and join the environmental and social aspects of their due diligence. Social indicators, and specifically child rights indicators, needs to be integrated when looking at climate change impacts.
What do participants think is challenging for businesses? And what would business need from civil society to accomplish that?
Also, it is urgent to fully incorporate Circularity in business models to eliminate carbon foot print, to use resources in a better way and to reduce waste: reducing, reusing and recycling.
Informe and educate employees about these efforts for the environment.
Create a sense of stewardship
CCAFS and partners are coming up with innovative approaches to address climate variability and change, building on existing knowledge and institutional systems, for example:
- Scaling up smart farms: to help farmers to produce reliable harvests and increase yields.
- Conserving soil and water through agroforestry: to provide farming families with the ‘five Fs’ — food, fuel, fodder, finance and improved soil fertility.
- Sharing better climate information: to help farmers make sound farming decisions— what to plant, when to plant, when to harvest and so on.
- Introducing intercrop innovations: to increase farm resilience and improve food security and incomes.
CCAFS innovations are driven at community level by farmers practicing smart Agro practices. Hence reducing heavy financial burdens on business and NGOs.
A2: There is a concept that is slowly emerging of “climate change due diligence”. This will be the next frontier and challenge for businesses for them to truly act responsibly. The concept is slowly emerging and there are still questions to be answered, especially in terms of practical implementation and distinction with human rights due diligence. However, as part of this new concept, businesses will need to seriously consider and act on the potential impacts of their actions on future generations.
Do participants have already views on the key challenges that need to be overcome to ensure that this emerging concept of climate change due diligence is effective for people and the planet?
One aspect of this is the link to reporting - which something that businesses are increasingly required to look at - from not just their investor base, but also from a media and consumer interest base in relation to their company activities. Some frameworks have already included some of the more social aspects - e.g. UN Global Compacts CoP - which itself is based around 10 social -economic - environmental principles. A follow on element is of course what the data collected is used for, e.g. to what extent does that drive progress.
We need more joined up thinking - based on a common roadmap of what needs to happen, informed by corporate disclosure and performance data/insights/analysis on what is happening and then collective action from all stakeholders.
WBA intends to support collective action by assessing 450 high-emitting companies by 2023 on their decarbonisation performance alongside their approach to addressing the social challenges of a low-carbon transition.
The circular economy has seen a significant increase in interest from all sectors of society. Circle Economy, a nonprofit organization, mapped some principles:
DISRUPT states the elements of a circular economy:
Design for the future, Incorporate digital technology,
Sustain and preserve whatʼs already there, Rethink the
business model, Use waste as a resource, Prioritize
regenerative resources, Team up to create joint value.
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Its a challenge as the OECD has show that the cost of demonstrating compliance with standards/demonstrating impacts often fall disproportionately on the poorest producers at the end of value chains. Companies should bear this in mid when they’re setting standards and provide support for producers to be able to comply. For example IIED worked with Unilever on its guidance for smallholders on meeting its regenerative agriculture principles https://www.unilever.com/news/news-and-features/Feature-article/2021/how-we-will-grow-our-ingredients-in-harmony-with-nature.html
Thanks, interesting down to earth information. One question: how was the social impact strategy design process? Are NGOs and other voices that highlight or even criticize the negative externalities of CEMEX business operation (particularly regarding E and S) invited to participate in the development of such strategy? If yes, how do you do it? If not, why not? For research purposes, I would be greatly interested in knowing more about the processes of developing social impact strategies inside MNCs and how those processes are validated, notably to ensure impact and avoid being considered greenwashing, marketing, etc by the market. Thanks!
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Thank you @MattGwyn! I think also that your cross-over analysis between the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark and the Automotive Benchmark from last year is also very important for this conversation. It found almost no correlation between a company’s performance on either benchmark, suggesting that companies’ actions on climate and human rights are not connected. And I think this is a key issue: at the moment the environmental and social aspect of business’ impacts and actions are considered separately and in silos. This creates a challenge for businesses to see the intersections and how impacts on the environment and climate change and on human and child rights are interlinked and where they fuel each other.
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Indeed Maria Pia, my experience in projects in DRC shows that youth and children are agents of transformation!
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Hi Mihaela!
There are 3 benefits:
- Acces to capital. Companies can attract ESG investment which increasing today,
- Lower cost rate. Due to better risk management.
- Cost savings. ( i will come back with more info about this)
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Hi @sandrasanchez I would love to hear more about your experience - do you have any link to share or publications?
I don’t have the answer to this, Filipe, but great question!
Just to build on the point around traditional profits and loss calculations, the Net Value to Society work is also very helpful in trying to assess elements from a more holistic/integrated manner, giving an opportunity to look at a business/organization from multiple angles. Certainly worth a look/read!
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For people interested to know about new ways to measure including science and business perspectives:
Some private sector companies are using science indicators into their transition to a low-carbon economy:
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