Organisations across the private sector are increasingly ranking sustainability as their number one business priority but without public and private partnership and collaboration, ideals will fall flat. By Jamie Cameron, Director of Digital Solutions at Johnson Controls UK&I
The firing piston in the race to decarbonisation has sounded, but it is not a prize to be won by a single runner. The fate of the planet rests on a team effort as the world looks to governments and businesses for decisive leadership and demonstrable action. It is now crucial for the public and the private sector to come together to drive meaningful emissions reductions by the end of this decade to avoid the disastrous effects of climate change and seize the upside economic opportunities for all. These include efficiency, capital, and even greater employee happiness and engagement – not to mention a planet fit for living.
The overwhelming majority of companies see clear competitive advantage from their sustainability focus and the goal of achieving net zero carbon. They now need their public sector counterparts to support and enable this vision.
However, new research has found that to accelerate decarbonisation efforts, there are still barriers that must be overcome, but also huge opportunities to engage. Companies must align with stakeholder demands, collaborate with partners on transparent sustainability roadmaps and effectively measure the progress of sustainability initiatives. It means more needs to be done before we make significant headway.
Understanding private sector priorities
This new research confirms that business leaders see sustainability as the number one business priority for this year. They understand that increasing investments in sustainability initiatives can improve business efficiency, reduce harmful environmental impacts, and address urgent climate challenges.
In fact, 86% have a long-term goal for reducing carbon emissions by 2025 or earlier.
By investing in decarbonisation efforts, companies hope to attract customers who share similar environmental values while also addressing the needs of investors.
Companies at every maturity level report have realised or expect to realise a variety of benefits, with more than 9 in 10 of sustainably engaged companies seeing benefits in the form of improved efficiencies, improved compliance and employee recruitment and/or retention and reduced waste (90%).
More than 8 in 10 companies report benefits in the form of improved brand
reputation, decreased costs and revenue growth. The bottom line is that by in large, the private sector no longer needs to be convinced of the worth of sustainability. But frameworks are required to help them reach it.
Surmountable hurdles
Although organisations recognise the benefits of implementing sustainability practices, many companies don’t know where to start in preparing for critical business transformations. For example, more than half of businesses hope to reduce energy consumption in their buildings by 2024 or earlier but lack alignment around what metrics need to be tracked and how. Businesses need solutions to help them keep on track with commitments. ESG reporting software, for example, is just one technology that can effectively measure progress.
From reporting requirements to investment in R&D, subsidies and incentives to procurement powers, the public sector has a huge role to play in encouraging and enabling businesses to track emissions. Without data we are unable to measure progress or provide examples of best practice.
But all of this is nothing without strong leadership. Nearly 40% of respondents believe their organisations have a shortage of internal expertise, preventing them from tracking their carbon footprints effectively. Education plays a massive role in preparing the workforce of the future for the Net Zero economy, while public sector leaders themselves must be vocal and amplify sustainability skills as key to success.
A roadmap of partnership
The recent COP26 Climate Summit brought together world leaders, academics, business executives and others to create a roadmap to decarbonisation. This can’t be done without companies aligning priorities to the demands of stakeholders, working with partners to develop transparent sustainability roadmaps, and identifying metrics and adopting tools to measure progress.
The journey starts with decarbonisation advisory services and moves through assessment of digitally enabled environments, infrastructure efficiency, renewables, and clean energy procurement, through to certification and impact measurement. At each stage public sector support, guidance and cheerleading will be required to maintain the race momentum.
