Today’s news of rising sea levels (and temperatures!), record-breaking heatwaves, and unpredictable weather are signs that climate change is a legitimate problem. And if not tackled with urgency, this problem will persist and continue to worsen, breaking records that no one would want to be broken.

While individuals should be making more eco-friendly changes in their lifestyles, bigger entities such as companies and industries should be taking the lead. Without the cooperation of businesses, the battle against climate change will be difficult. Companies have more resources to research, make adjustments, and effect changes that can help improve the global climate. Any company, regardless of the industry it’s in, can become a climate leader. But what does being a climate leader mean?

What is a Climate Leader?

Companies with ambitious but concrete decarbonization plans are climate leaders. These plans should be aligned with the goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit global warming to below two degrees Celsius or even lower it to 1.5 degrees. Climate leaders have multiple climate initiatives that address the following goals:

• Consistently reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the supply chain
  • Better route planning
  • Use of low-emission vehicles
  • Switching to Renewable Energy
• Zero-waste and pollution
  • Reviewing and restructuring of the manufacturing process
  •  Improving product and packaging design
  • Organization-wide ban on single-use plastic
• Climate Preparedness Strategy
  •  Establishing a Climate Risk Management team
  • Investing in more resilient infrastructure
  • Crafting of Business Continuity Plans (BCP)
  • Organization-wide training on disaster preparedness and adaptation plans

While the above examples are not exhaustive, these should be part of a company’s top priorities when it comes to establishing themselves as climate leaders.

Why is Climate Leadership Important?

It’s A Sustainable Way to Do Business

If you want to keep your business running for a long time, then climate leadership should be part of your mission. Understanding the risks of storm surges and climate change, in general, will help you create well-informed business continuity plans. Making early adjustments to your infrastructure and the way you do business can help you save money and avoid the high cost of rebuilding and hampered business operations. Being a climate leader means you’re making changes to improve your “tomorrow” but are also well-equipped to address the “now” problems of climate change.

Climate Leadership Can Positively Affect Your Whole Supply Chain

Being a climate leader can create a domino effect across your supply chain. As a part of a supply chain, you don’t always have direct control over greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and sustainability practices. But aligning your goals with those of your supply chain partners can address that gap. By sharing your company’s targets with your supply chain partners and emphasizing the part they play in achieving those targets, you are helping them set their own sustainability goals.

Gain a Competitive Advantage

Consumers are more conscious of their purchases. Along with this increase in awareness, the demand for more environmentally-friendly alternatives is also growing. Being a climate leader means staying consistent with and vocal about their plans to address climate change. And it goes without saying that these plans should lead to concrete actions. Doing so will help you win these discerning consumers over.

B2B companies with strong climate strategies also have a competitive advantage over those that do not. Your target clients are also as discerning, if not more, as B2C customers. They most likely have their own targets to address climate change. This means they would want to invest in or partner with companies that have shared values and goals.

Attract the Right Talent for Your Organization

Aside from positioning your company for your target customers, you should also be aware of how you establish your brand as an employer. Professionals, at least those who you would want on your team, are not just looking for the next career opportunity. They’re looking to find an employer with aligned values and a meaningful career. And climate leaders are able to offer those to potential employees.

Taking on Climate Change Should Be Everyone’s Responsibility

This might be the most important reason why climate leadership should be part of your goals as a company. Addressing climate change should be everyone’s responsibility. Companies, regardless of their industry, contribute to the current climate change problems we experience. But they also have the power and resources to turn things around. So if we want to really have a positive effect on the state of the planet, it means everyone—including companies—should make tackling climate change a priority.

The consequences of inaction are very clear. If global warming and current unsustainable practices persist, then the whole world will suffer even worse damage. And hopefully, this is a good enough reason for companies to aim to become climate leaders in their respective industries.