Good Thing are Happening Now
When it comes to the environment and business, there are a lot of positives happening. Improved technologies and a genuine human desire to achieve the global goals set on the international arena all provide reasons for optimism. But you may be thinking ‘Why should I bother to reduce environmental impact at work,’?
We all see depressing images of polluted seas and floods or starving migrants searching for the basics in life. It can be too easy to feel overwhelmed by these. But let me reassure you – there are many progressive steps forward across the world. Your business can be a part of this trend. Read on for a little motivation…
Business Must Respond to the Challenges
I can highly recommend listening to Radio 4’s Podcast of Costing the Earth. On April 11th 2017 the topic was ‘Reasons to be Cheerful,’ broadcast from The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship . The podcast and a series of recent news articles prompted me to write this post focusing on hope. Listen out for Mindy Lubber of Ceres (who is introduced around 11 minutes in). Her perspective is similar to mine. She acknowledges how important it is for business to respond to environmental challenges and not leave it to government.
“We Are Still In”
In the US, there is massive enthusiasm to meet the goals set for reversing global warming, despite Trump’s withdrawal from the Climate Change Agreement. A coalition of American businesses and state backed (as opposed to federal) institutions calls itself “We Are Still In”. They represent over a half of the US’s whole economy. If that was actually a country would rate as the world’s 3rd largest.
Renewable Energy
Globally, last year, there was more investment in renewable energy than fossil fuels. However, the same report also states “that the world is not yet on course to rein in its carbon emissions.”
On some days, here in the UK, renewable energy contributed more than half the day’s power to the grid. Furthermore, in Scotland, some days were recorded as 100% renewable.
One of the most reassuring facts I learnt was about global emissions of greenhouse gases. That’s CO₂ from burning fossil fuels, which is the cause of temperature rise. This in turn increases the quantity and violence of storms around the world such as the devastating Hurricane Irma. In the last three years, global emissions have plateaued. (Sadly, due to China using more coal as a result of drought affecting hydro-electric generation, a rise is anticipated in 2017, but I feel optimistic that this is a blip, not a trend).
The point is, that despite growing population numbers and a growth in urbanisation (people moving from rural to urban living) emissions did not increase.
Reduce Environmental Impact at Work Because it Counts!
Imagine, if we all made some small measures to reduce our energy usage (and therefore carbon footprint.) With such actions, it’s entirely feasible that that plateau can be shifted to a REDUCTION in emissions.
In my workshops, I demonstrate how each of our actions, however small, adds up to potentially massive reduction in environmental impact.
A Caveat
Don’t confuse optimism with complacency. There’s a lot to be done to clean up our planet and each one of us has a role to play. A recent study suggests that no country is doing enough to reach our global targets set at The Paris Agreement in 2015.
The key here is that our actions, however small to start, CAN make a difference.
Ask Coral Mountain how your organisation can reduce environmental impact with our FOUR ‘A’ SERVICE as the framework. This Sustainability Programme is the road map. It will create resilience within your business as well as looking after the environment.
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